The good, bad and the ugly: New Yorkers’ most memorable subway moments as it turns 120

The subway changed Rick McGuire’s life.

No, he didn’t meet his everlastingly person connected nan uptown A train for illustration fiancés Anastasia Gregory and Spencer Seabaugh, nor did he find “American Idol” fame aft launching a crooning career connected position platforms for illustration vocalist Just Sam. 

Instead, nan subway system, which celebrates its 120th day Sunday, gave McGuire a profession spotlighting nan commuters, kooks, trendsetters and go-getters buzzing beneath nan city’s surface. 

“The subway is for illustration nan eighth wonderment of nan world,” McGuire, 40, laminitis of virtual people-watching hub @SubwayCreatures, told The Post. 

His viral vids see everything from early sightings of Gotham’s legendary “Pizza Rat” to clips of Grammy victor Ed Sheeran belting retired “Eyes Closed” pinch subway performer Mike Yung. 

“Down there,” said McGuire, a New Jerseyan-turned-Brooklynite, “you’re surrounded by immoderate of nan astir fascinating humans.”

“People moving astir New York City,” he added, “where they are free to beryllium themselves.”

“One of nan champion things I’ve ever seen successful nan subway was, years ago, location was a personification whose luggage instrumentality sewage stuck betwixt nan train and nan platform,” he said. “The feline was panicking because nan train wasn’t capable to time off until that instrumentality was loosened.

“So everyone sewage disconnected of nan subway car and pushed nan train until nan instrumentality collapsed free. It was 1 of those really awesome New York moments erstwhile strangers activity together — but not needfully to beryllium helpful,” he laughed. “They each conscionable didn’t want to beryllium precocious to wherever they were going.”

Here are much unforgettable subway memories New Yorkers shared pinch The Post.

Hide and squeak

Thomas Trube, 54, of University Place, was listening to euphony while waiting for nan N-R trains astatine 34th Street erstwhile thing rat-tled him.

“As I was looking around, I saw group pointing astatine maine connected nan level and screaming,” he said. “I didn’t cognize what to do and I didn’t cognize what they were pointing at, truthful I ignored it. Then I saw personification really screaming astatine maine and they were pointing down and I saw this immense rat sitting connected my shoe,” he said.

“Without missing a beat, I kicked my ft arsenic nan subway doors opened and nan rat went flying into nan train car. It was for illustration a afloat scary film, group were screaming arsenic nan doorway closed — banging connected nan windows.

“I missed my train.”

Payday afoot

Queens autochthonal Jocelyn Alonzo, 21, didn’t ideate that her prime of footwear could gain her a fewer bucks while riding nan 2 train.

“A feline approached maine and he was like, ‘Can I return pictures of your socks?’ ” Alonzo said. “He was offering money. What did I do? I was like, yeah.”

While initially shocked by his proposal, she couldn’t contradict herself nan free cash, truthful she slipped her rainbow-colored socks retired of her footwear and posed for nan camera.

“Obviously, nan feline decidedly had a ft fetish, it was truthful weird,” she chuckled. “But I was like, hey, this is New York you know, it’s astir apt communal to do this type of weird things.”

Fight nine car

Bushwick resident Bryan Montanez, 28, loves nan subway strategy and insists much bully than bad happens.

However, he has seen “some crazy fights” — astir notably connected a caller J train excursion.

“I saw a man get woken up astatine 1 a.m.,” he recalled. “He wholly hit [the man who woke him up] and past apologized to nan remainder of nan train. He said ‘I’m sorry guys, I was conscionable sleeping.’

“We went from Delancey to Marcy seeing 12 rounds of Mike Tyson.”

I sewage your back

East Village resident Nolan Myerson, 75, has seen subway brawls, too, but erstwhile joined a conflict that had thing to do pinch him — each because he didn’t want a alien to ruin his life.

“Two gentlemen who sewage connected nan train together kept arguing and each of a sudden, they started fighting and swinging astatine each other,” Myerson said. 

The conflict escalated erstwhile 1 missed his plaything and deed his caput connected a pole, which led to excessive bleeding. But he still tried to clasp his ain and fight. 

“This large achromatic feline jumped connected his backmost and tried taking him down,” Myerson said. “I jumped connected nan achromatic guy’s backmost and I did it because he’s yelling, ‘I’m going to termination you.’ I said, ‘You don’t want to do this. You’re going to ruin your life. Get disconnected of him and get disconnected of him now,’ and he did.”

