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| Awkwafina’s Latest Role: Subway Announcer. New Yorkers Have Thoughts | Awkwafina’s Latest Role: Subway Announcer. New Yorkers Have Thoughts |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Regular riders aboard the No. 7 train could tell something was different on Thursday as it rumbled between Manhattan and Queens. The voice crackling over the subway’s speaker system seemed off somehow: It was peppy — sarcastic even — and lighthearted in a way that clashed with the usual, ponderous tone of the daily commuting grind. | Regular riders aboard the No. 7 train could tell something was different on Thursday as it rumbled between Manhattan and Queens. The voice crackling over the subway’s speaker system seemed off somehow: It was peppy — sarcastic even — and lighthearted in a way that clashed with the usual, ponderous tone of the daily commuting grind. |
| “This is 69th Street, which is definitely, definitely not funny in any way,” it chirped. | “This is 69th Street, which is definitely, definitely not funny in any way,” it chirped. |
| “This is Times Square 42nd street, where New Yorkers go to relax,” it crooned. | “This is Times Square 42nd street, where New Yorkers go to relax,” it crooned. |
| The voice belonged to rapper-turned-actress, Nora Lum, who is better known as Awkwafina and who has taken over the conductor announcements on the 7 train as part of a publicity campaign to promote her new show on Comedy Central, “Nora From Queens.” | The voice belonged to rapper-turned-actress, Nora Lum, who is better known as Awkwafina and who has taken over the conductor announcements on the 7 train as part of a publicity campaign to promote her new show on Comedy Central, “Nora From Queens.” |
| Ms. Lum, who had roles in “The Farewell,” “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Ocean’s 8,” grew up in Forest Hills, Queens. She also just became the first Asian-American to win best actress in a motion picture at the Golden Globes. | |
| The recordings — peppered with dad jokes (“The next stop is Manhattan so we’re going underwater, hold your breath!”) and fun facts about New York (“This is 42nd Street-Bryant Park, the New York City Public Library is here!”) — are the first in a pilot program by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and its advertising partner, Outfront Media, to tap celebrity announcers. | |
| Awkwafina will be the voice of the 7 train for the next week. | Awkwafina will be the voice of the 7 train for the next week. |
| “We are exploring new and different ways to generate much needed revenue, while also surprising and delighting customers,” said Sarah Meyer, chief customer officer at M.T.A. New York City Transit, in a statement. “Our focus will always be to run the trains safely and on time, and if a well-known voice can bring attention to in-car messaging, we are all for it.” | “We are exploring new and different ways to generate much needed revenue, while also surprising and delighting customers,” said Sarah Meyer, chief customer officer at M.T.A. New York City Transit, in a statement. “Our focus will always be to run the trains safely and on time, and if a well-known voice can bring attention to in-car messaging, we are all for it.” |
| Transit officials said they had not yet added another celebrity announcer to the list and are soliciting feedback from riders about the Awkwafina No. 7 train takeover to determine if they will do so. They did not say how much Comedy Central had paid for the campaign. | |
| In almost any other city, a new train announcement might seem like little more than a fun stunt, easily drowned out with a pair of headphones if it didn’t meet a rider's approval. | In almost any other city, a new train announcement might seem like little more than a fun stunt, easily drowned out with a pair of headphones if it didn’t meet a rider's approval. |
| But this is New York, where everyone has an opinion and are generally not shy about sharing it. | But this is New York, where everyone has an opinion and are generally not shy about sharing it. |
| And then there is the fact that this is not the first time a celebrity voice is making a cameo on public transit. In the past they have been met with a passion usually reserved for age-old debates like how many roommates can you fit in a studio apartment and should a bagel be toasted. | And then there is the fact that this is not the first time a celebrity voice is making a cameo on public transit. In the past they have been met with a passion usually reserved for age-old debates like how many roommates can you fit in a studio apartment and should a bagel be toasted. |
