antennae bolted to underground grate on eastern pk greenway?

this is just west of the franklin avenue stop on the eastern parkway greenway (the north side one). there's also a big rock on top of the grate.

anyone know its purpose(s)?

my gal and i were walking the dog on saturday and she saw a well-dressed man (suit; sans uniform) pick up the rock, open the grate and hoist himself down along with his duffle bag and close the grate before disappearing underground. maybe it was lex luthor? i missed the whole thing as I was picking up our dog's number two. of course.

anyway, my gal notified the authorities, reasoning it was better to tell someone because she "saw something" as the ad goes, and to her, it spiked a bit from the generally continuous level of "normal weird new york" experienced regardless.

we differed on our opinions; i thought it was possibly some art project/performance piece, or just some dude trying to buck subway fare. maybe he lives down there and has rabbit-ear analog tv hookup? and maybe that hookup is dysfunctional now due to the digital transition (dunno if old analog tv would work down there anyway)? anyway, what's up with the antennae, et al?

any knowledge, guesstimates, opinions of this bit of ephemera?

thanks,

Oh my. This is fascinating. Please, please keep us informed!

I'm for the Lex Luthor theory, myself.

will do. next time you're out that way take a gander. it's a bit odd. the antennae i mean. we haven't noticed it before, but that doesn't mean it hasn't been there for awhile. maybe we just didn't notice it: though it's not what i would call subtle -- it's fairly large, an old style suburban roof antennae -- it blends with its surroundings. and like i said it appears bolted down. so maybe it's a repeater of some type, for the cops? or lex?

and i should have written "antenna" NOT the plural "antennae"

it is singular, one antenna.

picture or it didn't happen

So who here is going to pick up the rock and go down there to check it out?

stop snitching!

i say we organize a recon mission...

new2nyc wrote: i say we organize a recon mission...

video!

probably a squatter or Time Warner servicing the mole people.

or, perhaps a way for the MTA workers below ground to talk with MTA workers above ground via handheld or CB radios:

MTA truck on surface: "Hey, I'm up here with the parts you need, send me some guys to help unload"

Workcrew in tunnel: "we'll send 3 guys to unload, and 3 guys to lean against the truck and watch the other 3"

just a thought....

P.S. Am I the only one who thinks this thread lacks a Men in Black reference? ...c'mon, Superman doesn't exist, but aliens are all around us!

Did you have on sunglasses? Oh wait you said you bent down doing the doo with No. 2. That's why the flash didn't get you.

someone should provide some insight somehow.

maybe it's a fab lab:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125866561&ft=1&f=1019

actually, after a bit of research, it's seems most plausible that it's some amalgam of the city's notoriously effed up radio communications system, which blends old and new antennae.

as to who dude was, my guess is he's harmless, or official. maybe he was called upon to tweak something for work but was on his way to a wedding (it was saturday) so he had to descend in full suit regalia. or:

i still want to believe it's some dapper lex luther who's had a moral awakening; getting his phd in philosophy from phoenix university online down there and watching old reruns of mash via the rabbit ears. he's seen the light, but still prefers it underground.