How community development should work
The drumbeat for better subway accessibility has gotten louder in the past few years as more people find it hard to navigate the subway with the mobility difficulties that often accompany getting older. Advocates have been frustrated by the slow pace of progress since the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) first passed in 1990, and the MTA has long maintained that difficulties with utilities add to the expense and complexity of installing elevators. A solution that has helped the MTA to bring down costs in some stations is to take advantage of new building construction adjacent to subway stations. Easements make it possible to make those stations accessible where sidewalk space is limited and utilities create other challenges for construction. It’s far more cost-effective to carve out an easement when a building is going up than to divert utilities that are buried beneath the sidewalks around an elevator. It also makes for a better pedestrian experience when the elevator is tucked into a building rather than taking up sidewalk space. Unfortunately, developers don’t always create an easement when they build on top of inaccessible stations.
But there are some examples where this kind of public-private partnership can work to increase accessibility. Totem, a Brooklyn-based real estate development firm proactively reached out to the Elevator Action Group and many other community groups last year to garner support for their mixed-use project at 737 4th Avenue in Sunset Park. They are looking to convert the site, which is currently a Dunkin’ Donuts and parking lot, to the same zoning as the lot across the street, in order to create approximately 135 units of new housing — 1 in 4 of which would be permanently affordable to neighborhood residents. While a project of this size can’t take on the expense of the subway elevator construction, which would likely cost tens of millions of dollars, the developers have committed to carving out an easement to the MTA as another concession for the zoning change. The 25th St. N/R station, which the building would be adjacent to, has a narrow sidewalk and platform, making this particular easement the ideal accessibility solution. And with lower construction costs for the MTA, it might make the project easier for the agency to prioritize an elevator at that location in the future. In the interim period, until an elevator can be installed, Totem has committed to working with local nonprofits and economic development groups to program the space, showcasing local entrepreneurs.
Totem’s forward-thinking is refreshing when many buildings go up without those discussions, creating missed opportunities and further delaying public transit access to people with disabilities. A city council and MTA zoning proposal to require developers to consult with MTA — and avoid missing out on easement opportunities like the one Totem is offering — is on the horizon. If approved, Zoning for Accessibility (ZFA) could make this type of collaboration the norm for future developments. In the meantime, and for new buildings that may not benefit from ZFA, Totem’s extensive outreach with the community to understand the neighborhood’s current and future needs is worthy of City Council approval and emulation by other developers.
Jessica Murray is a member of the Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group and recently earned her Ph.D. in developmental psychology from The Graduate Center, CUNY
“How Community Development Should Work” was originally published by the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on March 24, 2021.
Listen in to my conversation on The Thought Project podcast about my activism and research about disabled persons' diminished access to mass transit in New York City.
