Pelham Bay Park (IRT Pelham Line) - The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Superstition

The Taking of Pelham One Two Three Superstition

In the novel The Taking of Pelham One Two Three by Morton Freedgood and its film adaptations (the 1974 original and the 1998 and 2009 remakes), the train that gets hijacked leaves the Pelham Bay Park station at 1:23 p.m. (hence the title). Realizing that it would become too much of a reminder to the public, after the 1974 film's release, the New York City Transit Authority, for many years, banned any schedule of a train leaving this station either at 1:23 in the afternoon, or in the morning. Eventually, this policy was rescinded, but due to the superstitions involved, dispatchers have continued to avoid scheduling a Manhattan-bound train to leave at 1:23.