| #JusticeForMalaysia
Wednesday at 10 AM, Judge Shlomo Hagler is expected to make a major ruling on a lawsuit brought against the MTA to install elevators in every New York City subway station—in a case accessibility advocates are watching closely.
Before the hearing, at 9 AM protesters will be outside the courtroom demanding true accessibility, in a courthouse rally called by the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, the Center for Independence of the Disabled NY, Disabled in Action, The People’s MTA, People’s Power Assemblies, Transportation Alternatives, Radical Age Movement, Rise & Resist, UP-STAND and others.
New York Supreme Court Justice Hagler clearly stated during the suit’s last hearing that he’d have a ruling on the MTA’s motions this time.
“This is the fifth hearing after we filed suit two years ago,” said Sasha Blair-Goldensohn, who uses a wheelchair and is a plaintiff in the case.
“Until now, the MTA has offered only non-binding settlements, pleading poverty,” he explained. “We’ve rejected those ‘trust-me’ proposals because they’re worthless—while outside the courtroom, Cuomo has touted Fast Forward as if it were a done deal. It’s a great plan, but only words on paper until he allows the lawyers to commit.”
Advocates also recall Malaysia Goodson, the young African-American mother who in January fell to her death carrying her baby and stroller in a subway station with no elevators. They called her death preventable, arguing that she would be alive today if the 53rd Street station where she fell had been equipped with elevators. |
