An artist and former prof on the metropolis’s prestigious Faculty of Visible Arts is stockpiling a “creepy” assortment of images of unwitting straphangers — together with scores of tank-top-wearing ladies.
Brian Appel — who claims to be “School Emeritus” at SVA, which the Manhattan faculty denies — has been importing tens of 1000’s of pictures to his Fb account for greater than two years.
The trove consists of images of rail-riding {couples} kidding, mates laughing and straphangers dapperly dressed as they get to their locations.
A few of the pics embrace youngsters.
A slew additionally seize unsuspecting ladies carrying tight and revealing garments.
“It’s very creepy! It’s very scary for girls,” Brooklyn mother Courtney Fitzpatrick instructed The Put up.
“I used to be actually mad once I noticed it,” she stated of the gathering. “Each of my daughters had been on it a yr other than one another. The truth is, one was his cowl picture — it was an image of my daughter when she was 16 going to play follow along with her good friend, who was 14.”
It’s not unlawful to take photos of strangers in public areas, such because the subway, with out consent. The faces in Appel’s snaps are usually not blurred.
Fitzpatrick stated she realized in regards to the assortment earlier this week when somebody alerted a Bay Ridge Fb group that Appel took most of his photos on the R prepare — and posted them on-line with location and date stamps.
Fitzpatrick stated she had a intestine feeling she would discover her two women, ages 25 and 18, in Appel’s pictures and spent hours scouring the gathering till she found them in separate posts from January 2026 and July 2025, respectively.
One of many daughters was photographed crying on the subway after a nasty day, whereas the opposite was clearly a minor, the mother famous.
To make issues worse, one among her women had already skilled a stalker, and Fitzpatrick feared that the image might reignite the very actual concern for her daughter’s security.
“I used to be actually mad once I noticed her,” Fitzpatrick, 51, stated of the picture.
“Having her image up there with the prepare she’s on, and the time, that’s actually what I’m involved about. Some weirdo simply digging round there and possibly following her. That might occur to any of these women on there.”
Fitzpatrick requested Appel to take away the image, noting he responded kindly and took it down. However he continued snapping and posting photos of different straphangers the very subsequent day.
The Brooklyn mother, who scoured the tens of 1000’s of images in her hunt for her daughters, observed throughout her effort that Appel shared many crude images of girls.
“I noticed one woman in a low-cut white gown in three totally different photos,” she stated. “He appears to be taking photos attempting to make them look unhealthy or one thing. I can’t clarify it.”
Appel’s discreet picture-snapping has been happening since no less than 2024 however noticeably elevated in latest months to as much as a dozen photos per day — catching the eye of straphangers who’ve since cautioned riders throughout a number of social-media platforms.
Many observed that Appel recognized himself as a “School Emeritus on the Faculty of Visible Artwork in Manhattan” and seized the chance to channel their anger on the school and demand they fireplace the educator.
Appel ended his 15-year employment at SVA in August 2025 and by no means held emeritus standing, the college stated.
“Brian Appel is not employed by SVA and doesn’t maintain emeritus college standing,” a rep for SVA instructed The Put up.
The artist didn’t reply to quite a few Put up requests for remark however has responded to supporters.
“Every one among my pictures is admittedly 2 photos,” Appel wrote beneath a July 7 picture of a younger girl listening to music on the subway.
“The first is the way in which they’re posted as half physique pictures the place you get details about their garments and equipment which is able to date the photographs sooner or later and what you found is that if you zoom in on the face you get an intimate look into what’s occurring of their head.”
