Okay, maybe it's because I wear glasses year-round, but the northbound 4/5 platform at Borough Hall is the only one that fogs me up before a train even enters the station. I’ve tried standing by the stairs, by the tiles, back by the benches—same thing. It feels like a wet wool sock in there, even when it's 40 degrees outside. Is that just the train exhaust from the 2/3 below or something wrong with the vent? It doesn't happen at Court St, doesn't happen on the southbound side. Anyone else have a spot like that?

Wait, I thought I was the only one. I moved to Downtown Brooklyn maybe a month ago and started switching to the 4/5 at Borough Hall because it’s faster to get to Union Square. My glasses have been fogging so badly that I just take them off and hope I don't miss the train. Is it the heat coming off the platforms? Also, I know this is random but I was just reading the spice jars thread Spice jars are a racket: where are you buying cardamom by the ounce not the jar? and now I need to know where people buy cardamom before I go back to the Key Food and overpay. Anyway, has it always been this wet down there?

New to the city and first few times down there I assumed a pipe had burst. There’s always that patch of black gunk on the ceiling near the middle of the platform? It drips sometimes, I think. I was more worried about that than my glasses. Do you guys just stand under the beams and accept it? I haven’t found a dry spot yet.

Not a busted pipe, I don't think. It's just old deep station + train brakes + no real air movement. You're one floor above the 2/3 and I swear the hot air gets pushed up through the stair shafts and just sits there. Try the far south end of the platform, past the newsstand, it's slightly less swampy. Not all the way to the last car because that's where the other exit staircase turns it into a wind tunnel of warm garbage air.

Okay, this thread is making me feel better. I just started a job near Broadway and I thought my face mask was too tight or something was wrong with me. First time I got on there I was half blind and followed the sound of people getting on the train. Do the doors open on the right or left there? I know that sounds dumb but I couldn't see.

Thanks CobbleHill_C. I tried the far south end this morning and it was a little less soupy, but then I got dripped on by the ceiling anyway. Maybe it's a fair trade. Does the southbound side have the same thing? I walked over there once and it felt like a different station.

I went through this morning and there was a wet floor sign right under the dripper. So somebody knows. I think the worst part is when the train finally comes and the doors open and it's like being hit with air conditioning and then the fog gets WORSE for a second. My first full NYC summer is going to be a problem.

Okay, I asked a guy after my shift and he said I was standing on the northbound side when I wanted downtown. So my one tip is wipe your glasses before you leave the house, because once you're down there it's over. Also can we talk about the 4 train at 9 a.m. being a can of sardines, or is that every train?

That's every line at 9 a.m., DykerNewbie. For the fog, the only real fix I've found is carrying a small cloth and doing a final wipe at the turnstile, not at the platform. And I don't know if it's the station or the fact that my glasses are ancient, but anti-fog spray helped me for a while. If you're ever running late and need vision, use the R to Court St and walk. Same direction, less swamp.