When Malaysia Goodson fell to her death while carrying her daughter in a stroller down the stairs of the Seventh Avenue subway station five years ago, disability advocates demanded improved accessibility in New York City’s subway system.
The fight continues today.
With more than 70% of inoperable elevators in stations and dangerous gaps between the platforms and trains, three riders have filed a lawsuit against the city, alleging discrimination against people with disabilities, which violates the New York City Human Rights Law.
In July, the Supreme Court of the State of New York denied the city’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
Jackie Goldenberg, one of the plaintiffs, said she must be extra careful taking the train as an elderly person.
“I can get down in the subway and realize this is not necessarily a safe environment for someone who’s 80 years old,” said Goldenberg. “There are some very large gaps in between the platforms and the trains, and they are quite treacherous and dangerous for lots of people, and for particularly someone who is older, like me.”
Goldenberg along with two other plaintiffs, Emeline Lakrout and Athena Savides, said they decided to sue the city after voicing their concerns for years and being ignored.
Chris Schuyler, managing attorney at New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI), said the purpose of the litigation is to have the gaps fixed, so the subways will be safer for people with disabilities.
“Fixing the gaps is important not only for people with disabilities,” Schuyler said, “but all people who use the subway system, particularly senior citizens, parents pushing strollers, or tourists toting luggage and really all users.”
Goldenberg, who lives on the Upper West Side, said she often notices the gaps at the 59th Street Station/Columbus Circle Station in Midtown Manhattan where she often changes trains.
The spaces between the platform and the subway aren’t just dangerous for her but for small children too, she added. “Think of little tiny legs trying to go over those gaps.”
There are 1,373,495 people aged 65 and older in New York City, according to the Center for an Urban Future, a nonpartisan policy organization. But few of them use the subway. Goldenberg believes many seniors don’t ride the trains because they’re afraid they’ll get hurt.
“The subway should be safe and welcoming and inclusive of all New Yorkers,” said Danny Pearlstein, policy and communications director at Riders Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for transit accessibility. “That means we need to update it to 21st century accessibility standards.”
Pearlstein, who has small kids, said he struggles to carry a stroller up the stairs and that entering and exiting subway stations also can be stressful.
“Just having to take a stroller through an emergency exit gate rather than being able to get through a turnstile is a challenge, particularly because some of those gates have loud alarms.”
Schuyler said NYLPI is ready to use all legal options to get the result they’re looking for. Without safe access, he said, people with disabilities are not being given “equal access” to New York City the same way as people without disabilities are.
Accessibility in transit is “essential for people with disabilities to be able to get to work or to go to school or go to medical appointments or to visit cultural institutions or see friends and family,” said Schuyler.