An escalator that has been boarded up at the 61st Street 7 train station in Woodside for about two weeks will be fixed my mid-January, according to the MTA.
Denise Keehan-Smith, chairperson of Community Board 2, announced at the board’s Dec. 1 meeting in Sunnyside that she had spoken with an MTA representative, who did not have an exact date for repairs but gave her a mid-January timeline.
Keehan-Smith said she was worried about the overcrowding along the stairs and platform and several Woodside residents came to her with concerns about the issue.
Members of the Facebook group 7 Train Blues posted pictures of the boarded-up escalator and a sign notifying commuters that the escalator would be fixed by Dec. 31. But Kevin Ortiz, spokesperson for the MTA, indicated that repairs would be finished in mid-January.
Riders voiced their frustrations on the group, arguing that they constantly have to deal with problems at stations along the 7 train line, especially in Woodside and Sunnyside.
“We always get screwed, one way or another,” Susan Parker wrote in the group.
According to a report released by the nonprofit Citizens Budget Commission in 2015, the 61st Street station in Woodside was ranked 16th out of 32 stations with more than half of total structural components not in a state of good repair.
In 2015, one of the elevators was out for almost the entire year.
The worst station on the list was the 52nd Street 7 train station in Sunnyside and others that made the top of the list included the 103 St-Corona Plaza and 111 Street stations in Corona.
“This could easily be repaired if it wasn’t for the wasteful bureaucratic spending of the MTA or government agencies in general,” Ovi Ferdous wrote in the group. “Can’t even begin to explain how frustrated I get get looking at all the tax payer money being wasted.”
In addition to the escalator at 61st Street, riders are still waiting for a staircase at 82nd Street to be repaired and a turnstile at the 46th Street station is out of order.
To report a problem with the MTA through phone, mail or email visit the agency’s contact page.
