*The following is an expanded version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

After seven years of hope and lobbying by local disability advocates and elected officials for greater accessibility at Mosholu Parkway subway station, located on the border of Bedford Park and Norwood, and despite prior concerns that a possible reversal of congestion pricing would cause a delay with the project, the MTA formally unveiled two brand new station elevators at the station, under budget and ahead of schedule, on Wednesday, Sept. 3.

 

The event marked the transition of the station, which serves the 4 train, to an accessible one. This is, of course, long awaited and very welcome news for the thousands of patients who visit the two nearby hospitals, Montefiore Medical Center and NYC Health + Hospitals/North Central Bronx, as well as the numerous residents of nearby Tracey Towers and Scott Towers, many of whom are older adults.

 

MTA CEO and Chair Janno Lieber attended the ceremony, along with several past and present elected officials, including Bronx Borough President Vanessa Gibson, State Sen. Gustavo Rivera (S.D. 33), State Sen. Nathalia Fernandez (S.D. 34), Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), Assemblyman John Zaccaro Jr. (A.D. 80), and Councilman Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11).

 

Also present were residents, and representatives of Bronx Community Board 7, including the chair of the transportation committee, Edgar Ramos, District Manager Karla Cabrera Carrera, and Jean Hill, president of the Tracey Towers Tenants Organization, among others. Lieber, himself, attended the event using crutches due to an apparent injury. “It’s definitely been a very personal experience of how difficult it is to get around without full accessibility,” he said of his injury.

 

“I am proud of how fast we are knocking out these projects, at five times the pace of the MTA of the past,” he said. “This is the 37th ADA station opening since we created MTA Construction & Development and we’re going to keep using every available strategy to deliver accessibility as quickly as possible in partnership with the disability community, because every New Yorker deserves to be able to use the subway system.”

 

According to the MTA, 4,600 riders use Mosholu Parkway station on an average weekday, where connections are available to the Bx1, Bx2, Bx10, Bx28 and Bee Line buses 4, 20, 21 for trips to/from Westchester County.

 

Elevators had been installed in recent years at East Gun Hill Road in Olinville, serving the 2 and 5 trains, and at Bedford Park Boulevard in Bedford Park, serving the B & D trains. At Mosholu Parkway, the second last stop on the 4 train before Woodlawn and a commuter hub for those traveling by Beeline bus to Westchester County, one of the elevators brings customers from street-level to the mezzanine and downtown platform, and the other connects the mezzanine to the uptown platform.

 

In addition to the accessibility work, crews built three new stairways, created an enlarged mezzanine, installed new lighting and turnstiles, upgraded the station agent booth, and enhanced the boarding areas and sidewalks to comply with ADA standards.

 

MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo said, “Every new elevator brings us one step closer to our goal of systemwide accessibility and unlocks new travel options and independence for our customers.” Norwood News later asked Arroyo how much extra time a person with a disability would have to factor into their day in order to get to their destination when there is no elevator at their local subway station.

 

He said, “I would say an additional, at least, one hour.”  He added, “It’s so important that now everyone has equal access to move around independently on their own time whenever they want on the most efficient and fastest way to navigate the City, which is the subway.” He added that the stations at 149th and Grand Concourse, Norwood-206th Street, 242nd (end of the 1 line) and Woodlawn (end of the 4 line) are among the other stations which will be renovated in the next phase of the capital plan. Some are already under construction for accessibility.

 

The MTA said that approximately 30% of the project budget was awarded to Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) firms and that the project’s contractor is EAE, a joint venture between Forte and Halmar, and the elevator manufacturer and installer is Otis Elevators.

Part of the MTA’s $692 million ADA Package 3, Mosholu Parkway’s set of upgrades cost $55.8 million. As reported, it is the first package of accessibility upgrades in MTA history to be awarded using a public-private partnership (P3) model, which requires that the contractor finance the project with equity and bonds to be reimbursed in installments if the project is built and maintained to MTA standards.

 

“I am incredibly excited that the MTA has prioritized accessibility upgrades at the Mosholu Parkway 4 subway station in my district,” said Rivera. “These significant infrastructure upgrades, which include two new elevators, will make the station truly accessible to the more than 4,000 customers that use this station daily. I look forward to continued progress to make our public transportation system more inclusive and accessible for all New Yorkers.”

 

During the Q&A section of the event, Norwood News noted that not all MTA stations currently have both a MetroCard machine and an OMNY card machine, and though Mosholu is a hub for Beeline bus transit from the subway to Westchester, Beeline buses don’t yet accept OMNY cards.

 

Lieber reminded commuters that, as reported, MetroCards will cease to exist after Dec. 31, this year, and that OMNY cards are the future, along with the Tap & Ride system where commuters can pay using their smart phone or credit card.

 

However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, when efforts were made to end cash transactions at subway booths to curtail the transfer of the coronavirus, Fernandez had highlighted that many Bronxites in her district didn’t have credit cards and needed to purchase their tickets using cash.

 

“We are judged as a society by how we treat our most vulnerable,” the senator, then an assemblywoman, wrote at the time. “This decision is discriminatory against unbanked New Yorkers who utilize our public transit system every day. @MTA should be making it easier for NYers to use the subway, not more difficult.”

 

Post-pandemic, the latest push towards Tap & Ride as a payment method accounts for above 80% of the subway system’s usage now, according to the MTA. However, although discounted and cheaper, as Lieber pointed out, coupled with the lack of often times non-working ticket machines, it may mean that unbanked Bronxites will once again be left behind when machines are not working, and there’s no booth attendant present.

 

We followed up with the MTA on this point and a spokesperson said OMNY card machines have been installed at Mosholu Parkway station and all are operating normally. “All MetroCard machines have been removed from that station. There is at least one station agent posted to the Mosholu Parkway station at all times who can assist customers with fare payment issues.” [This has not always been our experience.]

