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Miss Subways 2025

Miss Subways poster: Friday July 18 at Coney Island USA

Friday, July 18, 7-11 pm (8 pm showtime)

Coney Island USA Sideshows by the Seashore Theater (1208 Surf Ave, Brooklyn)

Tickets: $30 General/$10 City Reliquary members. Buy Now!

MISS SUBWAYS 2025 TICKETS

The City Reliquary will present the 2024 Miss Subways spectacle on Friday, July 18. We’re once again working with our friends at Coney Island USA, NYC’s historic nexus of the weird and whimsical. Join us at the Sideshows by the Seashore Theater (1208 Surf Avenue). Tickets are on sale now! ($30 general, $10 for City Reliquary members).

A diverse lineup of contestants will represent their subway line of choice for a panel of local celebrity judges in Costume, Talent, and Interview categories.

The winner will receive the transit tiara, the subway sash, and the title of Miss Subways 2025. (Photo credit: Kevin Jackson @actionjackson_tm_)


The winner will be crowned by Miss Subways 2024, Brooklyn bombshell Queerly Femmetastic! (Photo credit: Kevin Jackson @actionjackson_tm_)

MISS SUBWAYS 2025 TICKETS

The 2025 Miss Subways Contestants

Izzy B (she/her)
Teresa Hui (she/her)
Fortissima of the F Train (she/her)
Pete Zaparty (they/he)
Sally Ann Hall (she/her)
Amazing Amy (she/her)
Bimini Cricket (she/her)
Emily Hupp (she/her)
MISS SUBWAYS 2025 TICKETS
  • Izzy B (she/her), transit justice advocate and performer. Representing the 1 train.
  • Teresa Hui (she/her), actor, opera singer, and marathoner. Credits include the Apollo Theater, the Brooklyn Cyclones, and the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Representing the B/Q.
  • Fortissima of the F Train (she/her), operatic mermaid, community builder, and professional sparkle distributor. Representing the F train.
  • Pete Zaparty (they/he), artist and Irish dancer. Recently awarded “Best Plumage” in the Pigeon Impersonation Pageant on the High Line. Representing the L/M.
  • Sally Ann Hall (she/her), award-winning standup comedian and cabaret singer. Representing the J.
  • Amazing Amy (she/her), senior yoga practitioner and contortionist who spreads the yoga love. Representing multiple lines.
  • Bimini Cricket (she/her), comedic burlesque performer from the land down under. Representing the B train.
  • Emily Hupp (she/her), history buff and style icon, frequent participant in the Easter Bonnet Parade. Representing the 42nd Street Shuttle.

The Master of Ceremonies

Presiding over this year’s subway-themed extravaganza is performer and director Tom Meglio. Tom is the co-writer and host of the musical-sketch-comedy show Ze Follies Dorée!, which just completed a sold out run Off-Broadway at the AMT Theatre on 45th Street. He has performed at Carnegie Hall, 54 Below, The Slipper Room, and the Laurie Beechman Theatre. As a director Tom has staged productions at Adult Film Theatre Company, and The Brooklyn Centre for Theatre Research. Most recently, he served as the Assistant Director for Dilaria, by Julia Randall, currently running Off-Broadway at the Daryl Roth Theatre. @tommeglio @zefolliesdoree

The Celebrity Judges

This year’s Miss Subways judges come from the worlds of performance, comedy, and journalism. They’re artists who help make and keep NYC a cultural hotspot, advocates for the best of local culture, style icons, award winners, and the voice of our daily commute.

Brini Maxwell, domestic doyenne
Charlie Pellett, Voice of the NYC Subway
Ella Louise Smith, “Miz E with a Z”. Credit: Isambert Photography
Lisa Levy, Miss Subways 2017. Credit: Brian Zak

Brini Maxwell, domestic doyenne

Described as part Donna Reed, part Mary Tyler Moore, Maxwell makes kitsch feel classy through her unparalleled personal flair for home design, entertaining and savvy household tips. She began sharing her domestic know-how on her eponymous show on cable access and later moved to the Style network. Her love of 20th century culture and design means she’s tickled pink to be a judge for the Miss Subways Contest. She’s currently producing content for YouTube and acting as a muse for the art of her creator, Ben Sander.

Charlie Pellett, voice of the New York City Subway

Charlie is a veteran news anchor and reporter for Bloomberg Radio. Most importantly, as one of the designated official voices of the New York City subway system, Charlie Pellett asks riders to “Stand clear of the closing doors, please!” Before joining Bloomberg in 1992, Pellett spent a decade at 1010 WINS in New York City. He also worked as a news writer for CNN, as a disc jockey in Northampton, MA, and co-hosted a Friday night call-in show with former New York City Mayor Ed Koch.

