New York City's Subway System Is About to Get Wi-Fi, Other Dope Amenities

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's $27-billion, five-year subway plan includes Wi-Fi and USB charging stations, among other amenities, for each new car.

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In what is probably an attempt to pacify the Brooklynites who might have to ferry it to work next year, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is giving the people what they really want: free, uninterrupted cell usage and all the charging stations their morning commute deserves.

For the low, low price of $27 billion over five years, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority will reportedly add 1,025 WiFi-equipped cars to the subway system; they'll also feature USB charging stations, security cameras, and full-color display screens. 750 of the new cars will have an open-end design, with accordion-like connectors between cars to free up standing space. London, Paris, and Toronto are each also partially implementing similar designs into their respective transit systems by the end of this year. 

"People want to work, and they want their device to work 24 hours a day," Cuomo said Monday at Brooklyn's New York Transit Museum, where he unveiled the plan. "They don't want to have to look up. There has to be WiFi, and there need to be charging ports."

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Aside from adding cars to the system, Cuomo also announced that the MTA planned to renovate 31 subway stations by 2020. The first three stations the MTA will focus on are Brooklyn's Prospect Ave., 53rd St., and Bay Ridge Ave. stations. The first requests for proposals, or RFPs, will be issued for those stations later this week; the rest will be released over the next 12 months. Station closures are not expected to last more than six months. 

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