by Terry Moakley
The number of accessible subway stations in the Big Apple has risen, making it easier for New Yorkers and tourists with disabilities to speed around the five boroughs underground.
The time is at hand when we update New Yorkers, and those who plan to visit the Big Apple soon, concerning progress in making subway stations more accessible. As of this writing, there are 55 wheelchair accessible stations, with 40 considered accessible key stations (required by the Americans with Disabilities Act and included in a plan approved by the federal government), and another 15 labeled accessible non-key stations. All 55 stations can be accessed by wheelchair users. Two of the 55-Stillwell Avenue and Sutphin Boulevard-are temporarily inaccessible during construction.
World Trade Center Stop Reopens
Let’s start in Manhattan, from which there emerges some outstanding news. The E line station at the World Trade Center site has been reconstructed and it reopened as an accessible station last month thanks to an elevator provided by the Port Authority. Also returning to service is the Cortland Street station on the N and R lines, but this station is only accessible in the southbound
direction. Not much help now, but the Pacific Street/4th Avenue station on the same lines in Brooklyn should have its access improvements completed by the time you are reading this article.
The 72nd Street station on the Broadway Line on Manhattan’s West Side is another refurbished accessible station from which you can ride to both 66th Street and 34th Street. Again, by the time you read this story, the Atlantic Avenue station in Brooklyn will also be accessible from 72nd Street. Also, both the local and express platforms are now accessible at the 34th Street station on the Broadway line.
The Canal Street station (#6) on the Lexington Avenue line is non-key, but is now an accessible station on this most heavily traveled of the city subway routes. It’s also the line that contains the most accessibility, at a total of 12 stations. An intrepid wheelchair user can take this subway line to a variety of neighborhoods in the Bronx, Manhattan, and Brooklyn.
Also in Manhattan, the 34th Street and 14th Street stations on the 8th Avenue line (A, C, E) came onboard as accessible stations. Using the A train for example, a wheelchair user could travel from Inwood in upper Manhattan through Midtown and Brooklyn all the way on out to the now fully accessible Howard Beach station at JFK Airport. Hop on the E and journey from the World Trade Center to Midtown and then out to Jamaica, Queens. Like the Lexington Avenue line, the accessible stations on the 8th Avenue line can take one to many places in our city.
The Number 7
The Grand Central subway station on the Flushing line (#7) is also now accessible, providing a Manhattan outlet on this busy route for two accessible Queens stations. Also, the 8th Avenue station on the Canarsie line (L train) adds a second Manhattan station on this route from the accessible Rockaway Parkway station in Canarsie, Brooklyn.
Before we leave the newest Manhattan accessible stations, we note that 34th Street might be the ideal block to begin accessible subway journeys, since there are four accessible 34th Street Subway stations-on the 6th Avenue, Broadway, 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue lines.
A bunch of newly accessible subway stations in Brooklyn can provide better access from this borough to both Manhattan and Queens. The Prospect Park station’s Q train can take you from the former home of the Dodgers baseball team to the Union Square station on Manhattan’s East Side, or to 34th Street/Broadway for a more extended jaunt on a Broadway bus up the West Side. The Prospect Park station is newly accessible, as are the Franklin Avenue and Park Place stations on the Franklin Avenue shuttle and the Franklin Avenue station on the C line. So at the Prospect Park station, and Park Place, too, another option is to take the shuttle, then switch to the C train at Franklin Avenue for destinations up and down the West Side of Manhattan.
Brooklyn’s newly accessible Flushing Avenue station is where you can find the J or M train. The J train can take you to the Jamaica Center station in the heart and soul of Queens, while you can board the M at Flushing Avenue station for a trip to the Metropolitan Avenue station in Middle Village. The Atlantic Avenue station (#2, 3) used to be accessible from northbound platforms only, but now it is completely accessible. So, too, is the Atlantic Avenue station providing D and Q service to Midtown Manhattan and the Pacific Street/4th Avenue station on the N and R, which can get you to several spots in Midtown, as well as a downtown location.
The Bronx and Staten Island, Too
The good news in the Bronx is that the two Yankee Stadium subway stations on the IRT (#4) and the IND (the B and D lines) are now accessible. Also, there are many accessible stations in the Bronx, Queens, Manhattan and Brooklyn that you can easily transfer from to reach “the House that Ruth Built.” Enjoy!
On Staten Island, a new accessible SIRTOA station is the Tottenville station. Dongan Hills and Great Kills stations are also accessible on the SIRTOA system, and the St. George terminal at the ferry is what we call marginally accessible; for instance, there are some pretty long and steep ramps from the bus terminal, but you are able to reach the ferry from the St. George SIRTOA station.
Two final thoughts-New York City Transit is reconstructing the Stillwell Avenue subway station in Coney Island, so it is temporarily closed; however, at a January 21 meeting, NYCT ADA staff expressed the hope that their engineers had found a solution to the “gap” problem which they are building into this station. Time will tell if this is true. Also, you can save yourself a lot of trouble and heartache if you call NYCT’s Elevator Hotline before you venture out onto the subways. Elevators occasionally do break down, so please call 1-800-734-6772 to make certain the elevators at your stations are in proper working order.
Terry Moakley is Associate Executive Director of Communications and Public Affairs.
