Atlantic Avenue subway tunnel tour shut down by FDNY; called unsafe

[Curly]

Well, they finally did it. Shut down Bob Diamonds tour of the countries oldest subway tunnel. Glad we toured it when we did. Another sad day for Long Island History.

Atlantic Avenue subway tunnel tour shut down by FDNY; called unsafe

BY Mike Mclaughlin
DAILY NEWS WRITER
Thursday, December 16th 2010, 11:15 AM


Fevelo for News
Tourists are seen at a Atlantic Avenue Subway Tour in the tunnel which is the world's oldest subway tunnel built in 1844.

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Fire department officials halted a popular tour of an abandoned tunnel under Atlantic Ave. yesterday after declaring it a safety hazard.
Transit buff Bob Diamond started tours of the former Long Island Rail Road tunnel in 1982, but FDNY officials said he can't continue because there's only one entrance - via ladder through a manhole near Court St.
"This is not a safe place for the public to be allowed to go," said FDNY spokesman Frank Dwyer. "It's dangerous down there. There's no safe way into and out of the tunnel."
Dwyer said the narrow entrance and ladder would pose a challenge for emergency responders to rescue visitors in the event of an accident.
He also raised concerns about air quality and the use of generators on the street to power the tunnel's lighting.
The shutdown shocked Diamond, who had scheduled the next tour for 100 people in Cobble Hill on Sunday and was told by the Daily News of the Fire Department's decision.
"We've been doing tours for 30 years and have literally had thousands of people down there," said Diamond, who founded the Brooklyn Historic Railway Association after he rediscovered the tunnel in 1981. "We've never had a problem."
The city Department of Transportation renewed a consent form two years ago allowing him to use the tunnel through 2018, Diamond said.
"It's like the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing," said Diamond, who said city officials never worried about emergency exits before.
But he ran into trouble last Friday when FDNY officials, citing safety concerns, canceled a film screening organized by Rooftop Films that had been slated for the weekend.
Dwyer told The News that all future events are nixed too, but said FDNY officials would possibly lift the ban if Diamond made safety improvements in the tunnel.
The tunnel dates from 1845 and has an arched brick ceiling 17 feet high. The man-made cavern is 21 feet wide and stretches to Hicks St.
Diamond said FDNY officials hadn't told him the underground space was off-limits, and he vowed to continue the tours.
He added that firefighters from a nearby firehouse on Middagh St. have been customers.
"Until someone says something to me," said Diamond, "I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing."


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/...#ixzz18OX24Tib

[DOC]

So for almost 29 years this has been going on and now the fdny feels it's unsafe? Sounds like a rat to me.

[Curly]

So for almost 29 years this has been going on and now the fdny feels it's unsafe? Sounds like a rat to me.

I Agree. It Stinks!

[lubby]

I wish I could have gone there

[Richit]

Maybe some one got stuck and they had to call the FDNY.......who could get stuck...?HMMMmm

[lubby]

Maybe some one got stuck and they had to call the FDNY.......who could get stuck...?HMMMmm

some big who was big hairy and smelly LOL. And we all know who that is.

[Sparky]

some big who was big hairy and smelly LOL. And we all know who that is.

HAHAHAH i wonder who that could be. It sucks that the tunnel has been shut down. I never did the tour there but always wanted too.

[Richit]

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/b...C-rss&FEEDNAME=

[bayshoredude]

HAHAHAH i wonder who that could be. It sucks that the tunnel has been shut down. I never did the tour there but always wanted too.

As I. I am also a novice train buff. But that place can be a deathtrap. Let's take a person with a medical emegency. To package and lift that person out of a manhole is a complex operation, and in a worse case scenario, stopping CPR for some time as well. Now a fire, poor qualty air due to internal combustion engines powering the lights and generator, terrorism (small chance but possible) or a freak leak of a gas that displaces oxygen like CO times the numerous people he was set to give a tour to can be horrifying. Go back a few years to the Happy Land social club in the Bronx. While it was an arson fire, it had only one entrance, a simple doorway we use 100 times a day. But 87 people still could not get out. Point to ponder, how many times do you read a newspaper article about a fire death and they were found in a room that has windows?

Now put 2 dozen people in a tunnel with only a manhole in/out and it hits the fan. Let this guy call Bill Gates or Trump and make a nice, safe big entrance set in the time era of the tunnel. JMO.

[Curly]

They (the CNY) will not let him do anything with the place. I believe, he did get a permit to "probe" one end of the tunnel. Lore has it that the old station with potentially a buried steam engine lay not far from the closed end of the tunnel. I understand what you are saying about safety but to just shut him down with out any options is not really fair.