NYC Clean Train Movement (1970s–1990s): Grassroots vs. Graffiti

The Clean Train Movement (1970s–1990s) saw NYC residents voluntarily cleaning subway cars—ranging from full repaints to station-level scrubbing. Unlike graffiti culture, it was often endorsed by transit workers' unions, reflecting a civic desire for order amid fiscal crisis and rising crime. The movement highlighted tensions between self-expression, public space, and institutional neglect, fading as the MTA adopted professional cleaning and anti-graffiti measures in the 1990s.