Puzzled as to why so many subway escalators are out of service? So is the MTA. Chairman Jay Walder admitted at yesterday's board meeting that the agency has failed to maintain the city's network of 169 escalators, noting that "I don't believe we're providing the service." Despite his honesty, this is old news given that one out of every eleven of the city's escalators are out of service. more ›

[UPDATE BELOW] Arnold Diaz and his Shame Crew over at Fox5NY are on part five of their Broken Subway Escalator series. Most recently they revisited the Union Square and 53rd and 3rd stations, both of which have had busted escalators for years. To recap, Diaz says the MTA gave sweetheart deals to real estate developers who promised to install and maintain escalators. In both stations they have been boarded up and straphangers are directed to take the stairs instead—and while that may be a healthier alternative for some of us, there are plenty who need the escalators. more ›

The widow of a Brooklyn man who died when he fall off an escalator last year is suing the Mets. 36-year-old Antonio Narainasami plunged 30 feet to his death when an escalator stopped suddenly at the Mets' old home. The lawsuit says that the escalator jerked, sending him over the railing and complains that it was "too steep, poorly maintained and needed higher railings." At the time of the accident last April, there was some speculation as to whether or not Narainasami was trying to slide down the rails when he fell. It was also customary for escalators at Shea to turn off in the seventh inning of games. The lawsuit filed in Queens Supreme Court by Ambeeka Narainasami also names the city and the elevator companies, Brink and Otis, as co-defendants. A lawyer for the city said, "We will review the case thoroughly, especially in a tragic case like this." more ›

The MTA operates 182 passenger elevators and 176 escalators in the five boroughs, but some of them are out of service so often they might very well be cursed. The spookiest station is Herald Square, where three doomed escalators haven't moved an inch so far this year, and four others are quite often inoperative. Another notorious escalator at the Gun Hill Road station on the 2 and 5 lines in The Bronx broke down 61 times so far this year. And at one station on the Lexington Avenue line, vandals have ripped out the escalator handrail so often that workers are now trying to redesign the rail so that it can't be taken apart. more ›

A plan is going to be submitted to the MTA's board for approval this week to spend $1.3 million to install a computerized monitoring system for the subway systems 300+ elevators and escalators. The purpose is to speed the response when elevators and escalators are out of service. Currently, the MTA operates a web page that is updated three times a day to inform riders when escalators and elevators are out of service, but it is reliant on NYC Transit employees or riders themselves to report malfunctions. more ›