Disability advocates push for MTA to move forward with accessibility improvements
The MTA is legally required to make 95% of stations accessible by 2055.
More Stories
Millions of people move through New York subways every day, and while stress can be part of the commute, riders with disabilities face a system that can stop them cold.
"As a blind person, you use your cane, and if you don't detect where those bumps are, that means you are going to be in the subway, trapped," says Dr. Sharon McLennon Wier, with the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York.
McLennon Wier detailed that same experience a decade ago.
"I fell in the subway tracks at the Wall Street station and luckily, two guys on their way to work jumped in and saved me," she said.
McLennon Wier suffered back and leg injuries, but says she is lucky to survive it.
"I thought I was going to die there that morning. I thought that was my last day," she says.
That terrifying experience is one reason why McLennon Wier joined advocates who sued after congestion pricing was paused, arguing the delays stalled long-overdue accessibility work.
The MTA is legally required to make 95% of stations accessible by 2055.
Congestion pricing was designed to help pay for things like new elevators, ramps and safer platforms, but attorney Chris Schuyler says none of it happens without oversight.
"We are hopeful, and we will continue working with and pushing the MTA to meet its promises," he says.
News 12's cameras did document some progress this year, including upgrades at four Brooklyn stations. But even with new elevators opening, data obtained by the Turn To Tara team shows only about one-third of the city's subway stations are accessible, which lags behind other major U.S. cities, including Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Chicago and Boston, where the system is even older than New York.
"It makes the mind spin in wild, complicated circles. It is not right," says Jennifer Van Dyck, from the Elevator Action Group.
Van Dyck says this is the moment to make sure the MTA follows through.
"We are cautiously optimistic, but we are also wary of their progress report. But we are counting on them to up their game," she says.
Because for riders who depend on these elevators, access is not an upgrade.
"It is essential," says McLennon Wier.
