A mysterious and constant bell ringing at the 50th St. subway station in Hell's Kitchen confounded transit passengers, workers at nearby businesses, and the MTA.
It's a busy subway stop by Times Square and 50th Street and Broadway serving the no. 1 train.
New Yorkers are accustomed to all kinds of sounds, but not this one.
"About a week it's been going on," said Wyatt Babbington, a barista at the Tiny Dancer coffee shop at the station.
The ringing could be heard by the entrance to the southbound no. 1 train. No one knew exactly where it was coming from or how to stop it.
I would love the ringing to end.
Wyatt Babbington, a barista at Tiny Dancer coffee shop at the station
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"I would love the ringing to end," Babbington said.
Local
When passengers first step off a subway train, they won't hear the ringing. But once they get to the stairs, and especially the second set of stairs, they'll hear it loud and clear. The ringing is the loudest by a wall near a staircase.
Behind the wall is a vacant commercial space, which had been occupied by Duane Reade. Babbington said an MTA representative came by the station on Monday and took pictures of the interior of the old Duane Reade.
"He says I think it’s right on this wall which is why you hear it when you go up the stairs," Babbington said.
The MTA tells NBC New York they were able to confirm the news was not coming from the subway station itself.
Late Monday afternoon, the ringing stopped. Walgreens tells NBC New York they were made aware of the alarm at one of their former Duane Reade locations and the alarm was turned off.
However, the ringing is not bothering everyone at the subway station.
"I have no real concern. I’m accustomed to all sorts of things happening," said Michael G. from Brooklyn. "A total New Yorker. Nothing shocks me or weirds me out."
