There are hundreds of emergency exits from the NYC subway system — most of them are alarmed and located next to or near the turnstile exits. But some of them serve more than one purpose, and are hiding where you would least expect to find them. The subway system needs to have a certain number of ventilation outlets, and the MTA has not always located those outlets in the vaults below the sidewalk next to the tracks. Like London’s transit authority, the MTA has repurposed at least one of these units as an emergency exit cum fake house. 58 Joralemon St., on a landmarked block in Brooklyn Heights, is not suitable for occupancy by a well-heeled family of six. Though few public records are available online, the fact that it’s a ventilation outlet used by the MTA has been well publicized. Allegedly, there’s nothing behind the facade but catwalks, machinery and metal stairs, all the way down to the tracks below. No word yet on whether there are any others sprinkled throughout the city.
And even though it might be interesting to see the inside of a “fake house” emergency exit in person, note that penalties for exiting through any emergency exit, absent an emergency, make it inadvisable. The NYPD has been cracking down on violators lately. And the MTA has long maintained the position that Subway emergency exits are for emergencies only.