Mom's Death On Subway Steps Prompts Demands For Elevators

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — Disability advocates braved the bitter cold Wednesday morning to rally outside the station where 22-year-old Malaysia Goodson died after falling down the steps carrying her 1-year-old daughter in a stroller and to call on the MTA to sign an agreement to install elevators at every subway station in New York City.

Advocates said Wednesday that "elevators are for everybody," noting that inaccessible stations are challenges for wheelchair users, the elderly and mothers with children. Joe Rappaport of the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled called on the MTA to resolve a civil rights lawsuit filed in 2017 for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Rappaport said that he supports New York City Transit President Andy Byford's plan to install elevators at 50 stations in the next five years through the "Fast Forward" initiative, but added that as long as the lawsuit against the MTA goes unresolved there's no guarantee promises will be met or kept.

"We're pleased [Byford] has made access a priority, but we need a legally-binding commitment." Rappaport said Wednesday. "We know focus and support only lasts so long."

Goodson was found unconscious and unresponsive on the southbound platform of the station Monday night. She was rushed to Mt. Sinai West hospital where she was pronounced dead, police said. Goodson's 1-year-old daughter was found conscious and unharmed, police said.

The city medical examiner has not determined Goodson's official cause of death, but said Wednesday that it appears related to a "pre-existing medical condition."

"While the cause of death is pending in this case, we can state that there is no significant trauma, and this fatality appears to be related to a pre-existing medical condition," Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Barbara Sampson said in a statement.

There are no elevators at the Seventh Avenue and West 53rd Street B/D/E station. The nearest stations with elevator access on the lines are 59th Street-Columbus Circle, 42nd Street-Port Authority and 47-50 Streets Rockefeller Center, which are all about a 10 to 15 minute walk from the station.

Ydanis Rodriguez, chair of the City Council's transportation committee, echoed the call to make every subway station in New York accessible, saying the issue needs to be a legislative priority in the council, State Assembly and State Senate. The Upper Manhattan council rep — who was the only elected official at Wednesday's rally — used an example from his district to argue that the MTA is not currently exploring every opportunity to make stations accessible.

The MTA recently closed the West 168th Street and Broadway station for one year to replace elevators which lead down to station platforms, but riders can only get to the elevators by a flight of stairs, Rodriguez said. The station is one of Washington Heights' busiest transit hubs.

Disability rights activist Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, who helped launch the 2017 lawsuit against the MTA, told Patch Wednesday that he's "astounded" the lawsuit hasn't been resolved but is "heartened" by progress made in other cities to make transit more accessible.

"It's a solvable problem," Blair-Goldensohn told Patch. "It's about cutting through civic bureaucracy and corruption, but it's not rocket science — it's elevators and ramps."

Many of the subway system's accessible stations are often problematic for disabled riders, advocates said Wednesday. Elevators break down each day, stranding riders on platforms and often forcing them to change routes to a far-away station or circle back to where they first caught the subway.

The state of subway elevators is also a mess. A recent study conducted by Hunter College and TransitCenter found that in a survey of elevators at 64 stations one third of them were dirty, 36 percent were penetrated by "noticeable" foul odors and 6.4 percent had "pungent" smells. The most common foul smell was urine, according to the study.

After the Wednesday morning rally, advocates and activists walked to the Seventh Avenue and West 53rd Street station where Goodson died and laid flowers to create a tribute for the young mother.

Photos by Brendan Krisel/Patch