By Forum Staff
Subway stations in Rego Park and Elmhurst are among 12 that are scheduled to receive elevators and other accessibility upgrades, according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
The stations are 63 rd Dr-Rego Park (M, R) and Grand Av-Newtown (M, R).
The MTA Capital Plan calls for at least 60 more stations to be made Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible. This will ensure that nearly 70 percent of all subway rides will take place to or from accessible stations, according to the agency.
These stations were selected using legislatively mandated criteria including geographic coverage, demographics, ridership, transfers and priority destinations. And for the first time, the MTA used a public tool to allow riders to submit their accessibility priorities, which garnered more than 2,000 responses across all five boroughs. This adds to the previous 43 stations the MTA has committed to upgrading with elevators or ramps in the 2025-2029 Capital Plan. The 2025-2029 Capital plan also includes the replacement and modernization of 45 subway station elevators.
The MTA also announced the launch of a revamped Elevator and Escalator Status (mta.info/elevator-escalator-status tool), making it easier for riders to check the status of any elevator or escalator. Improvements were made to the interface, navigation and search functionality, which allows customers to save favorite stations. This tool allows customers to make travel decisions with real-time information about the status of machines throughout the MTA system.
MTA officials noted that the authority is also using funds from congestion pricing to invest in transit improvements, including ADA upgrades at 23 subway stations, including new elevators and reconstructed platforms. The MTA has completed 36 ADA stations since 2020, double the number of ADA stations completed in the previous six years.
“I have long championed accessibility upgrades for our mass transit system in Queens and I’m thrilled that elevators will now be coming to these communities,” said U.S. Rep. Grace Meng (D-Flushing). “I am also proud to have pushed for elevators at the Rego Park Station. The upgrades in Rego Park and Elmhurst will make life easier for so many people. Our subways play a vital role in our borough, getting people where they need to go, and all Queens residents deserve easy access to them. They should not be out of reach to anybody, and I will continue pushing for even more improvements throughout our neighborhoods.”
State Sen. Joe Addabbo, Jr. (D-Woodhaven) added, “I commend the MTA for its continued efforts to enhance subway accessibility for all New Yorkers, especially my constituents. The installation of elevators and accessibility improvements at these stations represents a fundamental advancement towards enabling people with mobility issues to travel more easily throughout the city. I am especially grateful to the MTA for proceeding with the elevator project at the station within my district, located in my hometown of Ozone Park. I’m pleased to see the use of public input in prioritizing projects and the progress made in increasing ADA-accessibility across the system. These collective efforts advance us toward establishing a transit network which provides equal access to all residents.”
