DEPT. OF RECYCLING SWIPE OUT

In 1994, when the MetroCard made Its 22, many straphangers were reluctant to say farewell to the subway token. Across the city, commuters struggled to master "the swipe.

- Taran Dugal

"The Times noted a few techniques, like "swinging your hand" at the turnstile as if it were "a slow tennis ball coming your way." That hard-won expertise is now defunct. On December 31st, the M.T.A. stopped selling MetroCards, which have been fully replaced with the tapand-go OMNY system. This was tough news for Nina Boesch, a Brooklynbased artist who has spent twenty-five years turning the flimsy yellow-andblue plastic cards into intricate collages.