How the Myrtle Broadway JMZ Subway Stop became a meme
The Myrtle Broadway JMZ Subway stop meme is used to talk about Bushwick, Brooklyn, fast food, stuffing your face, and surreal experiences in general. It encompasses many meanings, perhaps as many meanings as it has chain restaurants. But can you understand the meme if you've never taken the train there?
There is a popular photo of the stop, or more specifically the street underneath where the elevated train station is located. It shows the three fast food joints on the block right next to one another: Dunkin Donuts, Checkers, and Popeyes.
This particularly famous image of the spot that gets used the most in memes was shared on August 8th, 2023, by Instagram user @joan.of.arca. That picture went particularly viral later on when someone used it to respond to another tweet.
They jokingly paired the photo with another tweet that asked, "There is a concept known as 'thin places' where it is said that the veil between this world and the next is thin. You can sense the numinous around you, even if you cannot describe it. Where have you been that felt ‘thin?'"
Yes, folks feel the street is haunted.
When did the JMZ stop become so famous online?
Other photos of the Myrtle-Broadway JMZ Subway stop have circulated, beginning as early as December 2020, when @stopolive tweeted, "if u ever ate at the checkers on myrtle broadway, the vaccine ain’t gon work on u."
On March 27th, 2021, @flowrmeadow shared another picture of the restaurant trio, writing simply, "Them."
Why is the Myrtle-Broadway JMZ stop a meme at all?
The Myrtle-Broadway JMZ stop is at the center of many communities and cultures and is a flashpoint for hot-button topics like gentrification. Bushwick is a neighborhood that has been rapidly changed by an influx of transplants with an artistic bent and/or wealth, pushing out the historical residents of the area.
There is a big art scene, lots of parties, and general chaos. With so much action, people inevitably meet and mix, especially over some greasy fries while on a bender.
So in a way, the meme is very niche to Brooklyn, but it's also an area that a lot of people know of and talk about if that makes sense. Many hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people can see that photo, know exactly where it is, and have some memory of a dark night of the soul spent at Checkers.
Plus lots of people who live there also live online and know how to make a meme pop off:
May the stop remain iconic forever!
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