Joe likes to say that his time with the MTA was one sweet ride. Nearing retirement age, he’s far from ready to call it quits. When he was younger, before pre-recorded announcements came on board, Joe worked hard at striking a balance between disco-man and your best friend. Earlier on, one of the old timers heard him crooning the station stops and the available connections into the PA. Afterwards, at the train yards, he critiqued Joe’s performance with a chuckle calling it “finding your voice”. Bored, glazing over as a train hurtled into a station after a long express run, Joe sometimes forgot where he was. His voice then probably sounded most like himself. For years he’s been letting the pre-recorded announcement do most of the work. But as his birthday nears, he’s stepped back to the mic, alternating between no-nonsense and Chris Rock depending on the time of day.