Accessibility Needed At Renovated Subway Stations, Advocates Say

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS, NY — Advocates for the rights of the disabled demanded that the Metropolitan Transit Authority create a plan to add accessibility to stations receiving aesthetic and technology upgrades as part of a $1 billion initiative.

Members of TransitCenter, advocates and Comptroller Scott Stringer said that the MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative falls short when it comes to making the subway system more accessible during a rally on the corner of West 161st Street and Amsterdam Avenue in Washington Heights.

"Thirty-five years after passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, more than 75 percent of NYC subway stations are inaccessible to people who can't use stairs," Colin Wright of TransitCenter said Monday. "We're here this morning with a simple message for Governor Cuomo. Stop closing stations without adding ADA accessibility and show us a plan for 100 percent accessibility across New York City."

As advocates rallied on the corner, MTA contractors were building a barrier to the West 163rd Street C train station, which closed Monday for a six month renovation. The project, the latest in the MTA's Enhanced Stations Initiative, includes structural repairs and cosmetic fixes such as new stairs, floors, countdown clocks and LED lighting.

But when the station reopens, riders who can't use stairs won't be able to enjoy those repairs and fixes. The nearest subway station with an elevator is located five blocks away at West 168th Street. And even stations that do have ADA-accessible entrances and exits can be a "gamble," Jose Hernandez of the United Spinal Association said.

"There are so few stations, and so little maintenance of the subway elevators that you run the risk of getting suck in an inaccessible system," Hernandez said Monday. "There have been times where I get to a location using the planner, I arrive at the station and the elevator's stuck."

When accessible entrances and exits are not working, people who can't use stairs are sometimes forced to backtrack on the subway for an hour or more to get to their intended location, Hernandez said.

"The disabled community is getting bigger and more independent," Hernandez said Monday. "We work and we have lives."

Because the construction of elevators is imperative to any long-term plan that involves making the subway system accessible, the Enhanced Stations Initiative presents a real missed opportunity, advocates said Monday. If New York City wants to emulate the success of other cities such as Chicago in making public transit more accessible, it must prioritize basic upgrades over "vanity projects," advocates said.

"We think that this is a violation of our rights and a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act," Monica Bartley of the Center For Independence of the Disabled said. "The subway is the easiest way of getting from point A to point B and we see that the MTA is starting renovations and not including elevators at these stations."

Photos by Patch