Passengers have expressed frustration over several bus stops in the city, including one near Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which remain hazardous more than a few days after Winter Storm Fern. The lingering snow has forced commuters, some with mobility aids, to navigate narrow and slippery roads to board buses or, in some cases, to bypass the area entirely, as it has become inaccessible for wheelchairs and walkers.
“People in wheelchairs couldn’t get over the embankment,” said Lakeya Holmes, an office coordinator at Memorial Sloan Kettering, highlighting the difficulties faced at the bus stop between East 67th and 68th Streets.
Jessica Alekin, a financial specialist at Weill Cornell Medicine, noted, “I saw people out on the street with walkers trying to get around the mound.” Although snow piles continued to cause trouble outside the Upper East Side facility on Sunday night, it seemed to have cleared somewhat by Thursday, three days after the storm hit the city hard.
Adding to the concern, Lakeya mentioned, “Some of my colleagues witnessed a patient fall off a bus on Tuesday.” She continued, stating, “MSK takes our sidewalks very seriously. You can see how the sidewalks are being cleared.”
Arekan, 36, shared his experience, saying, “On Tuesday, the road wasn’t even ready to take the bus. We had to cross a mountain of snow.”
Follow the Post’s latest coverage of the winter storm hitting the Northeast
While property owners are tasked with clearing sidewalks, the city’s Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining approximately 3,400 bus stops with shelters, utilizing a contractor named JCDecaux. City officials have indicated that the ongoing below-freezing temperatures may prolong snow and ice issues, potentially taking weeks to resolve fully.
As of Thursday morning, the Department of Transportation reported that JCDecaux had cleared about 98% of its bus shelters. However, nearly 200 complaints regarding snow removal were still classified as “in progress,” according to city data.
Complaints have come from all five boroughs, including roughly 70 each from Manhattan and Brooklyn, alongside complaints from Queens, the Bronx, and Staten Island. Yet, only around 160 of these complaints have been forwarded to the snow removal contractors hired by the DOT.
