Look At The Pretty F*&$# F Train

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The way to our Brooklyn house from Manhattan is to take the F Train, otherwise known as the F*&^%$k train because of the frequent delays. overcrowding and outages. It is also pretty dirty and ugly with orange molded plastic seats. Yesterday, four artists boarded an F train and worked on an installation called " No Train Like Home", which involved decorating an entire subway wagon. The redo included bookshelves, curtains and pillows as well as rugs. I love that idea. Can you imagine if the city commissioned more interior decorators to redesign subway wagons? We sure have enough decorators to do this in Manhattan. That would be really cool.
I wonder what colors would look good on the walls. What elements would you love to see in one of these cars?

From the New York Post
RAILROAD APARTMENT
HOME DECORATORS AMBUSH F TRAIN
By JEREMY OLSHAN, Transit Reporter

WELCOME ABOARD: A straphanger gets a pleasant surprise yesterday while boarding an F train car that had been given a more homely look, complete with welcome mats, by a group of guerrilla artists...


April 7, 2007 -- Interior decorators hijacked an F train yesterday morning, transforming Car 5929 into a cozy living room with curtains, flowers, throw pillows and rugs.
The four artists behind this guerrilla installation, dubbed "No Train Like Home," boarded the F in Coney Island at 7:38 a.m. carrying brown paper shopping bags filled with decorations and lots of double-sided tape.
As soon as the doors closed, the foursome started covering up every ad in the car with Andy Warhol prints and images of bookshelves.
They left the subway maps alone.
Carol Tessitore stepped over a homeless man sleeping in the corner and hung garlands overhead. He slept through the entire installation.
Ellen Moynihan said she conceived the project a year ago as a way to highlight "how much of a second home the subway system can be for millions of commuters."
But mostly, she said, she wanted to see how straphangers and the MTA - which was not told about the project - would react.
At Avenue U, a police officer peered in the car and shouted, "What are you doing?"
When the four women responded, "It's an art installation," the officer seemed skeptical, but waved in disgust and the doors closed.
It took 40 minutes to complete the decorations, including welcome mats that were duct-taped by every door.
The snazzy subway car brought smiles to many riders' faces, but some were displeased.
"This is criminal," a woman said. "It may be beautiful, but that's not the issue. They are obstructing the subway."
Valerie Heldt snapped pictures of the work with her cellphone. "Of all the subway cars in the world, I sure am glad I walked into this one," she said.
Transit officials were amused by the work, but said they could not condone it and it would have to be removed.
"We appreciate the design ideas, but we can't have people taking that into their own hands not knowing our system safety requirements," said NYC Transit spokesman Paul Fleuranges.