Women Nearly Struck By Debris Falling From 7 Train Tracks In Queens

7 train near Roosevelt and 53rd Street

Dangerous debris is raining down from the elevated 7 train tracks in Queens once again. This time, pieces of metal fell into a Woodside intersection, nearly hitting two women who were crossing the street on Monday afternoon.

Pedestrian Erin Koster said she was crossing Roosevelt Avenue and 53rd Street yesterday when the debris rained down. Another woman was walking from the opposite side, and Koster said, "Two pieces of metal fell between us... so we went back to our sides and looked at each other."

They decided to report the incident. "I picked up the pieces," she said, "and I Tweeted" at the MTA and her City Council Member, Jimmy Van Bramer:

This is at least the fourth report of debris falling from the elevated tracks in Queens this year: A huge piece of wood fell from the 65th Street and Roosevelt Avenue tracks and pierced through the windshield of a vehicle in February; a metal bolt fell from the A line at the Lefferts Boulevard station near 115th Street and Liberty Avenue in March; and, also in March, a piece of debris fell from the tracks by 65th Street and Roosevelt Avenue onto a car.

"I was pretty far away from the tracks," Koster said. She and her husband avoid driving under the train tracks because of the repeated falling debris incidents. "Why aren't we trying to fix it before a bigger tragedy happens?"

Van Bramer has wondered the same thing. He has asked NYC Transit President Andy Byford about adding netting, but, in a letter from May 13th, Byford explained that "netting would impede access, close-up inspection, and assessment of corrosion or defects on the structure, and cause extensive street level traffic disruption to install and secure. We are nonetheless exploring engineering designs and preliminary costs to evaluate the feasibility and consider all aspects of this option before making a final determination."

But on Monday, Byford sent a statement to WABC 7, "We are working to quickly put into place an initial deployment of netting to understand if it can be used to contain debris while also still providing enough visibility and access to perform regular inspections. "

"This has the attention of the highest levels of MTA leadership," MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said on Tuesday. "We are working to quickly put into place an initial deployment of netting to understand if it can be used to contain debris while also still providing enough visibility and access to perform regular inspections. The 7 line has undergone multiple inspections of its structure in recent months, and the debris that was found today appears to have broken clean recently with no signs of slow deterioration or stress that would have been visible earlier. We're glad that no one was hurt and look forward to seeing the results of a netting pilot which will be deployed in limited locations around the city including the 7 line."

The MTA is in the midst of a $45 million paint and structural repair job on the 7 line between 72nd and 104th Streets, to be followed by an additional contract for similar work on the line between 42nd and 72nd Streets.