Thread by @KlasfeldReports

NEW YORKERS: A federal judge has found that renovating subways obligates the MTA to make them accessible to the disabled, in a civil rights case that the government joined.

SDNY statement below: The MTA's "on notice."

Ruling here @CourthouseNews: documentcloud.org/documents/5760…

This is big for New Yorkers with disabilities.

According to a @NYTimes investigation, roughly 550,000 New Yorkers have trouble walking, and two-thirds of them live far from an accessible subway station.

MTA has been renovating subways throughout city.

nytimes.com/interactive/20…

This case specifically relates to the Middletown Road subway station in the Bronx, but its implications are far broader. @DRALegal, the rights group behind this case, hails the "landmark" ruling as "major victory" in a statement.

Look out for my story soon at @CourthouseNews.

Anecdotally, the elevated tracks along the N and W lines in Queens experienced expansive renovations recently, which did not include adding elevators.

Your move, @MTA.

The MTA is now "on notice": If you renovate a station, you make it complaint with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

MTA spox says 50 stations are getting accessibility upgrades in the next five years.

My story on this for @CourthouseNews: courthousenews.com/disability-acc…

Note: The official count of subway stations is 472.

Advocates say that fewer than 25 percent have elevators.

Quick math: If advocates are correct, that means fewer than half will be accessible *after* upgrades.