27419 USA NEW YORK MOLE PEOPLE SEEKING SHELTER IN RAILWAY TUNNELS
Metadata
- 27419 USA NEW YORK MOLE PEOPLE SEEKING SHELTER IN RAILWAY TUNNELS
- October 5, 2021
- Language English
- Transcript/Script USA: NEW YORK: "MOLE PEOPLE" SEEKING SHELTER IN RAILWAY TUNNELS Projects USA: NEW YORK: "MOLE PEOPLE" SEEKING SHELTER IN RAILWAY TUNNELS Story No.: 27419 Restrictions: Tape Number: EF96/0403 In Time: 08:33:51 Duration:00:04:05:24 Source: APTV Dateline: Date: 14/05/1996 04:00 AM Shotlist Go to top New York City, USA, May 11-12, 1996 1. Outside train track with train coming through 2. Road next to track tunnel 3. Train passing along underground track 4. Various underground tracks 5. CU graffiti on track side saying "Drop the gun mole!" 6. Cat walking over train track 7. Food on shelves in underground 8. CU food 9. Mugs on a makeshift table underground 10. SOUNDBITE: Bernard Isaac (with CA of kettle) 11 Fire burning in tunnel 12. Isaac walking across track and into home 13. WS track supports 14. MS track supports 15. Isaac and Margaret Morton walking through tunnel 16. SOUNDBITE: Margaret Morton 17. Various former tunnel dweller Bob Kalinski in his new apartment 18. SOUNDBITE: Bob Kalinski 19. WS track supports 20. Policeman walking up to tunnel home 21. MS policeman talking to tunnel dweller at door of home 22. SOUNDBITE: Sergeant Rich Renaldo 23. Graffiti drawing on wall saying "In December 1995 the forgotten men of the tunnel received city housing". 24. CU' melting clock' graffiti 25. WS 'melting clock' graffiti Storyline Go to top English/Nat For decades homeless people in New York have sought shelter in the maze of railway and subway tunnels that run beneath the city. Their underground existence - one of almost total isolation from the outside world - has become a legend among New Yorkers. Over the years, many have built subterranean homes where they cook, care for pets and work hard to keep out the bitter cold. And they've ignored attempts to shift them. But now, the Amtrack railway company which owns the tunnels has decided it wants the tunnel dwellers out once and for all. Few passers-by ever notice the tunnel dwellers slipping through these gates and descending to their underworld community. New Yorkers know they're there, but few spare them a thought and even fewer have ever encountered them or seen how they live. Down below, the tunnel dwellers have collected the trappings of everyday life. Once underground, a tunnel dweller's biggest worry is watching out for the trains that speed by at 70 miles an hour. (110 kilometres per hour) But that danger aside, some say they prefer living here, away from the chaos of modern society. SOUNDBITE: "I basically simplified this existence. One has to be resourceful and that's the key to it all. Boiling water are the few necessities in this existence. I had ten, 12 people dwelling here for about a two-year time period." SUPER CAPTION: Bernard Isaac, Tunnel Dweller There's a rigorous routine to life underground; although the tunnels provide shelter, they are not warm. Bernard's biggest priority is collecting enough wood each day to keep the fire going. He also gets up in the early hours each day to go out to collect bottles and cans for recycling. That's how he makes money for food and other necessities. The hard grind means there's no time for drugs and alcohol. Bernard and his neighbors are strictly anti-substance abuse and wouldn't welcome addicts into their midst. Many people would find it hard to comprehend why anyone would chose to live underground. But Margaret Morton, a photojournalist who has recently published a book about life in tunnels, has come to understand it. SOUNDBITE: "Homeless people, interestingly enough, have created their own housing, they've created a place for themselves along the street, and they found that, ironically, it creates a situation that's much closer to what one could have in an apartment because they can have their own possessions, they can have their own furniture - a table, a chair, a desk, a bed. They can have pets, which they can't have in a shelter, and they can have a sense of community." SUPER CAPTION: Margaret Morton, Photojournalist Bernard has been in the tunnel for about ten years. But soon he will be leaving, not only because Amtrak is asking him to, but because he feels ready for a new challenge. His former neighboUr, Bob Kalinski, moved out two months ago into housing provided by the city for former homeless people like the tunnel dwellers. He's enjoying his life above ground, but it's been a big adjustment. SOUNDBITE: "Our average was zero to ten below. We were built, we were bundled for it and used to it and so I never had a cold. You know, it's just the idea, it wore on me after a while. The constant getting up... times I didn't want to go out... wasn't feeling good. Then after I had a heart attack it was kind of hard for me, even though we still did it." SUPER CAPTION: Bob Kalinski, Former Tunnel Dweller The city has started a programme to get homeless people out of shelters and off the streets and into decent, affordable housing. Bob got moved quickly, but Bernard, one of the first to sign up, is still waiting. Others, however, don't want to move. Amtrak police, who have begun trying to encourage the tunnel dwellers to leave, expect a certain amount of resistance. SOUNDBITE: "Individuals have chosen to come and live here for whatever reason... they may do drugs, alcohol... separated themselves from society... we've had Vietnam veterans say they prefer it... they're not accepted by society and they prefer to isolate themselves, but I just don;t see that as being good because we're just a tool if we motivate them return back to society and become a productive part. Left alone, they fall into an habitual pattern of maintaining a lower style of life and I don't see how it's in any way, shape or form good for themselves or society." SUPER CAPTION: Sergeant Rich Renaldo, Amtrak police Amtrak wants all the tunnel people out by mid-summer, it considers them a fire risk and a health hazard to themselves. Even though there are less than fifty people living underground, moving them won't be easy. For many it'll be a wrench to leave what they consider the safety and freedom of the tunnels. Their lives, their homes - - and their art - - will become a part of Manhattan history.
- NewsML Media Topics Arts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
- Network VOA
- Expiration Date November 3, 2021 20:29 EDT
- Embargo Date October 22, 2021 13:07 EDT
- Brand / Language Service Voice of America