NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — Disability groups, advocates and elected officials gathered on Sunday to celebrate the opening of an elevator at the 14th Street–Sixth Avenue subway station in Chelsea, and announce a forthcoming lawsuit that would push the city to resume work on 23 other accessibility projects.
It took six years—including legal action by the 504 Democratic Club, a group of disabled New Yorkers and the Center for Independence of the Disabled—but the elevator on the northeast corner of 14th Street and Sixth Avenue in Manhattan is now open and providing access to the transit system to more New Yorkers.
“I can’t even describe the amount of independence someone that may use a wheelchair, or may have crutches, or may use a cane, like myself who is blind, to travel and not have to worry about going down stairs,” executive director of CIDNY Dr. Sharon McLennon Wier told 1010 WINS.
Ibrahim Alavante, with the 504 Democratic Club, uses crutches to get around, and says access to this elevator gives people more freedom.