Bed-Stuy LIRR Station Gains Elevators For First Time

BEDFORD-STUYVESANT, BROOKLYN — The sky-high stairs at the Long Island Rail Road station at Nostrand Avenue no longer have to be an obstacle for people with wheelchairs, strollers or heavy bags.

A $28.1 million upgrade installed two elevators at the Bed-Stuy station for the first time, along with a host of other cosmetic changes that essentially make it brand new.

"That means this station for the first time will truly be accessible to all who live, who work and travel through this thriving neighborhood," said LIRR President Phil Eng.

Eng made that comment Friday morning flanked by a host of local elected officials, accessibility advocates and LIRR employees under the rumbling trestle.

LIRR made upgrades at 17 stations last year, Eng said. The Nostrand project features the new Americans with Disabilities Act-accessible elevators, platform canopies and tactile warning strips on both platforms.

City Councilman Robert Cornegy, who represents Bed-Stuy and part of Crown Heights, said the accessibility improvements fit into the city's move to become more inclusive.

"These kinds of investments don't just make our neighborhoods more accessible to customers with disabilities, but makes them more family-friendly and walkable," he said. "This will be great for our local businesses, the mom and pops that depend on foot traffic on the street and a vibrant streetscape. We've been waiting for this."

Cornegy said he and his family use the station every summer for a two-week vacation to Fire Island. It provided him a vivid example of what increased accessibility can mean in people's daily lives.

"You can imagine us dragging luggage and coolers up and down the stairs," he said. "That's how we begin our vacation, which is usually with a fight. This summer, I'm proud to say that we will all be smiles as we board the elevator to the platform to enjoy our vacation."

State Sen. Kevin Parker, who represents Flatbush and Park Slope, called mass transit the "life blood" of New York City.

"How can we call it the 'life blood' if in fact everybody doesn't have access to it?" he said.

Debra Greif, who works on LIRR's Americans with Disabilities Act task force, stood with a wheeled walker behind the politicos. She helped test the elevators and happily reported they were wide enough for both her and her friend in a motorized wheelchair.

The newly elevators could drastically change the daily lives of people in the neighborhood who struggle to get around, she said.

"It means they don't have to go to downtown Brooklyn to get on a train," she said.

The station also includes a glass art installation called "Around the Way" by Derrick Adams, an artist with a nearby studio. The artwork features images showing the connection between neighborhood residents and the built environment around them.