If you’re passing through Grand Army Plaza Station anytime soon, you’ll surely do a double take when passing by the bodega man who’s suddenly been replaced with a ginormous dinosaur. In fact, what appears to be a typical subway station bodega, isn’t actually a real one at all. It’s a life-size diorama of a bodega.
So why is there a fake bodega and T-rex shopkeeper in the subway station? It’s all part of the MTA’s initiative to utilize 30 vacant former retail spaces for arts and cultural activations to improve the subway’s atmosphere. This specific installation is titled “Rex’s Dino Store.”
Upon announcing the program in 2023, the MTA invited proposals for active and passive activations spanning art installations, general-uses for the community, or support for non-profits or public notifications. Chosen organizations will have access to occupy the units, rent-free, but under a short-term (between a month-to-month or up to one-year) license.
Rex’s Dino Store was imagined by Brooklyn artists Akiva Leffert and Sarah Cassidy. In addition to the human-sized dinosaur made from toilet-paper mâché, Rex’s Dino Store is stocked with the best products for paleozoic life.
So though you can’t order a baconeggandcheese, you can surely find popular snacks like Trilo-Bites, Clawmond Joys, and Meteoritos. Perhaps you’ll want to peruse the magazine section, featuring tabloids such as The Pangaea Times, The Maul Street Journal, Jurassic Park Slope Courier, Dinopolitan, and of course, Sportszillastrated.
Need to pick up a pack of smokes? No problem! Grab some Snarlmoro Reds. Hell, Rex’s Dino Store even sells Dur-rex condoms to give her “earth-shattering experiences.”
The installation premiered May 4th, 2025. Be sure to catch it while it’s still on display.