As of February 12, you can hear the most “New York” voices making announcements over subway speakers.
It will be Jerry Seinfeld saying “stand clear of the closing doors” instead of an MTA conductor, thanks to famed Instagram account @newyorknico (aka Nicolas Heller). [featured image source: Unsplash / George Pagan]
The filmmaker and “unofficial talent scout of New York City” recently partnered with the MTA to cast famous New Yorkers as the new voices of the New York subway and buses for the New Year!
Heller announced the news on Instagram in November, and enlisted his followers to help choose who would make the announcements at the beginning of 2021.
“After years of wanting to make this happen, I am so proud to announce I am partnering with the @mta to create new subway and bus announcements with iconic NY’ers for the start of 2021,” he shared. “Rather than personally choosing all the lucky voices for this project, I felt it was important to open it up to you all. So let me know…Who deserves the high honor of being a voice of the MTA? Please comment below with NY icons that you would wanna hear every time you ride the train. If you see someone you agree with, give the comment a ❤️. Thank you NYC!”
And now the time has finally come. The specialized announcements, focusing on COVID-19 safety on the subway, started on Friday, February 12. Over 25 different voices will be heard on subways and buses all across the city.
Here is the full list from the MTA:
- Whoopi Goldberg
- Cam’ron
- Young M.A.
- Jerry Seinfeld
- Edie Falco
- Bowen Yang
- Awkwafina
- Angie Martinez
- Bob the Drag Queen
- Debi Mazar
- Michael Rapaport
- Jadakiss
- DesusNice
- The Kid Mero
- MaliibuMitch
- Dave East
- FivioForeign
- Pat Kiernan
- Angela Yee
- Peter Rosenberg
- Ilana Glazer
- Michael Kay
- Eric Andre
- Abbi Jacobson
There are over 50 recordings, though right now we’re only in the “first phase” of the collaboration, which will run for at least a month. And, of course, each fits with the celeb’s personality. The MTA says the “reimagined announcements are aimed at injecting a dose of authentic New York swagger into the system and providing a morale boost and some much-needed humor for customers returning to the system as New York begins to recover from the pandemic. ”
If you’re not heading on the subway anytime soon, you can still get a listen below!
featured image source: MTA