Ella Louise Smith, “Miz E with a Z”

Co-Producer, Powell Leonard’s “The Kong Show” & Powella Production’s “We Make Events!” Ella Louise is an actress and performer. She appears as Miz E with a Z (and as her own twin sister) on Powell Leonard’s web series, “The Kong Show on TV,” filmed in Astoria, Queens. She is currently promoting an upcoming filmmaking workshop with independent filmmaker Keith Powell of Urban Artistic Films at Dave Silverberg’s film, photography and event studio, 3636 Studio, in the Kaufman Arts District, Long Island City, Queens. Ella was awarded Miss Congeniality at the Miss Subways 2023 event. She is thrilled to be a judge for the Miss Subways 2025 contest. Follow Ella Smith on Instagram at Miz_E_with_a_Z

Lisa Levy, Miss Subways 2017

Lisa Levy is a comedian, conceptual artist, and Miss Subways 2017 (the first postmenopausal Miss Subways!). Her performance work has been featured in publications such as the New York Times and The London Times. Her visual art has been exhibited at The New Museum, The Bronx Museum, SPRING/BREAK Art Fair, The Pulse Art Fair, and The Brooklyn Academy of Music. She hosts a weekly show on Radio Free Brooklyn, Dr. Lisa Gives a Sh*t, where she conducts funny, emotionally revealing “psychotherapy sessions” with a range of creative guests. @misssubways2017 @drlisalevysp @lisalevyartwork

MISS SUBWAYS 2025 TICKETS

Don’t miss the crowning of this year’s metro monarch! See you at the seashore!

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We’re Seeking Miss Subways 2024!

Miss Subways 2024
Friday, May 31, 2024, 7-11 PM
Coney Island USA Sideshows by the Seashore Theater (1208 Surf Ave)

We’re looking for our next Miss Subways!

The City Reliquary invites applications to compete in its 2024 Miss Subways event on Friday, May 31, 7:00-11:00 pm. We’re thrilled to partner with Coney Island USA once again at that historic nexus of the weird and whimsical, Coney Island USA’s Sideshows by the Seashore Theater.

This year we’ll also be wishing the New York City subway system a happy 120th birthday!

Are YOU Miss Subways 2024?

This year, contestants will compete in THREE CATEGORIES evaluated according to creativity, originality, and skill:

  • Costume (new for 2024!)
  • Talent
  • Interview

Application open now! Submit by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, May 7, to be considered.

Apply to be Miss Subways 2024

Last year’s performances included a dance by a mad scientist with Doc Ock arms, a dizzying hula hoop routine dedicated to the 7 train, and a subway-inspired rendition of “What I Did For Love” from A Chorus Line. Read more about the 2023 City Reliquary Miss Subways event from Brooklyn Magazine. Previous Miss Subways events received coverage from Atlas Obscura and The New York Times, among other outlets.

MX MAD SCIENTRESS at Miss Subways 2023. Photo by Matt Josephson (@matty2jay).
Lena Horné at Miss Subways 2023. Photo by Matt Josephson (@matty2jay).

About Miss Subways

The City Reliquary Miss Subways updates the historic “Miss Subways” beauty contest held in New York City from 1941 to 1976 (and resurrected once by the MTA in 2004) for the 21st century. The City Reliquary event expands on the progressive history of Miss Subways as the first racially integrated beauty competition and invites contestants of all gender identities, body types, and ages 18+ to apply. The first City Reliquary Miss Subways was presented in 2017.

Contestants representing their subway line of choice compete for the prized title of Miss Subways and the transit tiara. A panel of local celebrity judges will evaluate their costumes, their answers to subway-themed questions and their talent show performance to determine who will represent NYC straphangers as the next Miss Subways!

Miss Subways 2017 Lisa Levy. Photo by Brian Zak for the New York Post.

The winner will join an illustrious lineup. Past winners of the City Reliquary Miss Subways are artist and comedian Lisa Levy (Miss Subways 2017), urban planner Parker MacLure (Miss Subways 2018), musician and director Dylan Mars Greenberg (Miss Subways 2019), and marketing pro by day/costumer and performer by night Harmony Hardcore (Miss Subways 2023–the first since the pandemic). 

Event details for 2024, including the celebrity judge panel, coming soon!

