BRW: Behind the Blind 6

In the sci-fi TV show Star Trek: Voyager, there was a character known only as The Doctor, a hologram who may or may not have been a sentient being. Within the context of the show, no one was sure one way or another, but bottom line: he was an Artificial Intelligence.

In his spare time, he wrote “holo-novels,” scenarios for virtual reality environments where the crew of the Starship Voyager could interact as real or fictitious characters. In one episode, The Doctor’s characters resemble the crew a little too much. 

Today, the use of AI in writing has become a serious debate.

191 St, the MTA’s Deepest Station, is Near Manhattan’s Highest Natural Point

They aren’t connected to each other, but they’re part of the same neighborhood.

by Rich Watson 

Washington Heights, in Manhattan, earns the second part of its name. With step streets to ease pedestrian travel among its hills, you become aware of its topography quickly.

The subway stations in WH are the deepest in New York. The one at 191 Street, for the 1 train, is the deepest of all—and it’s close to Manhattan’s natural peak.

When Broad Channel Serviced the LIRR

This little-known station once was part of the Long Island Railroad.

by Rich Watson 

Between JFK Airport and the Rockaway Peninsula in southern Queens lies the island of Broad Channel, a largely forgotten corner of New York, comparable to Roosevelt Island or City Island in the Bronx. Its lone subway outpost, for the A train, is busiest in the summer, when beachcombers come and go from Rockaway Beach.

Once upon a time, though, the station was for not the MTA, but the Long Island Railroad.