The circus train, the tracks to nowhere (meaning Main Street, Flushing), New York City’s answer to the dark underbelly of the Las Vegas strip. All of these are metaphors for every New Yorker’s favorite subway line – the #7 train. I traveled it today for the last time. I don’t care if I have to take a bus, a cab, or walk skecthy, industrious Queens Boulevard. I’m not getting back on that route, ever.
Across from me was a man with gigantic headphones, chewing loudly with his mouth open, crunching on an entire bag of Munchos (of which he dumped every last crumb into his mouth) followed by the largest candy bar ever made, all washed down with a 2-liter coke. I thought I was going to be on Candid Camera any moment. This couldn’t be real.
To my left there was a woman so obsessed that she’d miss her stop that she constantly had her body half turned toward the window behind us. (Apparently the window directly across from us was too inconvenient.) This caused her to practically sit in my lap the whole ride. I would have moved except the entire train was packed, no sitting or standing room.
To the right of me a woman was cursing at her boyfriend on the phone, ripping him apart limb from limb because he had had a long day at work, was going to fly to his parents’ for vacation tomorrow, and thus didn’t want to come all the way out to Flushing to meet her for dinner. “You haven’t seen me for three days!” she screamed. GASP!! THREE DAYS??? How ever was she going to make it through??? Then she proceeded to tell him that he was copping an attitude and had better just calm down. She continually would hang up on him, bitch for a second or two to her clueless, stunned friend (“I mean am I WRONG here?”), then immediately call him back to yell at him some more. I wanted to grab the phone out of her hand and explain to this poor guy that there are 3.5 billion women in the world, about 4 million in NYC alone, and he should just get out now. Cut your losses, man.
The woman on my left finally got off the train and was replaced by another woman, this one chomping (again mouth open) on some noxious-smelling bag of fried somethings. Then the train lets us off at 111th Street, despite the fact that I need to go to Main Street and the train says “Manhattan to Main Street.” Did I also mention that I was on what was supposed to be an express, and then midstream changed to a local? Two other #7s passed us by on the platform – “out of service for technical difficulties.” Really? Going one hundred miles per hour in the very direction I need to go in doesn’t look to me like a technical difficulty. Call me crazy…or just another member of the crowd on the 7.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Hi Christa,Gotta say, when I first saw the latest ConEd screw-up, I immediately started to worry about you. I then decided you were driving from Joisey and were fine. (Sorry, I reflexively worry about those I care about…)So great to see you in DC and catch up. Miss you lots,Liz (Harry says hi, he remembers you fondly as one who got him unlimited Sprite refills at CI’s party!)
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