| On Thursday morning, the announcements blaring from the 7 train’s speakers confused many riders with Awkwafina’s upbeat voice a jarring contrast with the overcrowded, trash-strewn and delay-filled underworld that is the New York City subway. | On Thursday morning, the announcements blaring from the 7 train’s speakers confused many riders with Awkwafina’s upbeat voice a jarring contrast with the overcrowded, trash-strewn and delay-filled underworld that is the New York City subway. |
| “At first I thought one of the conductors was being a wise guy, then it’s just like O.K. That’s cute. Stop it now,” said Danielle Frederick, 53, an artist who lives in Maspeth, Queens. | “At first I thought one of the conductors was being a wise guy, then it’s just like O.K. That’s cute. Stop it now,” said Danielle Frederick, 53, an artist who lives in Maspeth, Queens. |
| Other riders had more visceral reactions. | Other riders had more visceral reactions. |
| “They were a bit jarring, she’s screaming, she’s literally screaming,” said Crispina Muriel, 36, a software engineer who lives in Queens. | “They were a bit jarring, she’s screaming, she’s literally screaming,” said Crispina Muriel, 36, a software engineer who lives in Queens. |
| Still, some found the humor a welcome respite from an often uninspiring train ride. | Still, some found the humor a welcome respite from an often uninspiring train ride. |
| As one train pulled into the Court Square station, Ms. Lum chirped: “Please remember, poles are for hands only.” | As one train pulled into the Court Square station, Ms. Lum chirped: “Please remember, poles are for hands only.” |
| A 17-year-old boy chuckled as he looked at his mother, her back resting against the silver pole near the train door. | A 17-year-old boy chuckled as he looked at his mother, her back resting against the silver pole near the train door. |
| “Did you hear that, poles are for hands only,” the boy, Tanzil Phillip, told her. | “Did you hear that, poles are for hands only,” the boy, Tanzil Phillip, told her. |
| “But I don’t want to touch the poles! They’re dirty!” she said, before asking if he had any hand sanitizer. | “But I don’t want to touch the poles! They’re dirty!” she said, before asking if he had any hand sanitizer. |
| Mr. Phillip said he enjoyed the pithy announcements. “It’s funny,” he said. “And better than some old man robotic voice.” | Mr. Phillip said he enjoyed the pithy announcements. “It’s funny,” he said. “And better than some old man robotic voice.” |
| Mr. Phillip is not from New York. | Mr. Phillip is not from New York. |
| In an extremely unscientific poll of riders on the 7 train Thursday morning, the divided opinions seemed to fall along age lines (baby boomers did not seem to like the change) as well as ideological ones: Do riders prefer to avoid any possible interaction with fellow commuters or are they open to an opportunity to laugh with strangers at inside jokes about the city, as Ms. Lum’s announcements seem to encourage? | In an extremely unscientific poll of riders on the 7 train Thursday morning, the divided opinions seemed to fall along age lines (baby boomers did not seem to like the change) as well as ideological ones: Do riders prefer to avoid any possible interaction with fellow commuters or are they open to an opportunity to laugh with strangers at inside jokes about the city, as Ms. Lum’s announcements seem to encourage? |
| In the late 1990s, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission enlisted around 40 celebrities to record announcements reminding passengers to use seatbelts and take their belonging as they left the cab. | In the late 1990s, the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission enlisted around 40 celebrities to record announcements reminding passengers to use seatbelts and take their belonging as they left the cab. |
| But the commission pulled the plug on the program after a survey it conducted found that 67 percent of people questioned thought the recordings were ineffective. | But the commission pulled the plug on the program after a survey it conducted found that 67 percent of people questioned thought the recordings were ineffective. |
| An informal survey of popular opinion at the time found that an overwhelming majority of New Yorkers taxi riders and drivers passionately hated the announcements, with the publisher of one taxi trade newspaper referring to them as verbal torture. | |
| And older New Yorkers might remember Mayor Edward I. Koch’s recorded announcements on Sanitation Department street cleaning trucks in the late 1980s. | And older New Yorkers might remember Mayor Edward I. Koch’s recorded announcements on Sanitation Department street cleaning trucks in the late 1980s. |
| In his unmistakably nasally tone, Mr. Koch would yell out to drivers blocking the trucks: “Get it outta here!” | In his unmistakably nasally tone, Mr. Koch would yell out to drivers blocking the trucks: “Get it outta here!” |
| Audio from Outfront Media. | Audio from Outfront Media. |