Developers fail to keep subway escalators working

From Fox 5:

City Council Member Jessica Lappin has been fighting to get subway escalators and elevators fixed in her Upper East Side district for three years. Fox 5 met her at the 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue subway station, where we found a broken MTA escalator.

The pregnant councilwoman had to walk down 60-plus steps to the E train platform to see the other broken escalator at this station -- the one that has been broken for two years, according to the MTA, and infamous with East Side subway commuters.

The escalator is privately operated by Denver-based owner Miller Global. Building developers got a deal from the city in exchange for running the escalator -- a deal Miller global is not honoring.

Lappin introduced a City Council resolution calling on the MTA to investigate maintenance of subway escalators and elevators. The council does not control MTA funding, so the resolution would simply draw attention to the problem.

MTA escalator project almost complete

From NY1:

The subway is all about connections. But when maps come out, the magic can disappear.

In two new transfer spots, the answer will be to stay underground rather than hit the street to switch trains. NY1 has learned the Jay Street-Lawrence Street connector in downtown Brooklyn is to open ahead of schedule on December 10, while the Citicorp-funded Court House Square link in Long Island City is set to open a year late in February.

Riders will use a new escalator to transfer from the E, M and G to the elevated 7 train, and will no longer have to cross Jackson Avenue, where some improvise.

After years of dealing with the rain, the snow and the cold, riders say the new transfer can't open soon enough.

Subway escalators frequently broken

From Fox 5:

Roughly one out of 11 escalators in the MTA system is broken and one escalator in Midtown Manhattan is broken one day out of three. MTA records indicate one of the four escalators at the F train subway station at 63rd Street and Lexington Avenue is broken 33 percent of the time.

One of four escalators at the bustling 53rd Street and Lexington Avenue E train stop is not a favorite of riders. During the morning rush hour when commuters of the E train exit they bunch up so much that they are close to the edge. Some commuters worry about being hurt. Losing one of four escalators at this station forces commuters to pile up like sardines in a can at the other escalators.

The MTA said it is waiting for parts to repair the 63rd Street and Lexington escalators. Two escalators are broken and should be repaired October 20 and November 18, 2010.

The MTA said the escalator at 53rd Street and Lexington is operated by a private company.

Wacky green glass-covered escalator coming soon!

Lost City visits The Weirdest Looking Development Site in New York.

Naturally, it's not a building, is in LIC and being constructed by the MTA.

Volunteer Vandals for Mike Bloomberg

Volunteers showed their support for Mike Bloomberg by plastering the subway escalator at East 53rd Street and 3rd Avenue with campaign stickers:



They've been there for about 3 months now.