By Sara Braun
On Wednesday, the MTA board formally voted to approve Governor Kathy Hochul’s indefinite pause of congestion pricing, which was projected to provide the agency with $16.5 billion for transit improvements, including adding elevators to city subway stations. But MTA officials told West Side Rag on Friday that despite the loss of funding, upgrades at two Upper West Side stations are still slated to be completed by December 2026.
Those upgrades will put elevators in the 81st Street and 96th Street stations that serve the B and C subway lines. Construction timetables for those projects were announced in May and will not be affected by the pause in congestion pricing, according to Aaron Donovan, deputy communications director at the MTA.
While those projects will proceed, ADA accessibility upgrades, including elevators, are now deferred at 23 of the city’s subway stations.
Governor Hochul’s recent decision to pause the implementation of congestion pricing has caused frustration among disability advocates.
“There’s a legal mandate for them to start building elevators. So officially, we’re telling the MTA, congestion pricing or not, you’ve got to find the money,” said Michael Ring, a board member at Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York City. The disability rights group signed on to a letter with 16 other advocacy organizations urging state legislative leaders to immediately find funding for the transportation authority’s capital program.
That legal mandate came about in 2022, as part of a class-action settlement, in which the MTA agreed to add elevators and ramps to 95% of the city’s subway stations by 2055. Currently, 151 out of 472 subway stations—about one third—are accessible, according to the MTA.
“The issue that we run into when it comes to accessibility is, it’s happening at a slow pace. It’s happening at a rate that does not benefit those who need it,” said Jeff Peters, director of communications for the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York. “People need it now; people need it yesterday.”
Peters said people with disabilities are not the only beneficiaries of station upgrades. “It’s people who may have strollers, people with children, people who can’t walk quickly, delivery people,” he said. “Accessibility upgrades help everybody.”
As a result of the congestion pricing delay, accessibility projects have now been moved to a “lower priority” tier of work, along with subway expansion, the purchase of zero-emission buses, and technology and infrastructure upgrades. Highest priority projects include “state-of-good repair projects necessary for safe functional subway, bus, and rail operations.”
Editor’s Note: Several people wrote in debunking a parenthetical statement included in this story: “(the A line also stops at 96th Street.)” That isn’t true, according to the MTA, although other sources say the A train makes late-night stops at 96th Street, and several commenters added that it does not stop there “unless it is running local.” Until we can verify, we have removed the line.
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Minor correction: the A train does not stop at 96th St. except during late nights, when it runs local and stops at both the 81st and 96th St. stations. Otherwise it does not stop between Columbus Circle (59th St.) and 125th St.
The A express train does NOT stop at 96th. 125th and 59th are the two A express stops.
If the A is running local service then all stops are made including 96th.
The A train does not stop at 96th Street unless it is running local.
This is a step in the right direction; it’s embarrassing how few stations accommodate people with disabilities. Am I crazy, or did the city just spend $28m in 2018 to revamp the B/C 72nd Street stop, and zero of those dollars were allocated to making the stop wheelchair accessible?
I just tried finding the answer to my own question. This is what I learned when I asked Claude.ai…
“The cost of installing a typical MTA (Metropolitan Transportation Authority) subway elevator can vary significantly depending on several factors. However, I can provide a general estimate based on past projects:
“A typical MTA subway elevator installation can cost between $10 million to $30 million, with some projects exceeding this range. Factors affecting the cost include:
1. Station complexity
2. Depth of the station
3. Existing infrastructure
4. Need for additional structural modifications
5. Location within New York City
6. Project timeline
“It’s important to note that these figures are estimates, and actual costs can differ. The MTA often faces challenges with subway elevator installations due to the age and complexity of the New York City subway system.”
So, OhFFS, an elevator installation at CPW/W 72nd St would have used 33%-100% of the total station renovation budget. So It could have been given higher priority, but with big tradeoffs.
OhFFS, you are not crazy about CPW/W 72nd St: It got a lovely facelift, but no elevator or other accessibility improvements. (BTW does anyone know what a typical MTA elevator installation costs? I realize it depends on shaft depth and other factors, but what’s the ballpark range?)
You indeed are NOT crazy ohFFS …. And that restoration happened well before the pandemic … they closed the station down for 2 years? And not ONE ADA upgrade … and ppl wonder why we rally against congestion pricing … they are liars and completely irresponsible with $$
It’s outrageous that there is no accessible station between 96th and Dykman on the 1. Columbia should be forced to put in an elevator at 116th and they *ought* to have been forced to do so at 125th with that giant new building that just about finished literally feet from the platform… 6 miles and 11 stops in hilly upper Manhattan. It’s unconscionable.
You make no sense. Columbia is a private not for profit research and education institution. It has no duty to pay for New York City infastucture. They already give hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid to studnets per year, hundreds of millions of dollars in free education programing and university access, as well as hundreds of millions of dollars a year of free medical care in its medical center nad clinics. With that all said, Columbia is going to renovate the W125th Street station and add in escalators at their expense. Elevators were not possible at that location.
Resources are limited and need to be prioritized. Even with infinite funding, they can only do so many of these projects at once. I agree that having one in one of the places you suggested such as near Columbia, as well as these proposed ones on CPW should be very high priorities as there are large distances between accessible stations.
