Online ticket sales close at 3pm. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door.

New York City Transit, the world’s most robust public transit system, is a feat of engineering and operations. Yet that scale of service brings many challenges and for the nearly 1 million New Yorkers living with disabilities, the struggles of the system are magnified. Inaccessibility makes it more difficult to participate in the workforce, attend school, and can isolate people from family, friends, and everyday life. Whether it is an issue facing the subway, city buses, or paratransit services, the system has too often failed to meet expectations and equity standards — stresses that extend to seniors, parents with strollers, and people with temporary limitations.

In May 2018 MTA announced its Fast Forward plan to modernize the city’s transit system, which aims to accelerate accessibility throughout the system to give all members of the public a reliable way to travel. The 2020-2024 Capital Program pledges to make another 70 subway stations ADA compliant — with additional elevators, reconstructed platform surfaces, more visible station communication, and lighting upgrades. More immediate system-wide improvements include the expansion of on-demand ride hailing and tracking for MTA’s Access-a-Ride service and testing new visual and aural wayfinding features in select stations, as well as piloting new accessible bus models and operator training.

Join Open House New York for a presentation on the ongoing efforts to make New York City transit more accessible by Alex Elegudin, Senior Adviser for Systemwide Accessibility, MTA, followed by a discussion with Quemuel Arroyo, Global Head of Community, Charge; Jaqi Cohen, Campaign Director, Straphangers Campaign; and moderator Colin Wright, Senior Advocacy Associate, TransitCenter.

AIA CES: 1.75 LU | HSW

ACCESSIBILITY
John Jay College L.63 Theater is ADA compliant. CART and ASL interpretation can be provided upon request. To request accommodations, please email sophie@ohny.org by January 24, 2020.

This program is part of The Moving City: Transportation Infrastructures of New York, a year-long series of tours, conversations, and debates about the future of transportation and mobility in New York City.