[Update] Grand Central Elevator Recreates Iconic 'The Shining' Scene With Mysterious, Smelly Black Liquid
July 2, 2019, 2:18 p.m.
'Suddenly a WAVE of what appeared to be (and smelled like) sewage came gushing out of the elevator shaft, splashing some poor tourist family in the process.'
Grand Central Terminal is one of the more beautiful buildings in all of Manhattan, with soaring archways, grand staircases, and glittering ceiling stars. But even the most beautiful parts of the city are not immune to the occasional shitty day.
One horrified commuter, who asked that we withhold her name lest it be forever attached online to what she witnessed, was walking through the subway mezzanine level at Grand Central, near the entrance to the Chanin Building, around 11:45 a.m. on Tuesday when she witnessed a ghastly sight: a black, malodorous liquid pouring out from an elevator, kind of like the iconic scene from The Shining taken to a level even Stanley Kubrick dare not imagine.
"I was walking to work in Grand Central when suddenly a WAVE of what appeared to be (and smelled like) sewage came gushing out of the elevator shaft, splashing some poor tourist family in the process," a witness to the carnage told Gothamist. "Thought y’all might be interested in the aftermath footage." Watch below if you dare.
The witness added that it was "super gross, I wish I had gotten video as it was gushing out, but I was too busy shrieking and jumping backwards." This is making us long for the halcyon days of mere waterfalls dropping on commuters in Grand Central.
"There was much shrieking and groaning, and it DEFINITELY smelled like sewage," she said. "There were no workers around, and everyone just kind of hurried away from it." While she took the video, the tourist family she alluded to were busy "trying to wash themselves off."
The MTA did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the mystery ooze.
At least you can always take the escalator:
In fact, elevators AND escalators have been in and out at Grand Central for the past two weeks. It’s one of your busiest stations @MTA @NYCTSubway. When will you address this dangerous, inaccessible mess?
— ace evangelista (@kandacesays) July 2, 2019
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Update 5 p.m.: The MTA revealed the origin of the black, foul-smelling liquid in a statement: "An ejector that pushes wastewater from the station drainage system to the city sewer system malfunctioned, creating a buildup of water that came out of the floor grates in front of the elevator," they said. "It did not originate from the elevator shaft and did not damage the equipment or affect elevator service. The wastewater is not sewage water but dirty water with sand. It has been fixed, and we apologize to our customers for this incident."
