Real Estate

Tunnel of Luv

On a still day in early September, an Impose correspondent ventured into the Tunnel of Luv, the active Amtrak tunnels under Hells Kitchen, where ghost-tags from past decades stare out frankly from the walls. The passage, which eventually stretches to the more storied Freedom Tunnel under the upper west side, wears tags from Rev, Peek, Espo, Amaze Smith, Sane and countless others.

Text by Nate Dorr
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Photos by Nate Dorr

The space survives directly under the nose of Manhattan's hyper-development, passing under numerous construction sites, including Trump's 18 tower project quickly rising in the west sixties. While the tunnels used to provide shelter for the homeless communities profiled in Jennifer Toth's Mole People, there were only a few wary locals on this visit, all of whom warned our photographer to look out for frequent visits by Amtrak police officers.