About Coney Island USA

Coney Island USA exists to defend the honor of American popular culture through innovative exhibitions and performances. Presenting and producing exciting new works, our approach is rooted in mass culture and the traditions of P.T. Barnum, dime museums, burlesque, circus sideshows, vaudeville, and Coney Island itself. Preserving and championing a set of uniquely American visual and performing art forms, we seek to create an international forum for cultural preservation and discourse, and where Coney Island represents these impulses, we strive to make it once again a center for live art and entrepreneurial spirit. Learn more at  https://www.coneyisland.com/. Follow on Instagram at @coney.island.usa and on Facebook at @coneyislandusa.

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Liberty, the Tattooed Lady: Call for Exhibition Submissions


The City Reliquary seeks tattoo flash, drawings, acetates, and photos of tattoos that depict the Statue of Liberty for an upcoming exhibit and book project: Liberty the Tattooed Lady. The show, curated by Michelle Myles of Daredevil Tattoo & Museum, will run from February through June 2024.

Original art and artifacts will be hung in the show. If your object can’t be loaned, we also invite submissions of digital images of examples of Lady Liberty ink for inclusion in the book project.

To be considered for the exhibit and accompanying book, please submit your information and images of your object submissions to [email protected] by December 1.

Stay tuned for more details on this upcoming exhibition!

Daredevil Tattoo opened in 1997, when tattooing was legalized in New York City. The shop houses the Museum of Tattoo History, which features a world-class collection of artifacts focusing on the history of tattooing in New York City.

The collection features artifacts from the early roots of modern tattooing with original artwork by Samuel O’Reilly, Bert Grimm, August “Cap” Coleman, George Burchett, Sailor Jerry and many more. Antique tattoo machines, original photos, news articles and sideshow banners are also included in the collection. The shop is located on the border of the historic Lower East Side and Chinatown, just a few blocks east of the Bowery and Chatham Square where O’Reilly, Charlie Wagner, Millie Hull, and other legendary tattoo artists plied their trade. Website: https://www.daredeviltattoo.com/

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Wonder Woman Events!

Art by Isabel Samaras

The City Reliquary’s new exhibit, Wonder Women: NYC’s Heroes of Heterodoxy spans topics of feminism, equality, and community—all subjects that we at the museum hold dear and are determined to highlight and uplift.

In the spirit of Wonder Women everywhere, we have teamed up with some amazing community members to educate, inspire, and entertain you!

Get tickets to all events here, at our Withfriends events page. Museum Members may reserve free tickets through the same page.

Friday, June 24th
Opening Reception

– Open house, museum tours, informative talks, and some surprise performances –
 

Saturday, June 25th
Cartoon Carnival

– Vintage 33mm film cartoon showing with the theme: Wonderful Women –
 

Thursday, June 30th
Carousel


– A comics reading and performances focusing on Women in Comics –

Thursday, July 14th
Bare Book Club

– Women who love to read naked will be reading excerpts from articles, books, slash fiction, and more celebrating the world of comics –
 

Thursday, July 28th
Superhero Burlesque


– A sexy show where all kinds of superheroes take it all off in the name of comics –

Friday, August 26th
Lookalike Contest

– Enter to win a variety of prizes in several categories in this silly and enthralling competition to be the most like Wonder Woman –
Click here to submit a short form to compete!

And More TBA!

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Seeking Submissions for Wonder Women Zine! Deadline April 18, 2022!

Black and white illustration of a fist holding a coiled rope and wearing a dark armband
Wonder Woman-inspired illustration by Leslie Lanxinger

The City Reliquary Museum, in collaboration with Desert Island, is conducting a call for submissions of artwork and creative or academic writing related to or inspired by the popular icon, Wonder Woman.  

Submissions will be considered for inclusion in a 32-page comic book, edition of 2000 titled “Wonder Women: NYC’s Heroes of Heterodoxy.” Edited by Desert Island founder, Gabe Fowler and City Reliquary founder, Dave Herman; it will serve as a companion piece to the museum exhibition of the same name on view at the City Reliquary Museum beginning in June 2022. The comic book will be distributed free to supporters of the City Reliquary and Desert Island, and to select comic book dealers throughout NYC. Selected contributors will receive 10 free copies of the publication.

Other contributors to the museum exhibit and limited edition comic book include:

  • Trina Robbins; artist and author, The Legend of Wonder Woman, and It Ain’t Me Babe
  • R. Sikoryak; artist, The Unquotable Trump, and Constitution Illustrated 
  • Robyn Smith; artist, Nubia: Real One, and Wash Day Diaries
  • Tim Hanley: author, Wonder Woman Unbound, and Betty and Veronica: The Leading Ladies of Riverdale
  • Noah Berlatsky: author, Wonder Woman, Bondage and Feminism in the Marston/Peter Comics 1941-1948
  • Karen Green; Curator for Comics and Cartoons at Columbia University
  • Andy Mangels; author, editor; Gay Comix, founder/curator; Wonder Woman Museum 

The publication and exhibition will address additional themes integral to the Wonder Woman comics and their surrounding NYC history including:

  • Early 20th century birth control pioneers
  • Underground and Gay Comix 
  • 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-generation feminists 
  • BIPOC representations in comic art 
  • NYC protest activities including women’s suffrage parades, pride parades, the BLM movement
  • Women’s, Transgender, and Queer liberation.    

