Subway buff and former NYC Transit cleaner busted for trespassing at Brooklyn train yard
A fired NYC Transit cleaner who loves subway trains was busted for trespassing at a Brooklyn rail yard where he’d gone to take pictures of old subway cars, police said Tuesday.
John Dooley, 32, allegedly drove his Ford Explorer into the 65th St. rail yard in Sunset Park last Thursday and started taking photos.
Two days earlier, the MTA had moved 12 decommissioned R32 Brightliner subway cars, first put on the tracks in 1964, to the yard, which is operated by New York New Jersey Rail, a Port Authority agency.
A source familiar with the investigation believes Dooley went to the yard to get one last look at the trains before their move this week to Ohio on a specialized barge.
Someone working at the yard confronted Dooley after recognizing him from a photo on a notice posted in a lunchroom making clear he is banned from transit properties, police said.
“I’m a New York City employee,” Dooley said when the worker asked him why he was there, according to sources.
Dooley left the yard a short time later. Shortly after he left, police were notified.
Dooley was hired by NYC Transit in 2011 and was fired in 2017 following a number of allegations, including that he had tried to impersonate a train operator, said a law enforcement source.
Dooley had also posted on Facebook and Instagram pictures of himself at transit locations off-limits to cleaners, such as inside the tunnel for the Second Ave. subway line, on a work train and on the tracks, the source said. Dooley was also caught with keys used by train operators, said the source said.
On Tuesday, the NYPD’s Vandals Task Force pulled Dooley over shortly after he drove away from his Bensonhurst home. He allegedly had on him a switchblade and a Taser, train keys and an invalid transit ID card, police said. A drone was found in his car.
He was charged with criminal trespass, weapon possession and possession of stolen property — the train keys.
Dooley was released after his arraignment. He did not respond to a request for comment.
