Ellen’s Stardust Diner to Host Miss Subways Reunion

Former Miss Subways holding their original posters outside of Ellen’s Stardust Diner at the 2024 reunion. Credit: Ellen’s Stardust Diner

Honoring the NYC Cultural Icons Who Decorated the Subways for More than 30 Years

On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at 11 a.m., Ellen Hart will host 11 former Miss Subways to ring in her 85^th birthday in one grand celebration of legacy and local history, while celebrating America’s 250^th birthday

New York City and nostalgia are coming together for an iconic celebration with the upcoming Miss Subways reunion at Ellen’s Stardust Diner. From 1941 to 1976, the Miss Subways competition recognized the inspiring, everyday women of the city. The Diner’s owner, Ellen Hart, was Miss Subways 1959, and is bringing together her subways sisters to reminisce and celebrate her 85^th birthday, coinciding with the start of celebrations for America’s 250^th anniversary. The reunion will take place on June 30 at 11 a.m. at the Times Square retro themed eatery.

Launched by the John Robert Powers agency, the campaign took inspiration from WWII-era poster culture, when GIs had posters of pin-up models like Betty Grable. For nearly four decades, it was impossible not to see Miss Subways while commuting around New York. Their photographs were displayed on posters that lined subway cars throughout the city and were admired by millions of commuters. Spotlighting more than just beauty, Miss Subways highlighted ambition and possibility. The placards also displayed the women’s aspirations such as becoming actors, models, pilots and lawyers – many of whom went on to achieve these dreams.

“America is celebrating a milestone birthday and so am I,” said Hart. “Every birthday is special, but I’m excited to spend this one with other Miss Subways, and reminisce on what was such a fun, time for us that changed our lives.”

The reunion will serve as a living tribute to the women who have helped shape New York and inspired generations of young women to dream big. The event will bridge past and present as we reflect on history, both locally and nationally.

While still a student at Jamaica High School in Queens, Hart was selected to be Miss Subways. She married entrepreneur, the late Irving Sturm, and together they opened Ellen’s Café across from City Hall which was open for 32 years. Their success led them to open Ellen’s Stardust Diner in Times Square, the 1950’s-themed eatery with its singing waitstaff, The Stardusters. The Diner has since served as the launching pad for many of its Stardusters who have gone on to success in Broadway musicals and touring companies, domestic & international. Ellen has run the New York City Marathon, performed the National Anthem at several New York Knicks and New York Rangers games, and climbed the Empire State Building at age 72. 

In addition to Hart, returning Miss Subways also include:

·         Kathleen McLean Holmes (1953) was passionate about sewing and manufacturing clothing and attended the Fashion Institute of Technology. After graduating, she worked for a lingerie company where she thought of the Bermuda short pajamas. She and her husband have four children, four grandchildren and have lived in Princeton, New Jersey, for over 20 years. Her advice to her Miss Subways self would be “always take the opportunity to accomplish your dreams and don’t hesitate.”

·         Mary Gardiner Timoney (1953) lived in Washington Heights and worked as a secretary for an airline. She was noticed by a producer at Radio City Music Hall where she modeled in three fashion shows a day for six weeks. She signed on to a modeling agency and appeared in Bess Meyerson’s “The Big Payoff,” “The Perry Como Show,” and has been on the cover of The New York Mirror and The New York Times modeling into the 1990’s. She has three sons, a daughter and three grandchildren.

·         Shirley Martin (1960) had a passion for travel that guided her to a career as a T.W.A. hostess at JFK. She relocated with her four children and husband to Los Angeles where she continued to use her Miss Subways’ public relations skills. She represented the United States as a host and liaison with the athletes and teams celebrating female competitions for the first time during the 1984 Olympics.

·         Dolores Mitchell Byrne (1961) grew up in Jackson Heights and continued her modeling career throughout her young adult life until having three children. Since leaving modeling, she has worked in the field of business sales. She tells people she’s the most New York person you will ever meet: “Born in the Bronx, raised in Queens, went to High School in Brooklyn, worked in Manhattan and have driven through Staten Island many, many times!”

·         Roz Cinclini Catena (1965) is a native New Yorker who was working at ABC TV as a secretary. Two years after Miss Subways, she married, had a daughter, and moved to Long Island. She later got divorced, and after nearly 17 years apart, they reunited. She and Silvio remained together until his passing. She built a long career in executive support, survived breast cancer and volunteered on the Adelphi University breast cancer hotline, which inspired her to pursue social work. She went back to school and did graduate work to follow this passion.

·         Maureen Walsh Roaldsen (1968) is a third generation Brooklynite and always dreamed of being a lawyer. She enrolled at Brooklyn College where she earned her Juris Doctor. Now a court attorney, she recalls running into the daughter of a former Miss Subways during her bar exam in 1991 and attributes this run-in to the legacy the campaign has had in bringing talented and hardworking women together.

·         Eileen Ryan Keating (1969) now has three children and has lived many lives in customer service, notary, real estate, and postal service. The advice she would give her 18-year-old self: “Be more confident, outgoing and friendly.”

·         Sonia Dominguez (1974) was the first Dominican woman to win Miss Subways. She worked on Wall Street and for the Red Cross and hopes to accomplish what set out to do in her poster: write a cookbook.

·         Josephine Lazzaro O’Halloran (1975) worked as a secretary at St. Vincent’s Hospital when she applied to Miss Subways. Now, she is an instructional assistant at a school and has a son. She looks back fondly on the Miss Subways contest and hopes future generations will learn about its history.

·         Ayana Scott Lawson (1975) is rooted in Brooklyn and comes from a multigenerational New York City family. She built an early career in the arts as a trained actress and used her Miss Subways title to further propel her career in modeling. Alongside creative work, she built a long career in banking.

·         Heide Hafner (1976) considered becoming an airline stewardess, and eventually landed in the FBI, worked in fingerprinting, and learned how to fly. She went on to fly the Angel Derby race from Columbus, Ohio, to the Bahamas, and fulfilled her childhood dream as a nurse where she oversees 126 people and supervises the entire building.

Ellen’s Stardust Diner is open 365 days a year from 7 am to midnight every day. For more information on Ellen’s Stardust Diner, visit www.ellensstardustdiner.com and follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.

About Ellen’s Stardust Diner:

Originally opened in 1987 across from City Hall, Ellen’s Café first started as a local coffee and bake shop, serving Mayors, elected officials, and New Yorkers for nearly 15 years. Afterwards, Ellen’s rebranded as Ellen’s Stardust Diner and moved to its current Times Square location at 1650 Broadway, becoming known as the home of the original world-famous singing waitstaff and a celebrated 1950s retro themed restaurant, welcoming New Yorkers, celebrities, and tourists from all over the globe.  The restaurant has also been home to many of The Stardusters who started their career at the Diner and have gone onto Broadway, Off-Broadway, movies, and TV. Owner Ellen Hart was born and raised in New York, growing up in Jamaica, Queens, and is a former Miss Subways from 1959. As a hospitality icon in NYC, Ellen has run the New York City Marathon, performed the National Anthem at several New York Knicks and New York Rangers games, climbed the Empire State Building at age 72 to support research on multiple myeloma, and can sometimes be found making singing cameos at the Diner too. For more information, visit www.ellensstardustdiner.com and follow on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.