Is New York's subway system really as wheelchair-friendly as they say it is?
Brut reporter Rebecca Suner followed Lauren Brooks to find out.
Brut reporter Rebecca Suner followed Lauren Brooks to find out.
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00:00It's not serviced.
00:06We're going to have to go back up and go through, actually, the second elevator.
00:09This is my favorite view of all time.
00:12Just kidding.
00:13So there's still a gap.
00:14So it's a little bit scary.
00:15In New York City, 27% of stations are accessible to people with disabilities.
00:21With Lauren Brooks, a 20-year-old student who just moved here, we went to see what it's
00:26actually like to navigate the subway system in New York City in a wheelchair.
00:31Disability is only seen as an inherently bad thing or a weak thing, because the world isn't
00:36meant for us.
00:39Normally, before I start out each day, I always search the MTA app to see if my elevators
00:46are out of service, just to kind of see, like, what's the quickest stop.
00:50Because only 27% of stations are accessible.
00:53I have, like, three backup stations and, like, three backup routes.
00:56So, like, if one's broken, okay, shift, shift, shift.
00:59So this is the Fulton Center.
01:00This is my second backup station.
01:02But the Fulton Center's nice, because there's actually two elevators in the platform.
01:06She's moving!
01:08Isn't it beautiful?
01:11Isn't she lovely?
01:14This is my favorite view of all time.
01:18Just kidding.
01:19However, there is another elevator, but it's in the mall.
01:22Let's go to the mall!
01:23I have an unlimited card for that reason.
01:30There are a lot of times where I do pay for a ticket for nothing, and it would be kind
01:35of horrible if, like, I bought, like, ride by ride.
01:37I'd be spending so much money.
01:39Normally, I would be really busted.
01:42I still am.
01:43But there is a second elevator at the station, so it may be, like, a detour, it might take
01:47me a little bit longer, but at least there's an option.
01:49Here we go.
01:50All right.
01:51Attempt number two to go to the elevator.
02:06It's not in service.
02:08I'm gonna have to ask somebody to open up the door on the other side, because how am
02:13I supposed to pay when that's broken?
02:16Um, excuse me?
02:17Could you do me a big favor?
02:18The fare thing is broken right there.
02:20Thank you for opening the door.
02:22Appreciate it.
02:25A lot of my friends have said that they don't really think about a lot of this stuff until
02:29they're hanging out with me or they hear me, and, like, I don't blame them.
02:34Like, if you don't know anybody in a wheelchair or if you've never really thought about it,
02:39like, even in your city, just, like, think for, like, five seconds, just, like, how would
02:43a person in a wheelchair be navigating this?
02:45Like, things that you wouldn't think twice about.
02:47Like, maybe there's, like, a step in front of, like, your apartment building or a step
02:51in front of your office building.
02:53What would a person in a wheelchair do?
02:55This station is very strange because on this side, um, part of the platform is actually
03:00raised for the conductor car, which makes it super easy to get in and out.
03:04And, um, this side actually does not have it.
03:08So especially with, like, older cars, I have to usually wait for the next one because it's
03:12just too high.
03:13People are usually nice, and, like, if I get stuck, just in general, like, I don't want
03:16to need to depend on random strangers.
03:20So there's still a gap, um, so it's a little bit scary.
03:23I'm still probably going to back up.
03:31Yeah.
03:32Okay.
03:33I got lucky this time, but I still had to back up, so.
03:37Yes.
03:38Yeah.
03:39And it gets scary because, like, um, I got lucky this time and that, um, the new train
03:44was here.
03:45But, um, if it is an older train, I usually do have to wait for the next one because the
03:49gap is, like, this big.
03:51Like, I'm not trying that.
04:00In June 2022, the MTA settled a lawsuit and agreed to make 95% of its stations accessible
04:07by 2055.
04:082055 is a little bit of a ways away.
04:11I'm only going to be here for a few months.
04:15Inaccessibility is a problem in New York that permeates almost every aspect I've noticed.
04:21I'm used to it.
04:22Like, this is nothing new.
04:23I'm from LA area.
04:25It's not much better over there.
04:27I've definitely experienced a lot of inaccessibility with public transit.
04:30Sidewalks are a mess.
04:31Streets in general are a mess as well in terms of potholes.
04:34It's very interesting living in a city that, um, I've always wanted to live in, but basically
04:39kind of getting, like, a subliminal message that I don't belong here.
04:43And, um, for things that New Yorkers take for granted.
04:47It would help me be a more normal, I guess, early 20-year-old, you know?
04:50Be spontaneous.
04:51I don't have to, like, hitch out, like, all this time, you know?
04:54Or, like, budget for Ubers on the side.
04:56It would just make things a lot easier.