An artist recreated a “Subway Therapy” wall in the passageway in the 14th Street passageway between Sixth and Seventh avenues, Nov. 6, 2024. Credit: Jose Martinez/THE CITY
For the second time in eight years, a busy Manhattan subway corridor became a safe space for New Yorkers hoping to unburden themselves of Election Day angst.
Subway riders shared their stream-of-consciousness feelings on colorful sticky notes that dotted the passageway linking the 14th Street stations on Sixth and Seventh avenues — the exact spot where the public art project first surfaced in the wake of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential victory.
Matthew Chavez, the 36-year-old organizer of “Subway Therapy,” said he expects passersby to post close to 20,000 sticky notes by Saturday, with each one taken down nightly and put up again the next day per an agreement with the MTA.
“I never intended it to be a response to Trump being elected,” Chavez told THE CITY. “I just wanted people to be able to express themselves, so I brought sticky notes to the subway.”
“NY, I LOVE YOU!” and “Don’t be afraid” were among the sentiments scrawled by subway riders rattled by Trump and J.D. Vance’s defeat of Democrats Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz.
“I’m in despair and just trying to get on with my day,” said Katie Wagner, 41, a Harris/Walz supporter from Bushwick who paused to write several thoughts on a light blue sticky note. “I’m having so many feelings, I don’t even know where to start.”
Michael Rosen, 28, scribbled “They only win if we give up” on his paper, which he marked up while transferring between to the F train from the neighboring stop for the 1, 2 and 3 lines.
“I think it’s very easy to get very dejected and feel very defeated, especially when something like this happens,” said Rosen, who lives in Ridgewood. “That is what I’m trying to channel here — as difficult as that might be, you’ve got to keep moving…
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