José Margarito lives in the Gowanus area, just steps from the Smith-Ninth Street Station.
But because there is no elevator at that station, you must walk five blocks to access the Fourth Street station.
Margarito, a subway user, has a disability and says:
“I can hardly walk. And when I take the train, I have to wait. If I have to go somewhere at nine, I have to leave home at five to be able to get there, because too much is difficult,†she says.
Like him, 13% of New Yorkers who use the subway They have disabilities, and it is difficult for them to access 70% of the subway stations, as they lack elevators, ramps and escalators.
That is why state senator Andrew Gounardes spoke about the importance of being able to implement the collection of congestion tolls in Manhattan, since according to what they say, the money that the MTA will collect annually is key to being able to build such accesses.
“The MTA is obligated to make it accessible to all New Yorkers until the year 2055, but that will not happen if congestion tolling is not implemented, adds Gounardes.
They also pointed out that the lawsuits filed by the state of New Jersey are a waste of time and unnecessary, and that all they do is delay the MTA from making improvements, which will benefit thousands of New Yorkers with disabilities. , like Verónica Vélez.
“It is difficult for me to climb the stairs. There are many stairs. To go up to the top floor,†Vélez explains.
– So you don’t use this subway?
“No, I don’t do this subway. I walk to the fourth, and on the fourth I catch the train.â€
Sometimes José Margarito risks climbing the steps, but that leaves him exhausted.
“My station here is very high, it has stairs, but it doesn’t have the other part, they are stairs, nothing more.
And you have to enter from one to one and wait and wait and wait, catch your breath and wait again and let like three trains pass by and when I arrive I feel like I’m going to die from breathing, I can’t breathe well.
“It’s incredibly difficult,” says Margarito.
Jessy Figueroa, is an activist for people with disabilities at the MTA and says:
“For now, the station officers or someone or the police have to assist people who are incapacitated to serve the staircase.â€
It is estimated that the MTA could raise 1,000 million each year, with the collection of congestion tolls, money that would go to provide accessibility for people with disabilities.
