Friday, September 1, 2023

Governor Hochul Announces Progress in Increasing MTA Accessibility

 A new fully accessible Grand Street L Station in Brooklyn.

Grand St L Station Now Fully Accessible, Becoming Fourth Fully Accessible Station in 2023

Eight More Stations to be Completed by End of 2023; 30 Stations Under Construction for Accessibility Upgrades

142 Stations Accessible Systemwide

 Governor Kathy Hochul and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority today announced the accelerated pace of completion of accessibility projects across the New York City subway system with the opening of another fully accessible station, Grand St L station in Williamsburg, Brooklyn – the fourth across the transit system in 2023. The opening followed a summer in which significant progress was made on accessibility improvements. In July, the MTA celebrated Disability Pride Month with a wide array of events and announcements including the opening of three fully accessible stations: Court Square station in Queens, Dyckman St 1 station in Upper Manhattan, and 8 Av station in Brooklyn.

“The Grand St L station is the most recent example of our hard work to ensure that no New Yorker has to worry about whether they can safely access public transportation,” Governor Hochul said. “The MTA shares our commitment to delivering accessibility improvements across New York City and will continue to strive to make transit accessible to all.”

The pace in which the MTA is awarding contracts for accessibility projects is five times what it was before 2020. The MTA has awarded contracts for 13 stations in 2020, 10 stations in 2021, 13 stations in 2022, and previously announced its plan to award contracts for 17 stations by the end of the year.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when ridership significantly decreased, the MTA prioritized expanding accessibility improvements in the subway by completing 15 accessibility projects. Following today's announcement, there are 142 accessible stations and 30 stations in construction for accessibility upgrades, eight of which are expected to be complete by the end of 2023. Those stations are:

  • 181 St
  • Tremont Av
  • E 149 St
  • Lorimer St
  • Metropolitan Av
  • 7 Av
  • Beach- 67 St
  • New Dorp

MTA Chair and CEO Janno Lieber said, “When it comes to accessibility, the MTA is delivering on an unprecedented commitment – both in terms of dollars or number of stations – and we are going to keep going at the same pace and level of investment until we achieve full accessibility.”

The Grand St L station accessibility project was funded by a grant provided by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) and completed as part of a design-build package of eight stations throughout the subway system, the first such bundle undertaken by MTA Construction & Development (C&D) to deliver accessibility upgrades better, faster, and cheaper. The remaining stations from that bundle are projected to open later this year.

In June, as part of the station’s accessibility design-build package, MTA Arts & Design announced new mosaic artwork commissioned by artist Glendalys Medina, Gratitudes Off Grand. The resulting work is comprised of vividly colored geometric forms–circles, diamonds, squares, and rectangles reflecting the artist’s practice inspired by Taíno, hip-hop and Latino cultures and music. Medina’s art also focuses on the way humans create sense out of the world such as the way brains organize patterns. For more on this piece, click here.

The 2020-2024 MTA Capital Plan includes a historic investment of $5.2 billion to make 67 subway stations ADA accessible, more than any capital plan in the MTA’s history and more than the last three capital plans combined. In addition, the Authority is delivering accessibility projects at an unprecedented pace, completing 21 ADA stations since 2020, double the number of ADA stations completed in the previous six years.

In July, the MTA also began rolling out innovative new wayfinding features across 11 subway stations and 24 stops along the M60 bus route in Manhattan. These tools include:

  • Floor decals on subway platforms that indicate accessible boarding areas;
  • Tactile subway line maps for customers with visual disabilities;
  • NaviLens wayfinding signage. NaviLens is an app that uses unique codes, similar to QR codes, to provide audio and visual wayfinding guidance and arrival status information, in upwards of 40 languages. The app was tested in 2019 at Jay St-MetroTech station and on the M23 bus route.

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