Pols Laud Start Of Construction
State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, Council Member Karen Koslowitz, Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi and Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) officials announced last Friday, Jan. 20 the beginning of work at the Forest Hills-71st Avenue E/F/M/R subway stop to make it fully accessible for persons with disabilities.
The MTA will install three elevators to service the station: one near the intersection of Queens Boulevard South and 70th Road to connect the street to the mezzanine subway level, and two other elevators to connect the mezzanine level to the Manhattan bound and Jamaica-bound platforms.
In addition to the elevators, the MTA will also be doing platform work, including installing Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant boarding areas and tactile warning strips and signs, and modifying platform edges and control area gates to meet the Act’s requirements.
The work began in September and is scheduled to finish in October of 2013. It will also require several changes in service on the Queens Boulevard subway lines.
The MTA will notify the public as well as elected officials in advance of these disruptions to minimize their impact.
“People with disabilities must be guaranteed fair and equal access to all public services,” said Stavisky in a statement. “The disabled, who are often isolated, their mobility restricted, will not be the only beneficiaries. People with baby carriages, as well as those with luggage, will also benefit.”
Koslowitz echoed these sentiments, saying, “Everyone should have equal access to our city’s mass transit system and this is a step in the right direction.”
“With the ever increasing pedestrian traffic to the Austin Street shopping area, I applaud the MTA for bringing the Forest Hills-71st Avenue subway stop up to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act,” Hevesi added. “This renovation will greatly increase train accessibility for residents of our community, while also providing more neighboring residents access to the shops in Forest Hills.”
