61st St-Woodside Station (Photo: Queens Post)
Jan. 19, 2017 By Hannah Wulkan
The broken-down escalator and defective elevator at the 61st Street Woodside 7 train station are both slated to be in operation tomorrow after several months of repairs, according to the MTA.
The escalator was shut down for repairs in November and the elevator in December, making the train inaccessible to those who cannot use the stairs. The MTA website lists the reopening date for both as tomorrow around 7 a.m.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer came out swinging at the MTA today for how long the repairs have taken, though when the escalator first closed, the MTA told Community Board 2 member Denise Keehan-Smith that it would reopen in mid-January.
“It is completely unacceptable that the MTA would allow these outages to continue. If this were the escalator on the Upper East Side, I feel certain it would have been fixed immediately,” Van Bramer said in a statement. “The dual escalator and elevator outages, combined with the unsafe and dilapidated staircase, has made the station completely inaccessible to seniors, parents with children, and people with disabilities. What’s worse, the MTA has jerked our community around, consistently moving the expected dates of completion.”
Van Bramer demanded that the elevator and escalator reopen by the time listed on the website, threatening a rally if they do not reopen.
If the MTA is truly supposed to serve all New Yorkers, they must take seriously the needs of commuters in Queens,” Van Bramer said.