More about the museum exhibition:

For over a century, all across New York City, the women behind the fascinating evolution of Wonder Woman have rejected social norms and fought tirelessly to break the chains of orthodoxy in its many forms. Beginning with the suffrage movement in Greenwich Village and the nation’s first birth control clinic in Brownsville, the character’s unique history grew to span a polyamorous triad at Columbia University, a mental health clinic in Harlem, a Lower East Side bohemian boutique, the United Nations Building, and Black Lives Matter protests throughout the city. Explore the remarkable women who inspired the triumphant and troubling journey of America’s favorite female superhero in the City Reliquary Museum’s exhibit: Wonder Women: NYC’s Heroes of Heterodoxy. 

Submissions should be received by Friday, April 18th 2022.

Email submissions to: [email protected]

Text: No more than 500 words.

Artwork: Single page or 2 page spread. Final artwork should be 6”x9” per page 300 DPI resolution, black and white or CMYK, pdf or jpg format.

Download submission call sheet with specs:
Download


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New COVID-19 Guidelines for Visitors (as of 8/16/21)

Hello there! Interested in visiting the City Reliquary? The Museum is open on Saturdays and Sundays from 12-6 p.m. Visitors have two different options:

  1. Make a reservation for a 45-minute time slot, during which you and your party will have the Museum to yourselves. These time slots begin at 12:00, 12:45, 3:00, and 3:45 each Saturday and Sunday. One person will pay for admission in advance and additional members of the group will pay at the door.
  2. Come to the Museum without a reservation during our first-come, first-served open hours. These are from 1:30 to 3:00 and 4:30 to 6:00 each Saturday and Sunday.

Following current NYC guidelines, ALL VISITORS to the Museum ages 12 and older must show proof that they have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use by the FDA or WHO. We also ask that visitors to the Museum ages 2 and older wear a mask indoors.

Proof of vaccination may include:

If you received the vaccine outside the U.S., you must have an official immunization record that includes:

  • First name and last name
  • Date of birth
  • Vaccine product name (only vaccines authorized by the WHO are acceptable)
  • Date(s) administered
  • Site where the vaccine was administered, or name of the person who administered it

In the spirit of civic solidarity, we want visiting the Museum to be a safe experience for all our visitors and volunteers. Thank you for your cooperation in this endeavor.

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Looking for our Events Calendar?

Hello City Reliquary website visitor! For the latest listing of our upcoming events, please visit our Withfriends page here! You can purchase tickets or reserve Member tickets to all upcoming events through that site.

Consider becoming a sustaining member of the City Reliquary – you can do that our Withfriends site as well.

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The History of Bazooka Joe! Thursday June 10 at 8 pm

The History of Bazooka Joe

Thursday, June 10 – Presentation at 8 – Doors at 7

$7 General Admission – Free for City Reliquary Members (tickets required)

The City Reliquary is proud to present a very special event celebrating America’s favorite eyepatched rascal Bazooka Joe! A distinguished panel of candy and comics experts will discuss the history of the iconic character and his lasting impact on marketing and design.

Our guests include:

Ira Friedman has spent his career on the merchandising side of pop culture. Since his early days at Starlog and Fangoria magazines, to a stint at Lucasfilm during the original release of The Empire Strikes Back and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Ira landed at Topps in 1988 as the director of new product development. Since that time, Ira has been a fixture at the famed bubble gum and trading card company involved in hundreds of different projects, publishing, and confectionery products – ‘homegrown’ and licensed.

Charles Kochman is the Editorial Director of Abrams ComicArts and editor of the #1 bestselling series Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney. For thirty-five years, Kochman has edited several hundred books for all age groups, including award-winning picture books, middle-grade novels, retrospectives, monographs, graphic novels, and art book collections published by Abrams, DC Comics, MAD magazine, Bantam Books, and Putnam. He is a recipient of the Inkpot Award, presented by Comic-Con International for achievement in comics.