The creation express

For tattoo and coating creator Mira Miriah, 32, of downtown Manhattan, nan subway is her canvas.

“I emotion seeing people’s outfits connected nan subway, nan layers and jackets group deterioration for fall. I usage them arsenic inspiration for my paintings,” Miriah, known online arsenic @girlknewyork, said.

She has stealthily made useful of folks reference connected nan train, tending to their kids, immoderate group doing graffiti and tons of Mets fans.

“I ever see nan Mets successful my art, nan Mets are nan best,” Miriah said. “One is of 3 female Mets fans successful nan subway posed arsenic nan 3 of cups from a tarot deck.”

Love astatine first fight

Violinist Anisa Marcano, 22, commutes regular connected nan A-C-E statement successful Manhattan, but she sewage nan daze of her life aft a drugged-out New Yorker started attacking her.

“I was conscionable sitting location and I said nary fighting words, [but] past she gets up and she starts swinging connected me. [Meanwhile] cipher connected nan train does anything,” she said. “And I’m like, ‘So nary one’s going to thief me.’ I virtually screamed that connected nan train.”

Marcano said nan nutjob followed her onto different train but yet moved connected to different victim. She recalled exiting nan train successful tears erstwhile she saw a bystander who witnessed nan full debacle attack her.

“This feline comes up to maine aft and he’s like, ‘I saw what happened connected nan train. You’re truthful brave. My sanction is this, by nan way. Here’s my number if you request immoderate help,’ ” she said.

Paying it forward

Anthony Darden, of nan South Bronx, saw nan unsmooth broadside of things successful nan ’80s, recalling tons of convulsive robberies. He’s now proud to spot that civility connected nan subway has returned successful caller years.

“This 1 clip connected nan 2 train astir 149th Street, nan full car gave a bum man money. He astir apt sewage disconnected pinch much money than nan group connected nan train had,” he said. “It was bully to spot that.”

A well-spent dollar

East Harlem resident Ivan Torren, 73, besides recalled an enactment of generosity erstwhile he met a Hispanic female who was struggling to transportation 200 bottles she’d collected successful speech for money. 

“I said to her successful Spanish, venti botella, 20 bottles for $1. I wanted to springiness her thing and she started to cry. She took my manus and kissed it. She didn’t opportunity a word.”

Although Torren’s motion made a quality to that woman’s day, he yet “felt terrible.”

“I said, this female is really suffering that overmuch that a dollar meant truthful much,” Torren added.

A time to remember

For 60-year-old Nathaniel Heidenheimer of nan Union Square area, taking nan subway connected nan day of Sept. 11, 2001, is embedded successful his representation forever.

He recalled a typical F train statement moving connected nan Upper West Side astir 4 p.m. to Smith Street into Gowanus.

“It was very, very, very slow … I retrieve successful Brooklyn nan aerial was very clear,” said Heidenheimer, who remembered interactions connected nan train pinch overly anxious New Yorkers, unsure of what had transpired.

“There was an power that was tense and very, very different. People who ordinarily would ne'er talk to 1 different successful their lives were reasoning truthful ‘WTF’ that they were successful a different mode of clip and space.

“Everyone had been jarred retired of their consciousness of normal.”

Party lines

Brooklynite Randy Carr, 72, said aft each her years of surviving successful New York, she’s ne'er been portion of a subway singalong statement until September.

“I was connected a train wherever a feline was playing nan guitar and singing, now this happens each nan clip but this feline was really good, and he started taking [song] requests and nan full car was singing,” Carr said.

Although she couldn’t retrieve nan songs played, she will ne'er hide nan energetic emotion dispersed among subway riders.

“The full car was singing on astatine immoderate point. It was really great,” she said.

Showtime!

Digital nomads Rachel Faulkner, 32, and Frank Ponce, 38 often recreation successful and retired of NYC, but 1 L train travel past wintertime stood out.

“There was this group of older ladies who were having an absolute blast, nan statement was connected nan train for them,” Faulkner said.

“It was besides my day and personification else’s day connected nan train too,” Ponce added. “They started singing ‘Happy Birthday,’ it was large and everybody started joining in.”

Soon enough, nary 1 onboard could defy nan feel-good moment.

“It started retired pinch 2 aliases 3 group and it became nan full car by nan end,” he said. “We were connected our measurement to a show, but nan show was correct there.”