Debris Can't Stop, Won't Stop Falling From Elevated Subway Tracks

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Over the last month, there have been multiple incidents in which random pieces of debris have fallen from elevated subway tracks, almost impaling motorists in at least one case. Despite the fact the MTA says it has inspected the lines for any loose objects, these incidents keep happening—including at least three in the last couple of days.

ABC reports that a metal bolt fell from the A line on Monday, directly onto a driver's car below, and leaving a dent. This was at the Lefferts Boulevard station near 115th Street and Liberty Avenue in Queens. "I was driving by going to the bank, and all of a sudden, something hit the car," driver Patty Jessel told them. "It scared the shit out of me. I didn't know what it was so I pulled over."

"It's more than concerning as I have said, this is a public health crisis, this is an emergency," said New York City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer. "We have no faith and confidence that the MTA has truly inspected every inch of elevated subway tracks in the city of New York. It isn't just the 7 line. It's all of the lines. And the fact that you have had four incidents in about four weeks goes to show you that unless the MTA starts to take this more seriously people are going to get hurt. Someone may die."

In a separate incident on Saturday morning, a chunk of concrete fell and left a crack in a motorist's windshield on Fulton Street in Cypress Hills, Brooklyn. "Almost like an explosion to be honest. It was a loud boom," the driver told ABC.

And last Friday, debris fell (see the "hunk of metal" in the tweet below) from the elevated 7 train tracks onto a car that was driving on Queens Boulevard and Skillman Avenue in Sunnyside. No one was injured in these recent incidents.

MTA spokesperson Shams Tarek told Gothamist, "We take these reports very seriously. These are isolated incidents but the safety of our customers, neighbors and employees is of utmost importance. We will prioritize this area as we continue our inspection of the entire elevated structure of the subway system."

When debris from the 7 line pierced the windshield of a car in Woodside on February 21st, the MTA said it was a piece of wood that appeared "to be from a worker or supply platform that was installed beneath the tracks years ago." They also added at the time that after checking the 7 line, they planned on checking "every other elevated structure in the system." A little over a week later, another piece of debris fell from the 7 tracks in Woodside and onto a vehicle.

The MTA adds that they have continued inspections on the various lines where incidents have occurred, but insist these are isolated and uncommon incidents. They add that they walk the tracks weekly to inspect them, the elevated structures are inspected annually, and they've started consulting with third parties to learn other best practices.

According to ABC, those third parties include the Chicago Transit Authority: "We are reaching out to sisters agencies," said Transit Authority President Andy Byford. "Obviously a classic example would be Chicago because of the L, they operate a lot of overhead structure, to see if there's anything additional they do to what we do. But we will not let up until we put a stop to these incidents."