Concerns have been raised about the safety and conditions of New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) emergency exits following, a recent audit. The MTA Inspector General's Office released a report detailing a myriad of issues including structural cracks, exposed wiring, corrosion, and tripping hazards at various emergency passages used by subway riders and maintenance staff, The New York Post reported.
Inspector General Daniel Cort, expressing unease about these findings, stated, "This is particularly important here because it involves safety." Cort's office discovered that the MTA often neglected to conduct repairs within the requisite 90-day window. CBS News New York found in their report that during inspections of 163 locations, 41% required immediate attention while 54% of the emergency exit stairwells showed serious defects.
The issue came to the forefront after a power outage in Brooklyn led to a mass evacuation, where the functionality of these emergency routes became critical. The MTA's response to the disclosures claimed that despite the findings, the organization is ready to conduct safe evacuations if necessary. Demetrius Crichlow, president of New York City Transit, assured the public at a conference, “If the unfortunate event comes that we have to evacuate, we're confident that we can do it safely.” However, Passengers United president Charlton D’souza countered this sentiment, telling CBS News, "It is scary. It's dangerous and downright unacceptable."
Some of the more alarming findings included broken handrails along elevated tracks, which posed a severe risk due to their height above the ground. Inspectors also encountered issues such as emergency exit doors obstructed or malfunctioning and lighting fixtures that were inadequate or completely nonfunctional. According to the audit, repairs to serious defects reported by MTA inspectors were not addressed timely — with about 76% left unresolved past the mandated 90-day timeframe. Even though the MTA promised to address these hazards by the second quarter of 2025, the organization has been criticized for its insufficient inspections and oversight, as the audit suggested only 13% of serious defects had been detected by MTA inspectors prior to the audit.
In defense of the MTA’s practices, Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber, speaking at an unrelated press conference, attributed the shortcomings to “temporary conditions” and emphasized that the emergency exits "functioned properly" during the Brooklyn outage. Despite rejecting some of the Inspector General’s recommendations, the MTA has pledged a substantial $100 million investment in emergency exits as part of their 2025-2029 Capital Plan, as detailed by The New York Post.
