FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM JUNE 6, 2019 • THE QUEENS COURIER 11
Debris falls off 7 line again, and MTA fi nally agrees to add nets
BY MARK HALLUM
mhallum@schnepsmedia.com
@QNS
Th e MTA will fi nally deploy safety netting
under the 7 line in Queens aft er yet
another episode of falling debris from
the elevated tracks on Roosevelt Avenue
in Woodside on Monday.
Erin Koster says she was walking below
the tracks on June 3 when two large pieces
of steel came crashing down near her
head, an experience that left her not only
shaken but angry.
Koster said she was crossing Roosevelt
Avenue with another woman near the
53rd Street entrance of the 52nd Street
station when 10 to 15 feet away, the
metal fell to the ground.
“It’s a busy area and people have to
walk under the train all the time,” Koster
told QNS. “I just remembered that there
had been other incidents, so I thought,
let me tell somebody about this.”
Koster, who lives just north of the train
the 52nd Street Station, took to Twitter
to inform elected offi cials and MTA.
Koster’s experience is unique in that
she was not in a vehicle at the time of the
incident, but falling debris is far from the
public’s minds.
In late February, the windshield of a
car was pierced by a wooden beam that
fell on the east side of the 61st Street –
Woodside Station. Th e driver was not
injured.
On March 6, a large chunk of rusted
metal fell on another vehicle, smashing
the windshield and causing other body
damage.
Later that month, more debris struck
cars including one in Long Island City –
beneath the 7 train – and another vehicle
in Ozone Park along the A train.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer
responded to these events with a request
to New York City Transit President Andy
Byford to deploy netting beneath the 7
train.
In a May 13 letter to Van Bramer,
Byford explained that the agency had
launched a serious eff ort to address
the incidents of debris falling with an
aggressive inspection eff ort.
“We have initiated a close-up inspection
of our structure from the underside,
using lift -trucks by a combined engineering
and maintenance team,” Byford
said in the letter. “During these inspections,
the team identifi es and clears
imminent issues that could result in
material falling … We are now in the
midst of two additional blitz inspections
to reinforce protective measures.”
Byford told Van Bramer in the letter
that protective netting would impede
these eff orts of inspection, but that the
recommendation was under review. He
added that the installation would cause
traffi c disruptions.
Aft er Monday’s incident, the agency is
now taking this measure.
“Th is has the attention of the highest
levels of MTA leadership,” MTA spokesman
Shams Tarek said Tuesday. “We are
working to quickly put into place an initial
deployment of netting to understand
if it can be used to contain debris
while also still providing enough visibility
and access to perform regular
inspections. Th e 7 line has undergone
multiple inspections of its structure in
recent months, and the debris that was
found today appears to have broken
clean recently with no signs of slow deterioration
or stress that would have been
visible earlier. We’re glad that no one
was hurt and look forward to seeing the
results of a netting pilot which will be
deployed in limited locations around the
city including the 7 line.”
QNS fi led a Freedom of Information
request in April with the MTA seeking
copies of inspection records for the period
with the highest number of incidents,
to which the agency projected a threemonth
return time.
In March, Tarek told QNS that crews
walk the 7 train at least twice a week on
foot, inspecting for possible hazards.
“Aft er fi ve consecutive incidents this
year of debris crashing down from the 7
train and nearly hitting pedestrians and
drivers, I am thankful that the MTA has
fi nally agreed to start installing protective
netting under parts of the elevated
7 train in Woodside,” Van Bramer
said. “Th is is a hard-earned victory aft er
months of advocacy, but it is also just the
start. We need netting under the entire
elevated 7 train structure to guarantee
the safety of all Queens residents until
this dangerous situation is under control.
And let’s not forget that there have
been similar incidents under other subway
lines in Queens and the Bronx."
Photos: Mark Hallum/QNS
A worker inspects the elevated 7 line in Woodside
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