On Tuesday, MTA officials made a bold promise to make 95% of the city’s subway system accessible to New Yorkers with disabilities.
The latest MTA data has shown that only 126 — or about 27% ― 472 subway stations are currently wheelchair-accessible, and regular breakdowns of elevators make the system even more challenging to navigate for those with mobility issues.
The move to build more ramps and elevators comes through a settlement to a pair of lawsuits filed by disability advocates against the transit agency that claims officials continue to violate state and federal law by running a subway system that locks out wheelchair users.
Based on the settlement agreement, the MTA needs to ink contracts to build ramps and elevators at 81 stations on the subway and Staten Island Railway by 2025; another 85 by 2035; 90 more by 2045, and another 90 by 2055.
“We need to make a system that is truly accessible for not only our disabled people but also for older people with mobility issues and that burgeoning population of New Yorkers who are racing around with strollers,” MTA chairman Janno Lieber said.
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