Much more important than the poster who was whining recently about not having one at 79th and Broadway – that is much more of a “nice to have” than a “need to have.”
An elevator at 79th and Broadway is NOT a “nice to have” but a “need to have”. The same with 86th and Broadway. God forbid if you have problems getting around with your old knees.
Do it with non union labor and it’ll be half the cost in half the time and still the same quality.
Do it with non-union labor and you’ll have more worker accidents, questionable skills and shoddier results. Subway elevators are not merely pick-and-shovel projects; they require a cadre of skilled workers who deserve the decent wages, safe working conditions, health care. and stable scheduling that unions can provide.
Yeah…we really need 4 skilled people at almost every street job holding a Stop/Slow sign since traffic & people can’t safely navigate themselves. Union work rules are beyond absurd.
I am shocked you are suggesting non-union labor. Unions protect our workers!
“Under the terms of the settlement, the transit agency is also committed to meeting several marks in order to keep the 2055 goal on track, including making 81 more stations accessible as part of its more than $50 billion 2020 to 2024 MTA Capital Program. And 15% OF NYC TRANSIT PORTION OF FUTURE CAPITAL PLAN FUNDING MUST NOW BE SET ASIDE FOR ACCESSIBILITY UPGRADES” https://www.thecity.nyc/2023/04/07/subways-disability-act-compliant-2055/
New York City is clearly derelict when it comes to providing accessibility to all in our subway system. Many of us are stunned to learn how long this has been going on, even with a class action settlement. New York should be a leader and not a city that excludes those with disabilities and others who would benefit from elevator access to the subway. The other element to be closely studied is the preposterously high cost of installing elevators n the subway system. Someone should follow the money and see what’s going on. Thank you, WSR for an important update.
Why not evaluate the ten highest paid MTA officials and look to reduce their salaries and benefits for starters as a way to cut costs. I know the revenue streams are completely different but here’s a situation where tax payers across the city with disabilities, the elderly and others have no access to the subways but $90 million dollars will be spent on a few people to live in house boats on w. 79th St. Our public officials are out of touch with reality., the needs of the people and the infrastructure of the city.
This goes to prove that the idea of congestion pricing was strictly so that the MTA could make a huge profit at a huge cost to those who can’t afford it. It was never what it was sold to be: “a way to decrease vehicle traffic and improve air quality.”
Charging people to drive into Midtown will cause some people to take the train/bus instead of driving, reducing traffic and pollution. I’ve never heard anyone who says “its *really*just a cash grab!!” explain why that wouldn’t be true.
There is no ambiguity regarding the A train. Iit is always scheduled as a local to stop at 81st and 96th Streets from around 11 PM to 5 AM every day. At other times it is scheduled to bypass those stations as an express.
Street Level to Platform elevators would be very welcome. So many would love to use the subway but can’t do stairs.
Not just “love” to use but NEED to use!
It’s not correct to claim that NYC does nothing for people with accessibility problems. Access-A-Ride is a paratransit service that provides public transportation for eligible customers with disabilities or health conditions that prevent them from using the public buses and subways for some or all of their trips. It operates 24/7/365 and the fare is the same as the fare for public transport.
Access a ride is a disgrace. It does not work as it should, often leaving people stranded or so delayed that the individual misses the doctor appointment or test appointment. I could go on, but if you read up on the issues, you will see that it is a joke. People of all ages who are already ill and/or disabled having to wait for often late/seriously delayed pickups and then having to wait hours as it goes around dropping off several people. Poorly run, poorly planned and it is not used by so many who need it because you simply cannot count on it. The same can be said for the transportation that Medicaid is supposed to provide. Doctor appointments are hard to get and the MLTC (Managed long term care) companies that administer NYState Medicaid have vendors who are unreliable so that people end up having to take expensive cabs, etc (Which Medicaid says it will reimburse, but does not.)
There is a huge difference between any organization saying it has free transport and how that service is delivered and whether it actually meets the needs of the individual.
Companies make a lot of money off Medicaid while NOT DELIVERING the services they’ve been contracted to do. The real fraud is the MLTCs who deny needed coverage while increasing their profit margins. (They make money by denying service. And not because people don’t qualify because they do meet the guidelines but these MLTCs contract out to people who have no real experience and who make the assessments. It’s a disgrace.
Learn more via NYCaring Majority and other advocates for disability rights.
Meanwhile there are individuals who can’t even get around safely on NYC streets, sidewalks and curbs, which are in such bad shape that people can fall off/out of chairs while trying to navigate.
FYI there is a kind of Access a Ride begun during the pandemic where you get a taxi authorization one or two days ahead of when you need it, hail a cab, pay, get a receipt and file online or by mail for reimbursement. I use it all the time. The process is a little complicated, plus you have to pay upfront, so it may not be useful for those who cannot pay initially or find the reimbursement process too difficult (sometimes I think I need a spreadsheet), but it has made a big difference for me . BTW the few times I have used a van, it has arrived on time.
I see my neighbor waiting all the time for Access-a-ride that never shows up or comes really late.
Kind of like MTA buses…