Subways a struggle for disabled
The MTA is often not going your way, if you’re a straphanger who needs an elevator, according to a new report from city Controller Scott Stringer.
The report found that about half of the city’s communities served by the subway lack an accessible station for commuters who use wheelchairs, ride with young children or have a tough time climbing stairs.
Across 122 neighborhoods with a subway station, 62 don’t have elevators, affecting 638,246 New Yorkers — that includes people in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, the East Village and Lower East Side, and Mott Haven in the Bronx.
Stringer said these New Yorkers are “locked out” of the subway.
“Today we’re defining these areas as ADA deserts,” Stringer said, referring to the landmark federal Americans with Disabilities Act. “People are stranded there.”
The report highlights how much ground the state-run Metropolitan Transportation Authority needs to make up in getting elevators in stations and complying with the ADA.
NYC Transit President Andy Byford made accessibility one of his top priorities when he started in January. His Fast Forward plan to modernize the subway has a goal to make 50 stations accessible in the first five years, so riders are no more than two stops away from one.
There are 25 station accessibility projects underway, with plans to replace 42 existing elevators and 27 escalators, according to the MTA. New elevators were announced for the L line stops at 14th St. at Sixth Ave. and at 86th St. on the R line in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.