Subway Tragedy Underscores Need for Elevators

Tragically, the mother of a one-year-old child was killed this week after she fell down the stairs and onto the platform. in a Manhattan subway station while carrying a stroller as well as her baby daughter. The 22-year-old victim, Malaysia Goodson, 22, had her accident at the 53rd St. and Seventh Avenue subway station. The baby was not injured, according to the police.

A sad event such as this underscores the need for the elevators that are finally about to be installed at the Astoria Blvd. station on the N/W line. OANA believes that despite the technical and financial issues involved, we need elevators at all subway stations, in Astoria and other parts of the city. The typical metal staircases at Astoria stations, which become slippery in wet or icy conditions, are difficult or impossible to navigate for those with mobility issues as well as parents carrying children.

Christine Serdjenian Yearwood, Founder & CEO of UP-STAND, told OANA: “Malaysia Goodson’s death is a tragedy, and it was preventable. Caregivers face a variety of systemic barriers and safety issues that we have been shouting about for years.”

OANA trusts that the elevators in the Astoria Blvd station mark the beginning of a totally accessible subway system and we call on the govt to provide proper oversight and funding to facilitate the needed changes.

If you see a parent trying to navigate subways steps while carrying a child in a stroller, please don’t hesitate to offer them assistance if you are able to do so. And be sure to exercise caution yourself: don’t run up or down subway stairs (especially while you are distracted by looking at your phone).

Clare Doyle

Clare Doyle is a graduate of the M.A. program in Museum Studies at the University of Leicester, UK. She also holds a Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Studies as well as a B.A. in Archaeology and History from University Dublin, Ireland. She has worked for 30 years in library reference publishing in New York. Clare is the Vice President of Green Shores NYC, a non-profit group that advocates for a cleaner, greener and more connected waterfront in Astoria and Long Island City