By Joseph N. Manago
I am writing in regard to the deceptive wheelchair-accessible icon on the facade of the newly installed elevator at the Briarwood station.
This elevator is only mezzanine-bound, so the passenger in a wheelchair is deceived to board the elevator, then traverse a long tunnel, only to discover that the train platform is only accessible via stairs, a dead end for the passenger!
Although there are structural feasibility grounds which apparently preclude the construction of a platform-bound elevator at this station, exempting the MTA from the requirement of full accessibility of newly constructed entrances for wheelchair disabled persons, as per the Americans With Disabilities Act, the icon must be immediately removed and a sign must be posted at the elevator: WHEELCHAIR DEAD END AHEAD!
Presently, unaware disabled passengers are on a page out of Kafka’s surreal novels.
Joseph N. Manago
Flushing