Jason Liebig is regarded as one of the nation’s foremost experts on candy and snack food brand history and is considered an arbiter of candy as pop culture and nostalgia.  As such, he has written hundreds of articles on the subject matter and has served as a brand consultant as well as period television consultant for shows such as Stranger Things, Young Sheldon, Mad Men, and more.  His unique perspective and expert knowledge have led him to become an occasional television host and frequent guest, sharing his love of the candy and snack worlds he loves.  Blog: http://www.collectingcandy.com/wordpress/

R. Sikoryak is a cartoonist and author of the graphic novels Constitution Illustrated, The Unquotable Trump, Masterpiece Comics, and Terms and Conditions (Drawn & Quarterly). His comics and illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times Book Review, The Nation, The Onion, and more. Sikoryak presents his live comics performance series, Carousel, around the U.S. and Canada. 

Special guest appearance by M. Sweeney Lawless, writer of ill repute. Twitter: @Specky4Eyes

Bazooka Joe and his Gang appeared in mini-comics on Bazooka bubble gum wrappers starting in 1954. The comic concept was the brainchild of Woody Gelman and Ben Solomon, heads of product development at Topps, and the original comic artist was Wesley Morse. Topps, the king of trading card companies, has been based in NYC since 1947.

Admission to the Museum and The Call of Candy exhibit included – come early to check out vintage Topps and Bazooka Joe ephemera as well as that of other NYC candy manufacturers from the 1800s to today!

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The City Reliquary Proudly Presents: The Call of Candy!

Candy is the fifth food group, the fourth meal of the day, the one that you eat in between all the other meals. And as candy changed from treats sold by the pound from jars atop counters to mass-produced, mass-marketed chews and bars with colorful names, New York City was home to a thriving collection of candy and chocolate manufacturers, employing thousands of New Yorkers. 
America was growing into a candy-eating and candy-producing nation, and that candy (along with the American practice of eating it other than at mealtimes) would be exported all over the globe, much of it originating from here in the Big Apple. At the beginning of the 20th Century, the waterfronts of the East River were lined with sugar refineries, such as the Domino Sugar Corporation on Kent Street, started by the Havemeyer family, namesake of the street not ten yards from the Reliquary’s front door. 

The refined sugar was used by candy manufacturers all over Brooklyn and the surrounding boroughs. In 1908, Brooklyn produced 130,000,000 pounds of confections, serving not only the 560 candy shops across Kings County, but also for national and international export and sale to the U.S. government for use as military rations.

Female employees wrapping candies at large tables in a factory for Wallace Candies in 1914.
Wallace Candy Factory, 1918

From the Rockwood Candy Company near the Navy Yards, to Phoenix Candy Company of Greenwood Heights and the nearby Topps Chewing Gum of Industry City, to Manhattan’s Huyler’s Candy on Irving Place near Union Square, this exhibition displays wrappers, packages, and ephemera of NYC’s boisterous history of candy-making on an industrial scale.
As declared by the National Confectioners Association in the 1920s, “Candy is delicious food—enjoy some every day!”

Bazooka Joe comics on bubblegum wrappers
Bazooka Joe bubblegum wrappers, manufactured by Topps in Brooklyn, NY

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Nov. 23 – We Did It! Sustainability Goal Reached!

Many models of the Statue of Liberty in different sizes and materials on display at the City Reliquary

We did it!!

Last night, our supporters proved that there IS a future for the City Reliquary Museum on Metropolitan Avenue! With the help of hundreds of sustainable memberships, we were able to reach our goal, securing a new path forward for our beloved community-built organization.

This has not been simply an “end-of-the-year” fund drive, or a way to help a small business survive a global health tragedy. This is a new model for our long-term viability that will last us as long as our members are by our side.

If you became a member over the past two months, you didn’t simply get us over a hurdle, you established a new road ahead. You committed to helping us see beyond the current challenges and provided us with a backbone that will help us thrive.

Having met our most basic needs for survival in the storefront space, we are now working to rebuild our coffers to support the programming and exhibitions we will once again be able to deliver in our Williamsburgh home.

As more memberships continue to push us past our basic goal, we are able to start thinking about what more we can do beyond simply paying the storefront rent.

Additional memberships and donations will help us; rehire our one part-time administrative staff position, resume efforts to catalog our collections and make them accessible to remote visitors, and resume planning for the public exhibitions we’ve put on hold since the summer.

Just weeks ago, we had to consider the very real thought that this would be the end of the road for the museum as we knew it. Now we see that it is the end of what we once knew, but for the better. Rather than packing and relocating countless city relics, we can once again plan on delivering the unique blend of art, history, and civic pride that made us a part of this community.

The work has not ended; your support has just made it possible to begin once again.

With most civic gratitude,
Dave Herman
Founder,
City Reliquary Museum
& Civic Organization

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