Straphangers

Exclusive | NYC’s ‘Balloon doctor’ will see you now — debt-strapped med grad’s quirky subway side hustle blows up with straphangers

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Exclusive | NYC’s ‘Balloon doctor’ will see you now — debt-strapped med grad’s quirky subway side hustle blows up with straphangers

For Brandon Axelrod, a 27-year-old physician at one of Manhattan’s most acclaimed medical facilities, it’d be easy to have an inflated ego.   But the $405,000 albatross that is his student loan debt keeps the Long Island native grounded.  It’s a humongous, humbling bill that the oral and maximal facial surgery resident is remitting with the help of helium.  … Read more

Chaos in notorious NYC subway station leaves straphangers crying in confusion — and canceling travel plans

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Chaos in notorious NYC subway station leaves straphangers crying in confusion — and canceling travel plans

Lower Manhattan’s Fulton Street subway station is supposed to be a commuter’s dream: a sprawling transit hub linking the 2, 3, 4, 5, A, C, J and Z trains in one central location. Instead, for many straphangers, it’s a labyrinth. The station stitches together four once-separate systems — the IND 8th Avenue Line, IRT Lexington … Read more