Jul 29, 2008 9:06 am US/Eastern
STUDY: NYC Subways Rife With Structural Problems
From Large Gaps To Rotting Wood And Crumbling Platforms, The MTA Has Done Little To Remedy Scary Conditions
Assemblyman, Manhattan Borough President To Release Results Tuesday
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
-
-
Are you taking your life into your own hands every time you get off a NYC subway? Local lawmakers think so and say they have documented proof.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Subway riders are taking their lives in their hands on a daily basis, facing hazardous conditions that could easily be fixed, this from a new report on subway safety and station conditions obtained exclusively by CBS 2 HD.
Assemblyman Dov Hikind, D-Brooklyn, and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer studied conditions at more than 100 subway stations across New York City and what they found, they said, is scary.
Yossi Hershkop got off the Q train at the Avenue M station in Midwood and found himself in a life-threatening situation.
"I could have died," Hershkop said.
Hershkop's left leg up to his knee fell into a huge gap between the train and the platform. He had to pull himself back out before the train pulled away.
"An older person or little kid … forget about it. At least I have a shot of making it out. Other people who have smaller shoe size … they could fall all the way down," Hershkop said.
And the Avenue M station is not the only one with dangerous structural problems.
"It's not only here. A lot of stations in Brooklyn are like that," said Brighton Beach resident Anna Stanitskaya said.
"I have seen little kids getting their foot caught between the space and that gap," Midwood resident McDonal Mac added. "That gap is too much. Something has to be done about it."
It's not just the gaps. Rotting wood and crumbling platforms are just some of the problems found system-wide in the new study.
"You are taking your life in your hands. That's how bad it is," Hikind said. "It is criminal. The height of incompetence is beyond belief that a system should exist in such a fashion."
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has known about these problems for some time. CBS 2 HD has obtained a memo from Transit president Howard Roberts from last March that demanded that the system's 48,000 employees report dangerous conditions.
"Little has happened and some of the things that have happened are a joke," Hikind said.
Hikind found problems with the way the Transit Authority does repairs, saying they were careless.
"When you're walking you can actually break your head because of the repairs they've done," Hikind said.
The study will be made public on Tuesday. Hikind said that many of the repairs could be made cheaply with plywood and nails.
The Transit Authority provided no information on how many trouble spots it has been able to identify since the March memo. However, it does point out that the Avenue M station is due for full rehabilitation. The contract could be awarded by the end of the year.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Top Secret: Military Jets
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
