The MTA (metropolitan transport authority of NY) is eliminating the delay of seven stations on the subway network that do not comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act, although that pace makes progress in making the 472 subway stops compliant. Especially after a financing plan for 70 stations to receive elevators was shelved in 2020.
“Modernizing our system is vitally important to making our urban transportation system accessible to absolutely everyone,” said Sarah Feinberg, New York City Acting Transit Officer. “Ensuring that all New Yorkers have equal access to the system is not just a priority, it is a necessity. This is a big step towards that goal ”.
In 2019, only half of NYC Transit’s 472 stations were found to have access to elevators for people with disabilities, something the agency hoped to remedy in the five-year capital plan approved in January 2020. It was the largest in the city. history of the MTA, with a contribution of 54,000 million dollars. With the financial consequences of COVID-19, the MTA has entered deficit spending mode with 40% cuts in service, a 4% rate hike, and the laying off of 9,000 workers.
Nine stations received elevators in 2020 despite the crisis, as the funds were likely already committed through a contract, and these stations have already been funded by federal grant funds.
The current plan contemplates that in Brooklyn, 7th Avenue on the F and G trains will soon have three elevators; Grand Street on the L will have two, while Metropolitan Avenue on the G and L trains will have five. In the Bronx, East 149th Street on the 6 train will have two elevators.
In Manhattan, Dyckman Street on the 1 train is now accessible, but a new elevator will be installed, while the Queens’ Beach 67th Street station on the A train will have two elevators, and the Staten Island Railway’s New Dorp station will also have two elevators installed. .
–
