By Joseph Morales

Park Slope is a densely populated neighborhood in Western Brooklyn that is one of if not the most well known neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Just a 15 min subway ride from Lower Manhattan, the neighborhood is famous for its brownstone residential buildings, which are considered part of quintessential Brooklyn and New York. Park Slope is also adjacent to the popular Prospect Park, which is one of New York City’s largest parks with a plethora of green space and sports fields. The neighborhood is well served by mass transit with the D, N, R, F and G trains stopping in the area along with several bus routes.

                Unfortunately for residents and visitors, none of the stations in the neighborhood have been accessible for those with mobility disabilities, inhibiting many from making the most of what Park Slope has to offer. In order for those with disabilities to take the subway, they would have to take a bus to the Atlantic Av-Barclays Ctr or Church Av(F,G) stations. For Queens-bound trips on the G, this includes going south just to travel north. 

                 Fortunately, this has recently changed with the MTA recently completing the installation of elevators at the 7 Av(F,G) station, making the station fully ADA-accessible for those with mobility disabilities. The station’s accessibility also benefits the elderly, people with strollers and others who may have had difficulty navigating stairs. In addition to the elevators, the MTA added tactile strips on the platform edges and upgraded the hallway in the mezzanine to make the station easier to navigate for people with mobility disabilities once underground. The MTA also included a new fire alarm system along with heat and smoke detectors inside the elevators for rider safety. In addition, the MTA added a new two-way communication system, in which riders can communicate with dispatchers by answering on-screen questions as well as standard voice communications, improving communication for those with speech or hearing disabilities. 

                   The elevators have been a long time coming for the community as residents and local politicians have been calling for elevators at this station for years. Residents as well as current Comptroller and former City Councilman Brad Lander argued prior to construction that the station should be prioritized for upgrades due to its proximity to the main campus of Brooklyn Methodist Hospital as well as the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging. Park Slope residents even voted for Lander to use $250,000 in discretionary funds in April 2019 to go toward the elevators at the 7 Av(F,G) station as part of the participatory budgeting process, in which Lander chose for the people to vote on where he should spend his funds rather than make the decision himself. Residents have also showed their support for an elevator project over the years through rallies, petitions and comments at MTA Board Meetings. One Change.org petition from 2014 on the matter racked up 106 signatures according to Change.org figures. 

                  Indeed, the station being accessible is absolutely critical for Park Slope residents as 66% of households in the community district in which Park Slope is located in do not have a car according to numbers from the NYC Department of City Planning. In addition, the elderly in Park Slope make up 11.1% of the population and those with disabilities make up 5.3% according to data from the NYU Furman Center. Since many of the more than 500,000 patients at Brooklyn Methodist Hospital and the members of the Park Slope Center for Successful Aging  are likely Park Slope residents, the percentage of people in Park Slope on a daily basis that will benefit or even depend on the accessibility of the 7 Av(F, G) station is likely even higher. Given Park Slope’s high commercial and residential density coupled with the high number of elderly and disabled residents, the reduction in car trips made by those who can now use the subway may have a positive impact on both congestion and parking demand in the area. In addition, one of the most frequent arguments against congestion pricing is that it will place an unfair financial burden on those who cannot take the subway to avoid the $9-23 for entering Manhattan below 60th St. Hence, the elevators at this station help to alleviate these concerns by providing subway access to those people such as those in strollers and the elderly in Park Slope who may not have the exemptions currently set to be designated for vehicles transporting those with disabilities.

In addition to accessibility upgrades, the station is getting a full station renewal. This will include adding new tiling, stairways, lighting and more to make the station a more safe, sightly and desirable place to be. Based on what I saw on my visits to the station, both in August and this month, I noticed that the MTA has at least not added the new tiling, as the same glaring areas of broken and soiled tiling have remained between both my visits. However, the Station Renewal should soon begin if not be completed given how the MTA generally likes to combine as much station work as possible to reduce passenger disruption.

                   As the MTA has made yet another station accessible this year, this project is just one of the many that has the agency making the subway accessible at a record pace. This project represents just one out of the 67 subway stations slated for accessibility upgrades as part of the MTA’s 2020-24 capital program, more than any capital plan in agency history and more than the last three capital plans combined. This project is part of a $149 million design-build contract with Judlau Contracting. Inc that also included work to make eight other stations accessible across the city. These stations included  E 149th St(6) in The Bronx, the Dyckman St(1) in Manhattan and the New Dorp(SIR) station in Staten Island have also become fully accessible this year. As the agency continues to march toward 95% accessibility by 2055, the slew of projects completed this year likely gives New Yorkers hope that one day, New Yorkers who need elevators will be able to utilize the city’s sprawling subway system just like anyone else. 

Works Cited

Metropolitan Transportation Authority. “MTA Announces 7 Av FG Subway Station in Brooklyn Now Fully Accessible.” MTA, 21 November 2023, https://new.mta.info/press-release/mta-announces-7-av-fg-subway-station-brooklyn-now-fully-accessible. Accessed 24 November 2023.

Brendlen, Kirstyn. “’A long time coming’: Three new elevators open at 7th Avenue station • Brooklyn Paper.” Brooklyn Paper, 22 November 2023, https://www.brooklynpaper.com/long-time-coming-elevators-7th-avenue/. Accessed 24 November 2023.

Sandgrund, Alice. “The residents of Park Slope ask that the MTA provide access for the disabled and the senior community at the 7th Avenue, Brooklyn stop of the F and G subway lines by installation of an elevator.” Change.org, 18 October 2014, https://www.change.org/p/mr-carmen-bianco-president-mta-the-residents-of-park-slope-ask-that-the-mta-provide-access-for-the-disabled-and-the-senior-community-at-the-7th-avenue-brooklyn-stop-of-the-f-and-g-subway-lines-by-installation-of-an-elevator?origina. Accessed 24 November 2023.

New York City Department of City Planning. “Car Ownership in NYC.” Tableau, 24 November 2022, https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/dcptransportation/viz/ACSProfiles/Dashboard1. Accessed 24 November 2023.

“Park Slope/Carroll Gardens Neighborhood Profile – NYU Furman Center.” NYU Furman Center, 2022, https://furmancenter.org/neighborhoods/view/park-slope-carroll-gardens. Accessed 24 November 2023.

 Brosnan, Erica. “What you need to know about NYC congestion pricing.” NY1, 2 October 2023, https://ny1.com/nyc/manhattan/transit/2023/10/02/what-to-know-about-congestion-pricing-in-new-york-city. Accessed 24 November 2023.

“Accessibility Upgrades at Eight Stations | OHLA.” OHLA USA, https://www.ohla-usa.com/projects/accessibility-upgrades-at-eight-stations. Accessed 24 November 2023.

Gold, Michael. “M.T.A. Vows to Make Subways 95% Accessible. It Will Take 33 Years.” The New York Times, 22 June 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/22/nyregion/nyc-subway-accessibility-disabilities-elevators.html. Accessed 24 November 2023.