Will the MTA fix 'hazardous' subway platform gaps?

Plus: Longtime Liberty fans fear being priced out [View this email in a browser.]( Gothamist relies on your support to make local news available to all. Not yet a member? [Consider donating and join today.]( [Elderly and disabled subway riders fight MTA over 'hazardous' platform gaps]( [first image]( [Today's newsletter is curated by James Ramsay]( Weather: ☀️ Perfect [back-to-school outfit conditions]( — sunny and brisk this morning, with highs getting into the mid 70s later. It's Thursday in New York City, where the subway system has hundreds of "excessive" gaps — higher than two inches or wider than four inches — between train doors and platform edges. Accessibility rights advocates, who are suing the MTA in a case that's due back in court next month, want those gaps to be immediately fixed — even if it means [adding cheap, low-tech equipment like wooden boards to give riders bridges to and from platforms](. Here's what else is happening: - A man was shot and killed in a Brownsville subway station last night, according to the NYPD, marking the [fifth fatal shooting in a transit facility]( this year. - Police said a Bronx middle school teacher was shot in the hand yesterday morning when [a bullet flew through his classroom window]( while he was preparing for the upcoming school year. - The MTA has [installed a cell network]( along the entire two-stop 42nd Street Shuttle line — a small, early step in the push to add 5G connectivity throughout the entire 418-mile network of subway tunnels. - A federal judge this week [temporarily reinstated]( a Manhattan education councilmember who was removed by the city for making offensive comments about a student. - The Queens-Midtown tunnel had to be shut down for several hours yesterday because a contractor [drilled a hole into the structure and caused a leak]( city officials said. - Backpack, positive attitude, OMNY card: New York City public school students return to class today with [a new item on their out-the-door checklist](. - In other OMNY news, bus riders using the tap-to-pay system on their phone say they're still [getting ticketed by fare enforcement officers]( when the receipts don't immediately show up on their Apple wallet's payment history. - It's September 5, which means it's time to [start thinking about your plans]( for next summer. - Connecticut has installed [highway welcome signs]( designating the state as the "Pizza Capital of the United States." - Bear Mountain: good [make-out spot](. - Here's a rundown of [all the renovations and upgrades]( going on at 80 cultural institutions thanks to a $213 million allocation from City Hall. - Nikki Haley got [a job in PR](. - Billy McFarland, who drew up plans for Fyre Festival II while in solitary confinement during his prison sentence for the original Fyre Fest fraud, [insists this re-do is really happening](. [“There's a whole range of solutions, from as simple as a steel plate, a little bit of wood, a little bit of concrete, that can just make the city infinitely more accessible for those who genuinely need the subway to get around.”]( - Alex Peacock, an accessibility rights attorney who's suing to [GET THE MTA TO FILL IN 'EXCESSIVE' SUBWAY PLATFORM GAPS]( More from Gothamist [second image]( [Some NY Liberty fans fear they'll be priced out of tickets as WNBA popularity grows]( After an explosive 2024 that has seen average home game attendance for "the best party in New York" more than double compared to just two years ago, season ticket membership holders — known as Liberty Loyals — are reporting massive price increases for 2025. [A top Chinese official in NY is on the outs over the Linda Sun case. Or is he?]( Federal prosecutors allege a top Chinese official in New York was in frequent, often secretive contact with an indicted former aide to Gov. Kathy Hochul. But what that means for his job depends on whom you ask. [We Rely On Your Support]( [NYC public schools return to class without citywide smartphone ban]( Schools Chancellor David Banks said in June he’d announce a plan to restrict smartphones in classrooms, but last week, Mayor Eric Adams confirmed the school system wasn’t ready to implement an across-the-board ban. [Brian Lehrer, Laurie Anderson to appear at free Central Park event to fete WNYC’s 100th year]( Slated for Sept. 9, the free event will be emceed by Brian Lehrer and will feature conversations, music, trivia and more public-radio fun. [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [New York Public Radio] [WNYC]( | [WQXR]( | [NJPR]( | [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( | [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. All rights reserved. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 [TERMS OF USE]( You can update your [PREFERENCES]( or [UNSUBSCRIBE]( from this list.