Aftermath of a cave-in during subway construction on Nostrand Avenue, north of Beverly Road, July 14, 1916. A BRT streetcar — carrying only four people, including crew, thanks to a timely evacuation order — fell through the roadway into the excavation cut

A crowd gathers after an accident on Lexington Avenue at the intersection of 121st Street, July 21, 1915.

At a few minutes after 7 a.m. on September 11, 1905, a downtown-bound train on the Ninth Avenue El plunged from the tracks at the corner of 53rd Street, ultimately killing 13 and injuring 48, in what was then the worst subway accident in city history.

On November 1, 1918 the worst transit disaster in New York City history occurred just outside the eastern edge of Prospect Park. A train on the B.R.T Brighton Beach line took a sharp turn, derailing the first car and sending the other cars smashing into the tunnel walls. In all about 100 people were killed, and more than 250 passengers were injured in this rush hour crash.

Aftermath of a deadly crane collapse and and landslide during construction on the BMT Fourth Avenue line in Bay Ridge, June 23, 1914. During a routine summer workday, the derrick supporting a crane suddenly gave way. The New York Times reported: “One man was killed and two others were injured, probably mortally, when a thirty ton crane broke through the soil of the subway cut."

Aftermath of a cave-in that occurred during BMT Brighton Line construction at St. Felix Street and Hanson Place, April 17, 1917. The Brooklyn Daily Eagle described the scene:"A sudden slide of sand, bringing a tremendous impact against the supporting timbers in the new Brooklyn Rapid Transit subway excavation...caused a collapse of the construction work there today, and at least six men were carried down into a hole 50 feet deep."

Firefighters inspecting the aftermath of a cave-in during subway construction on April 17th, 1917.