Last week, I stood in front of an elevator at Penn Station and pushed the button. It’s an ordinary act for millions of New Yorkers who do this every day — myself included — but this one felt different.
For starters, it wasn’t a regular act of commuting. I was joined by fellow disability activists; representatives of Amtrak, the MTA, and the real estate developer Vornado; and a group of New York’s elected officials to cut the ribbon and officially bring the elevator into service for the 600,000 passengers who use Penn Station each day. It was the culmination of years of work and collaboration between government, the private sector, and disability advocates, which had produced a game-changing result.
Any New Yorker will tell you that they’ve dreaded traveling through Penn, given its dark, cramped, difficult labyrinth of hallways. For disabled people, the challenges were much worse. Penn’s existing elevators, hidden in poorly-lit corridors or in loading areas, were unsafe and hard to find. The new elevator is part of a renovated and expanded entrance on 32nd Street; two other new elevators are centrally located and highly visible around the station. Lighting, open space, and improved signage make it easier to figure out where to go, and the public announcement system in the entrance is audible over the noise of commuting. The area around the station is improving, too: run-down, inaccessible public plazas are getting new life with ramps near main staircases, and adaptable seating that is welcoming and comfortable.
These improvements may be aimed at disabled New Yorkers, but transform the area into a more welcoming civic space for everyone. It shows what is possible when decision-makers prioritize accessibility, and the public and private sectors work together and with advocates.
It wasn’t always this way. In 2017, I was in a subway station just a few stops from Penn, watching an older couple struggle up the stairs. I was among a few activists who…
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