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The 57 St M station in Midtown Manhattan is now fullyaccessible. Two new elevators opened this month, and LiftComm provided theemergency communication system inside each cab. The station is also a first forthe MTA: the first stop made fully accessible through the city's Zoning forAccessibility (ZFA) program, a public-private model that funded the elevatorsand maintenance without taxpayer cost.
Not the cab. Not the machine room. Not the mechanical orelectrical equipment. The two-way voice and text intercom that meets ASME A17.1-2019 Section 2.27.1.1.3 andlets a rider reach help the moment the doors close.
The LiftComm system installed in both new 57 St M cabs is ASME A17.1-2019/2022 compliant, withtwo-way voice and text, video acknowledgement, a 45-second auto-reroute whenthe first responder doesn't answer, and four-hour standby power. It is ADA compliant. Call traffic stayson-premises inside MTA infrastructure.
The on-premises architecture is deliberate. Cloud-hostedelevator phones route emergency traffic through outside vendor infrastructure,a non-starter for a transit agency responsible for millions of daily riders.LiftComm devices integrate directly into the MTA's own network and PBX. ThePoE-powered units in each cab provision automatically when they're plugged in.
The 57 St station along Sixth Avenue serves approximately8,600 weekday riders across the M and F lines. Two new elevators opened thismonth: one connecting the street to the mezzanine near the southwest corner of56 St and Sixth Avenue, and a second connecting the mezzanine to the islandplatform that serves northbound and southbound trains.
The station now qualifies as fully accessible. Riders usingwheelchairs, walkers, or strollers can move from the street to the platform forthe first time in the station's history. Both new cabs carry LiftComm intercomsas part of the emergency communication scope.
57 St M is the first station made fully accessible throughthe MTA's Zoning for Accessibility program. Under ZFA, private developerSedesco funded and installed the two elevators and the new fare control area inexchange for a 53,029 square foot zoning bonus at 37-45 West 57th Street. Thearrangement saves the MTA an estimated $43 million in construction andmaintenance costs.
The MTA owns and will maintain the elevators, with anupfront maintenance payment from Sedesco covering future upkeep. This is thesecond ZFA bonus project to open to the public. The first, at Queensboro PlazaN and W, delivered a new elevator and entrance in April 2025. Two more ZFAprojects were approved this month at Nevins St and 50 St, and additionalprojects are in the pipeline.
With 57 St M, the MTA now has 159 fully accessible subwaystations across the system, 59 of them completed since 2020. The 2025-2029Capital Plan funds at least 60 additional ADA-accessible stations and 45 moresubway elevator replacements. When that work is complete, nearly 70% of subwayrides will start or end at an accessible station.
Every one of those elevators needs an emergency phone thatmeets current code. ASME A17.1-2019/2022is the floor. That is what LiftComm builds.
Two more cabs in service this month at 57 St M. The workcontinues.
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