Center for Independence of the Disabled New York (CIDNY) v. Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) (S.D.N.Y.)

Attention: You might be a member of the settlement class if you use or seek to use the New York City subway system and you have a disability that requires you to use an elevator to do so. There is a proposed settlement agreement in this case. Read the English Class Notice or Spanish Class Notice to understand the proposed settlement agreement’s terms and what rights class members have.

This case challenges the MTA’s failure to maintain the few elevators that exist in New York City’s subway stations. DRA has resolved two separate other cases against the MTA through an agreement for the agency to install elevators in at least 95% of subway stations system-wide over the coming years.

In April 2017, DRA filed a class action lawsuit against the New York City Transit Authority (“NYCTA”) and the Metropolitan Transit Authority (“MTA”) for failing to ensure programmatic accessibility of the City’s subway system for people with mobility disabilities by not maintaining the already limited number of stations’ elevators, causing constant, unplanned elevator outages that leave riders who rely on elevators stranded. The case alleged that defendants further compound these issues by frequently failing to inform the public about outages, by not providing adequate signage to describe alternate accommodations and/or accessible routes, and by not ensuring alternate transportation for people who cannot use the subway unless elevators are functional. Read the Complaint.

In 2020, the trial court granted the MTA’s motion for summary judgment, which argued that the system’s elevator uptime rates were sufficient under the ADA. Plaintiffs appealed this decision to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned the trial court’s ruling in 2021 and sent the case back to the trial court. Specifically, the Second Circuit held that, under the proper federal and local law standard, there was at least a genuine factual dispute about whether the MTA’s frequent elevator outages deny New Yorkers with mobility disabilities a meaningful opportunity to use the subway system. However, the Second Circuit also said that the MTA might be entitled to summary judgment if they could demonstrate that they provide “plainly reasonable” accommodations during elevator outages. Read the Second Circuit Opinion.

In 2024 the district court denied Defendants’ motion for summary judgment, finding that the MTA had not provided enough evidence for him to determine that its current elevator outage notifications or its training of MTA employees were enough to accommodate riders with disabilities who confront elevator outages. Read the Order Denying Defendants’ Motion for Summary Judgment.

In July 2026, Plaintiffs reached a landmark settlement agreement with the MTA regarding what steps the MTA needs to take when elevators are out of service. Because it is a class action, the settlement must now be approved by Judge George B. Daniels in the Southern District of New York. The Fairness Hearing will be held on Wednesday, January 13, 2027, at 10:30 a.m. ET before Judge Daniels at the Daniel Patrick Moynihan, United States Courthouse, 500 Pearl St., Courtroom 11A, New York, NY 10007. For more information on the proposed settlement agreement, read the class notice, available in English and Spanish, and the settlement agreement below.