Only 25%, or 113, of New York City’s 472 subway stations are currently accessible to individuals with disabilities who are unable to use the stairs.
But by 2055, at least 95% of those 364 inaccessible subway stations will become accessible following a landmark settlement agreement between disability advocates and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA).
The MTA has committed to dedicating 14.69% of each of its five-year Capital Plan budgets to station accessibility – baring any unexpected critical needs. However, should unexpected needs arise, the MTA is still committing to no less than 8% of its total Capital Plan monies for subway station accessibility.
Part of the commitment includes making 81 subway stations accessible through the 2020 to 2024 Capital Plan.
By 2035, an additional 85 stations will be accessible; by 2025 an additional 90 stations will be accessible and the remaining 90 stations will be accessible by 2055, according to the agreement.
“It is my pleasure as an advocate for accessibility, after decades of advocacy and hard work by disability-related stakeholders, to celebrate the commitment to access for all who use New York City’s subway system operated by the MTA. Everyone who lives, works, or visits New York City and our amazing state will benefit from the promise of universal access that our work with the MTA on this settlement agreement will afford our community,” said Dr. Sharon McLennon-Wier, executive director of Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY).
“This took a collaborative approach and dedication by numerous disability advocates who envisioned a more accessible city for all New Yorkers,” McLennon-Wier said.
The CIDNY, Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID), Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS), Harlem Independent Living Center (HILC), Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York (DIA), New York Statewide Senior Action Council (“StateWide”), Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, Dustin Jones, Jessica De La Rosa, and Jean Ryan all advocated for this landmark settlement.
Disability advocates sue mta
The landmark settlement is the result of two lawsuits brought against the MTA by disability rights advocates.
The first lawsuit filed in New York State Supreme Court in 2017 alleged violations of the New York City Human Rights Law because of the vast inaccessibility of the New York City subway system.
“People who use wheelchairs, walkers, scooters, or other mobility devices, or who are unable to use stairs due to disabilities related to muscle, joint, heart, or lung function, are blatantly denied access to 360 subway stations (almost 80%) in New York City, due to Defendants’ failure to install elevators and otherwise ensure vertical access at the majority of stations,” the complaint said, in part.
“The discriminatory result leaves hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers and visitors to the City with mobility and other disabilities blocked, limited, and/or deterred from equal use of the City’s subway system,” it continued.
The second lawsuit filed in federal court in the Southern District of New York in 2019 alleged that the MTA consistently renovates and rehabilitates subway stations without adding stair-free access for individuals with disabilities as part of the renovations.
“Nearly three decades after the passage of the ADA, less than 25% of New York City’s subway stations are accessible to persons with mobility disabilities – the lowest rate of any subway system in the United States. As a consequence, people with mobility disabilities are often excluded from the City’s subway system entirely,” the complaint read, in part.
It continued, in part, “The ADA clearly states that when a public entity alters ‘an existing facility or part thereof’ in a way that ‘affect[s] or could affect’ usability, it must ensure that the altered portion is ‘readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities, including individuals who use wheelchairs.’ Failure to abide by this requirement is unlawful ‘discrimination’ against people with disabilities.”
The settlement agreement resolves both lawsuits but must be approved by both Courts before taking effect.