NY Lawmakers Want MTA to Step Up Efforts to Aid Disabled Riders

ALBANY — A pair of state lawmakers are proposing legislation that would force the MTA to step up its efforts to make the subway system fully accessible to disabled straphangers.

Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx) Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) want to codify parts of New York City Transit President Andy Byford’s “Fast Forward” plan to accelerate accessibility improvements into law.

“It is an absolute travesty that for so long, many New Yorkers have been excluded from our transit system," Dinowitz said. “Accessible subways help New Yorkers of all stripes — whether they use a wheelchair, walker, cane, stroller, shopping cart, and more.”

The bill would hold the agency to its promise of making 50 stations fully accessible within the next five years, revising maintenance practices to provide continuous, uninterrupted elevator service during all passenger service hours and accelerate the installation of platform accessibility features, including tactile strips and reducing platform gaps.

It also requires the MTA to include accessibility improvements during station closures or renovations longer than six months and to seek out input from the public on which stations to prioritize for accessibility improvements.

The bill comes a day after disability rights groups filed a lawsuit against the MTA, arguing that major subway station renovations that don’t have handicap-accessible features violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The suit specifically refers to a 1990 statute requiring public entities make transit stations accessible to those with disabilities and those who use wheelchairs whenever it changes the usability of a station. It cites more than 40 examples of major station renovation projects the MTA has completed without adding elevators or accessible features.

“For too long young families, the elderly and disabled New Yorkers have had their access to our subways denied because of its lack of accessibility," Gounardes said. “New Yorkers deserve nothing less than a transit system that is completely, 100% accessible.”