New York commuters are hardy folk, mostly because they often have to overcome a variety of trials and tribulations to get from Point A to Point B. Spend a week riding the MTA and you'll think you've seen it all.
Mind you, even veterans of the MTA probably weren't prepared to see a subway station brimming with water one morning.
So it's little wonder why Kaye Blegvad took a picture of the sight and tweeted out "MTA explain yourself" when she happened upon the scene.
Frankly, it's a bit amazing that one of New York's more colorful citizens hadn't taken their swimming trunks out of storage and gone for a dip.
It was no mistake, and there are tweets to prove it.
"We're pivoting to submarines," the MTA's Twitter account quipped in reply.
"We're doing this because climate change is real," they explained on Twitter.
Even on a dry day, with not a cloud in the sky, it's a battle to keep the system water-free. Below the city, there are 300 pump rooms working day and night to keep the subways dry.
"Manhattan is built on a series of rivers and streams, so there is a huge amount of water just naturally present under the bedrock and within the bedrock," he told NY1.
Even now, in late 2019, the city is still making repairs to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy in 2012, when several subway stations were submerged from track to ceiling.
So, with more frequent and stronger storms predicted for New York, coupled with rising sea levels, the MTA is trying to take some preventative measures ahead of time.
Basically, the flex gate is a stairwell cover made of Kevlar, and manufactured by the same company that made the Apollo 11 space suits. It can be easily deployed by a single worker in case of another Sandy-like situation.
Other measures include large "submarine-like doors and portable vent covers" at various weak points in the system, The Verge reported.
