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October 20^th, 2005

For Background Purposes Only

Embargoed Until October 20th, 2005 @ 11:35pm

Contact:

Michael A. Harris

Campaign Coordinator

Disabled Riders Coalition

Telephone: (914) 323-1725

Mobile: (914) 490-0518

E-mail: mediacontact@disabledriders.org

TA Should be Ashamed Over Long-Term Elevator Outage at Major Subway Station

Disabled riders say that the Elevator at West 4th Street has been out of service more than it has worked

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 20th, 2005 (NEW YORK CITY)- The elevators at the West 4th Street subway station in the West Village was certified as operational in June, 2005, just four months ago, yet disabled riders say that for about half of that time the elevators have been out of service...

A segment aired tonight on WCBSTV's "Shame on You" revealed that despite knowing about this problem, the TA has done nothing to repair the elevators (TA ID #s 333-335), citing that they are still under warranty and as such the manufacturers responsibility.  The TA told Channel 2's Arnold Diaz that there is a problem with the doors and they anticipate it being at least another month before the elevators go back into service.  This does nothing to calm the outrage of disabled riders, who say that the elevator has already been out of service for about a month.

Michael Harris, head of the Disabled Riders Coalition told Diaz that he believes that the elevators were defective to begin with, but says the TA has tried to cover up the problem.  "If you call the TA's elevator hotline it says that the elevators are 'temporarily out of service', which generally means that they will be back in operation the next day, not the next month.  This is blatantly misleading to riders with disabilities," he said, adding, "We are dealing with what are essentially brand new elevators that have been out of service more than they have been in service."

The West 4th Street subway station is a major station and one that is particularly crucial to riders with disabilities.  "It is the only station where I can transfer from the A Train to the Sixth Avenue Line," said Edith Prentiss, a Washington Heights resident who uses a wheelchair and uses the subway as her prime means of transportation.  In fact according to the Disabled Riders Coalition a rider who wants to transfer from the Eighth Avenue Line (A,C,E) to the Sixth Avenue Line (B,D,F,V) would have to go to 53rd Street (E, V), 59th Street or 125th Street (A, C , B, D), not exactly convenient for a rider at West 4th Street.

The station serves the NYU Campus as well as the many bars and night clubs in the area and as such is frequently used late at night, when trains don't run very often.  "It is an incredible inconvenience to disabled riders," says Harris, who at 2 AM rode an A Train all the way up to 34th Street - Penn Station, then wheeled two and a half blocks over to Herald Square, just to get to a SB Sixth Avenue Line Train to reach his home in Brooklyn.  "The TA has not been forthright with riders about this elevator.  It causes incredible inconvenience and the TA ought to be ashamed of themselves," he said.

Clearly Diaz agreed, inducting the TA into the CBS 2 Hall of Shame at the conclusion of tonight's segment (http://wcbstv.com/shame/local_story_293173810.html )

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For more information on the Disabled Riders Coalition, please visit our website at www.disabledriders.org