MTA helps tourist get iPhone back that fell through metal grating - New York Post

A Filipina tourer got her iPhone backmost days aft it fell done a metallic grate successful Times Square — pursuing plentifulness of tears, question rearrangements and finally, assistance from the MTA.

Aleth Hicks, 34, mislaid her telephone Friday nighttime erstwhile she and a radical of friends tried to equilibrium it connected a metallic railing with its PopSocket earlier it fell implicit and done the metallic grating. While it was good retired of reach, she could inactive spot it and wanted it backmost – badly.

“At first, it hasn’t sunk into maine [that] it’s gonna beryllium that hard to get the telephone out,” she told The Post connected Sunday.

She went to cops, firefighters and Times Square security, to nary avail, earlier idiosyncratic suggested going to the adjacent MTA booth Saturday. The booth attendant told her workers were coming but that it mightiness instrumentality immoderate clip earlier unit arrives connected a engaged Saturday.

No 1 came, adjacent arsenic she and friends waited hours, she said.  

She past got immoderate drawstring and magnets to effort to propulsion the telephone up connected her own. When that failed, she tried to find rodent trap glue to reel it up that way, but nary surrounding stores had any.

She yet went backmost to the MTA booth again pleading for assistance and adjacent changed her Sunday formation to Monday greeting to springiness her much time.

This clip she got results.

“When [MTA workers] yet showed, they’re like, ‘It’s been present since Friday, wherefore did you not telephone us?’ I was like, ‘I tried.’ I called 511, 311, 911, everybody, and cipher could assistance me. I was truthful helpless,” Hicks said. “Cops — they’re conscionable laughing astatine me. I’m like, ‘It’s not funny.’ I’m frustrated, I’m crying, I’m begging.”

The MTA said employees were capable to unfastened the grate and retrieve the telephone astir 10 a.m. betwixt 46th and 47th streets.

She delayed her instrumentality formation location to marque definite she could get her phone.G.N.Miller/NYPost

The telephone was retrieved by the MTA connected Sunday.G.N.Miller/NYPost

“This communicative exemplifies what NYC Transit workers are each astir – responding to the telephone of work time successful and time out,” MTA New York City Transit President Richard Davey said successful a statement. “I americium pleased that determination was capable to beryllium a bully solution to the incidental and I cognize the employees were arsenic well.”

Hicks said the replacement telephone she bought implicit the play would apt beryllium offloaded connected a resale website erstwhile she gets home.