13
February 13 - February 26, 2014
Anger builds as escalator is still broken at E. Broadway subway B Y SA M S P O K O NY After 18 months of delays and several missed deadlines, Chinatown/Lower East Side residents and officials are still calling on the M.T.A. to fix a broken escalator at the E. Broadway subway station. That escalator inside the F train station — which is located at the corner of E. Broadway and Rutgers St. and far from other subway stops — has been out of service since August 2012, preventing many elderly and disabled locals from using what is essentially a lifeline for citywide transit. “We need this done as soon as possible,” said Irene Alladice, a senior from the Gouverneur Gardens housing complex, at a Jan. 31 rally outside the station, during which residents and advocates were joined by U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Sen. Daniel Squadron. Another local senior, Jocelyne CunyPanicker, 75, said that walking down the station’s 81-step staircase causes her intense back pain that worsens with each trip. “But I have to do it,” she added, shaking her head, since it’s the only station within walking distance for her. “I have no choice.” John Raskin, executive director of the advocacy group Riders Alliance, noted during the rally that one of the first complaints his organization received, after its founding in 2012, was from an Essex St. resident who
Downtown Express photo by Sam Spokony
Gouverneur Gardens resident Irene Alladice, flanked by Congressmember Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Daniel Squadron and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, urged the M.T.A. to finally finish its work on the E. Broadway subway escalator.
wanted the escalator to be fixed. “And it’s not just one person,” said Raskin, “because there are 13,000 people who use the E. Broadway subway station on an average weekday, and many of them really need that escalator.” The Metropolitan ‘Transportation
Authority’s work at the station began because the agency was replacing the previous 24-inch-wide escalator with a new 40-inch-wide model, and it was initially scheduled to be completed in August 2013, according to an authority spokesperson. The project was then stalled after
Hurricane Sandy struck in October 2012, when agency resources had to be prioritized for other stations that were more heavily damaged by the storm, according to the spokesperson. Later, Con Edison interrupted the work while replacing two generators within the station, the M.T.A. rep said, which pushed back the deadline to Dec. 2013. Then, after apparent problems with some escalator equipment during recent tests, the transit authority has once again lagged behind schedule — now saying the escalator will be back in service by Feb. 28. In response to the latest missed deadline, the elected officials had a very clear message for the M.T.A. during their Jan. 31 rally. “We will not accept another delay,” said Silver. “We are a community of many seniors,” he continued, “and we pride ourselves on the fact that our seniors don’t need institutionalization, because we provide services that allow them to stay here. This is one of those necessary services.” The electeds also declared that they’d be back on the scene for another rally if the job isn’t completed by Feb. 28. “It’s time for the M.T.A. to prioritize this challenge and get this escalator fixed,” said Squadron. “Not next month, not in three weeks, but immediately.”