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The redesign of 39 key subway stations to be handicapped-friendly has been postponed for months, and in many cases years, New York Newsday has learned.
The stations must be overhauled to comply with the 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act. Fifty-four key stations were to have been modified by the end of this month.
But the Transit Authority, citing excessive costs, has obtained waivers from federal authorities for the 39 stations, which include 42nd Street / Times Square, which won't be ready until 2003; Grand Central, which has a 2001 completion date; and 34th Street-Eighth Avenue, slated for the year 2000.
Representatives of the handicapped community said yesterday that the delays will be devastating and costly. "It keeps handicapped people dependent on other forms of transportation that are not as reliable or as efficient as the subway, and it costs the taxpayers a small fortune," said Jim Weisman, attorney for the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association.
People in wheelchairs...