Social issue: lack of elevators in most NYC subway stations.

1. Why is this social issue a problem? – This social issue is a problem because a lot of stations do not have elevators and therefore are not wheelchair accessible and/or ADA accessible in general.
2. What are some of the causes and effects of this issue? – People that are disabled have to find another means of transportation when their subway station does not have an elevator.
3. Who does this issue impact? – This issue impacts the disabled and those traveling with them.

Relevant keywords that were part of our search were:

• New York City, NYC, New York
• Transit, MTA, mass transit, transportation, subway
• Disability, accessibility, ADA accessible

Relevant sources:

Neuman, William. “$1 Billion Later, Subway Elevators Still Fail.” The New York Times. 2008, https://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/nyregion/19elevators.html

• This article supports our opinion that there isn’t enough elevators in the subway system in New York City. Most stations are without elevators and some that have elevators are experiencing issues with the elevator malfunctioning or out of service elevators. That in itself is not favorable for those who rely on them.

Tangel, Andrew. “MTA Under Pressure to Add Elevators to More Subway Stations.” Wall Street Journal – Online Edition, 30 Jan. 2016. EBSCOhost, citytech.ezproxy.cuny.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=112633856&site=ehost-live&scope=site.

• This article is relevant to our issue because it says that only 111 out of the 469 NYC subway stations are accessible. People who have advised the addition of elevators to all subway stations have been turned down countless times because the MTA says that it is too expensive and that it will take an immense amount of time do get fully done. The MTA knows they have a huge problem on their hands, but they went with making buses more accessible which ended up costing them even more money than making subway stations accessible.