MTA demands amateur artist stop selling unofficial subway map
Between pumping 500,000 gallons of water out of tunnels near Lincoln Center, pulling 298 cars from service over concerns the doors would open mid-ride, and menacing commuters with massive Monday morning delays, the MTA found time in recent weeks to go after an amateur artist selling an unofficial subway map on Etsy. The agency sent a notice to the platform last week and Etsy removed the amateur map for copyright infringement.
Manhattan resident Jake Berman makes transit maps in his spare time; he has more than 150 for sale on his Etsy page. He started mapping the New York City subway system in 2008, after the MTA’s official map led him to waste half an hour waiting on a weekend B train that never came.
He spent 300-plus hours creating a map that, among other things, designates which trains are taken out of service late at night or on weekends. Berman’s map was fairly popular online, even making it to the Wikipedia page for the New York City Subway map alongside the MTA’s official version.