The spokesperson added, “Bee Line buses still accept MetroCards, which can be purchased at retail locations throughout the five boroughs and Westchester through the end of the year, when MetroCard sales officially end. Details on when OMNY will be available on Bee Line buses will be announced later this year.”

 

Additionally, the MTA spokesperson said, “[Unbanked] customers who prefer to use cash can purchase a new OMNY card from a vending machine or a retail location, load it with cash, and then tap the physical OMNY card on turnstiles and buses (though, as above, not yet on Beeline buses). Riders can also get a single-ride ticket from the vending machine with cash.”

 

Meanwhile, MTA Construction & Development President Jamie Torres-Springer said, “We’re proud to deliver on our commitments to make the Bronx accessible for all our riders. Mosholu Pkwy is an anchor for the north Bronx, and we’re completing more projects like this one by building better, faster, and cheaper than ever before.”

 

Assemblyman Dinowitz said he had advocated for many years for ADA compliance at the station, adding, “Thousands of people use this station every day, so I am thrilled that this goal is becoming a reality. Kudos to the MTA. All public transportation should be accessible to every New Yorker, and this is an important step towards making this happen.” During her remarks, Fernandez also reflected on the long campaign to get the elevators installed at the station and thanked the MTA for finally making it happen.

 

Meanwhile, Zaccaro Jr. said, “For far too long, the Bronx has gotten the short end of the transit stick. Not only do Bronx residents experience some of the longest commutes in the city, far too many of our stations are totally inaccessible for those with mobility issues.”

 

He added in part, “A world class city deserves a world class transit system that doesn’t ignore the needs of those most reliant upon it. The Bronx is finally getting what it so desperately deserves. Accessibility is not just about ramps, it’s about opening doors to opportunity and that’s what we’re doing here today.”

 

For his part, the councilman, a former teacher of students with disabilities, said, “Seven years ago, we organized elected officials, community leaders, business partners, and the disability community to advocate for full accessibility at the Mosholu Parkway 4 subway station.”

 

He added, “Today, we see the fruits of that labor, thanks to the MTA’s responsiveness to our community’s need and their commitment to making accessibility a reality. This station now meets the standards of safety and accessibility everyone deserves, and I look forward to the day when our entire transit system is accessible to all.”

Gibson said the new elevators and upgrades represented a meaningful investment in transit equity for Bronx residents. “By improving accessibility, the MTA is helping seniors, parents, and riders with disabilities better connect to jobs, schools, and opportunities. I want to thank the MTA for delivering on their commitment to making our transit system more accessible for all commuters.”

 

For her part, Hill said it didn’t seem like it had been seven years since she and others were campaigning for the elevator installation and collecting over 2,000 signatures. “Glad to see that this has finally come and trust me, a lot of us who’ve lived in Tracey for a long time feel very glad to have that elevator to go up those stairs.”

 

During the Q&A, Norwood News also asked for a timeframe for the completion of accessibility upgrades to remaining Bronx stations. Lieber said, “We have close to 40 stations that are under construction now on top of 37 that are already opened in the last couple of years.

 

He said the others were part of the capital program that were just completed in time or which are to be completed in the 2025-2029 timeframe, 19 of which are in The Bronx. The MTA also confirmed that the elevators at Yankee Stadium would be brought back online by the end of the year. Arroyo added that customers with a disability can use the MetroNorth service as an alternative to access Yankee Stadium.

 

We also asked about alleged delays until 2028 referenced by Congressman George Latimer (NY-16) around the completion of four new MetroNorth stations in the East Bronx, which will extend access to Penn station eventually. He said it was the third time the project has been delayed since breaking ground in 2022.

In a July letter, Latimer cited that U.S. President Donald Trump’s proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2026 cut Amtrak’s budget by 25%, and any subsequent delay could have compounding consequences for the future of the project.

 

Lieber said people in the East Bronx had been long waiting for trains on the Hellgate line to stop in The Bronx. “Problem is it’s Amtrak’s right of way, and we can only get work done if Amtrak gives us the outages and provides the flaggers and the other personnel to make it possible,” he said. “We’re working on it – more to follow.”

 

We had also asked the MTA about two reported small track fires that had occurred in the days leading up the unveiling of the elevators at Mosholu station, one at Mosholu and one at Woodlawn station. An MTA official said, “The fires were both very minor and put out within minutes. There was no impact to service, or any injuries. The fires are not connected.”

 

The official said the Mosholu Parkway fire was due to track ties burning, which they said can be caused by different issues: sometimes due to third rail power connectivity or debris or burning cigarettes on the tracks. They said it wasn’t clear what the cause was in this case. They said the fire at Woodlawn station was caused by debris on the southbound tracks.

 

On Sept. 7, we spoke to Anthony Townes who was using the elevators at the station and asked if he was happy with them and he said he was. “The head of transit came here and I told them they was doing a good job and to let ’em know that at lot of times, people talk but this time, he’s talking and showing improvement, because when I’m over there on 231st Street, they’re working on the trains over there.”

He added, “Over here, they did the same thing and plus they did it ahead of schedule because it was supposed to have been December that these were supposed to have been completed but they finished in August so that was a great thing. That was a good move; I was very appreciative to them about that.”

 

Asked if he uses the station regularly, Townes said, “Yes, I have [inaudible] and sometimes, my feet start to hurt and the elevators is very important for me to get around to see my doctors and that. My main clinic is over there on Fordham so when I go over there, I still jump on the train than get on the bus.”

 

Read more on the lead up to the elevator opening here, and for a list of station work in progress or planned work, click here.