MTA Concedes To Demands For Shuttle During Uptown Subway Work

WASHINGTON HEIGHTS-INWOOD, NY — The MTA agreed to run a shuttle for Washington Heights residents who depend on elevators at the 181st Street A train station to traverse the area's steep hills after residents and local elected officials demanded the service and launched a petition that garnered more than 1,500 signatures.

The shuttle, which began service Saturday as the MTA began its elevator replacement project, will run between the 181st Street and 190th Street stations on the A line from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., transit officials said.

Shuttle stops include:

• Fort Washington Avenue and Cabrini Boulevard/Corbin Circle (southbound)
• 181st Street A station entrance at Fort Washington Avenue and West 185th Street (both directions)
• 181st Street A station entrance at Overlook Terrace and 184th Street (both directions)
• 190th Street A station at Fort Washington Avenue and West 190th Street (northbound)

"The MTA is committed to being good neighbors, and we recognize this community’s unique and particular mobility concerns because of the very steep inclines and large hills in this area," MTA Managing Director Veronique Hakim said in a statement.

Up until last week, the MTA maintained that the shuttle would not be feasible because of a lack of funding. Elected officials representing Washington Heights and Inwood at all levels of government presented a united front and held a rally at the 181st Street station last week with neighborhood seniors.

Seniors who attend programs at the Moriah Senior Center said that without a shuttle, they would no longer be able to safely travel between their homes and the Bennett Avenue center. Many people with limited mobility use the elevators at the 181st Street station to avoid traversing the area's challenging hills.

"The community will effectively be divided into two. Seniors will be isolated from crucial services including nutrition, socialization, benefits and case management," Shuli Gutmann, Director of the Moriah Senior Center, said in a statement.

City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez said in a statement that the MTA's decision to run shuttle service during the project is a "huge victory" for local residents and cited the partnership of local activists and elected officials as key to getting the MTA to implement the service.

MTA New York City Transit President Andy Byford announced in December that the transit agency would replace elevators at the five Upper Manhattan stations, saying the projects were "long overdue." In addition to replacing elevators, the MTA will upgrade communications, security and fire alarm systems at the stations.

The 168th Street and 181st street 1 train stations will be entirely shut down during construction, but the other three stations will remain open at non-elevator entrances, according to the MTA.

Construction is expected to take between 11 and 12 months at each station due to the age of the elevator equipment and years of water damage and decay and the depth of the stations, transit officials said.