The MTA was moving merch instead of people Monday.
The agency’s annual pop-up sale drew shoppers looking to buy quirky items like used subway station signs — or just the right MetroCard machine to tie the living room together.
Nearly 700 people braved the rain for this year’s event, where train seats, trash bins, cockpit knobs and dials and switches, and other transit treasures up for sale.
“This is our fourth year doing this, and the crowd size today is the biggest one ever,” said 50-year-old James Whitaker, an MTA employee for the last 30 years who was helping run the event.
“I’ve worked all four years, this is the biggest crowd here today,” he said.
Some of the straphangers who turned out spent hours waiting in the rain in hopes of slipping into the sale before it closed at noon.
“New York’s getting just too expensive and I’m looking to relocate to North Carolina but I wanted to take a piece of New York City with me,” said 42-year-old nurse Diedre Plummer, whose haul included a red “customer assistance intercom” notice that matched her umbrella.
John DiMarco, a 55-year-old retired NYPD cop, picked up a transit police sign for $100.
“I retired from the NYPD after 34 years,” DiMarco said.
“I worked with Mayor Adams from ’95 to ’97 in transit,” he added, holding up his sign. “When I was a sergeant in ’95, me and the mayor worked together here. We worked in the Transit Bureau and this is a great reminder for me!”
Others were looking for last-minute Christmas gifts like signs from their families’ local stops, or coveted Yankees Stadium signs.
“I’m trying to get my hands on the Yankee sign for Christmas present for my uncle,” said Christian O., an 18-year-old Brooklynite. “My aunt asked me. He’s a big collector and he’ll flip over this for Christmas. I’m a little worried, look at this line!”
When gates finally closed at noon, over 300 people were left disappointed and forced to leave empty handed — including one New Yorker who has since moved to San Francisco, and wanted to bring a piece of the Big Apple out west.
“I had to shuffle some plans around to do this but I guess I can always try again next year,” Brian Castro, 35, said.
Monday’s event was open to walk-ins after two days of private appointments, where some people shelled out thousands for items — including antique porcelain Times Square and 42nd Street signs that fetched $2,500 apiece.
The proceeds go to the MTA’s general operating budget and some shoppers are hopeful it might take up the slack on the $68 billion the system is trying to raise to keep things running for the next five years.
“I think any dollars can help but they’re at such a deficit, I don’t think it’s going to make much of a dent,” said 47-year-old Nick Arroyo, a mechanical engineer who picked up a Christmas gift for a sibling who just moved out of state.
“Especially when they’re doing million-dollar surveys on why people jump the turnstiles,” he said, referencing the agency seeking bids up to $1 million to help understand the mindset of fare evaders.
“They’re blowing money like crazy!” he added.
