Falling 7 Train Debris Is 'Public Health Crisis', Officials Say

CITY HALL — Debris falling from the 7 train's elevated tracks in Queens is a public health crisis, city officials said Thursday.

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson called on the MTA to survey and repair the entire underbelly of the elevated 7 train tracks, which go from Long Island City to Flushing. The press conference followed news of rusted debris falling onto a moving car in Woodside on Wednesday. Two weeks prior, also in Woodside, a wooden beam fell from the 7 train tracks and impaled the windshield of an occupied car, though no one was injured.

"I only wish the MTA had reached out to us in the wake of these incidents," said Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, who represents Woodside. "The only reason people haven’t died yet is luck."

"When you have beams of wood flying through windshields of occupied cars and you have jagged pieces of heavy metal that could decapitate human beings falling off the 7 train, we as a city should be responding. The MTA should be all over this," Van Bramer added, calling the incidents a public health crisis.

The 7 train also runs through the districts of Queens City Council Members Daniel Dromm, Francisco Moya and Peter Koo, all of whom echoed demands for the transit authority to be held accountable.

I’m at City Hall with @NYCSpeakerCoJo @Dromm25 @FranciscoMoyaNY @JimmyVanBramer @CMPeterKoo where they’re talking about crumbling 7 train infrastructure in Queens. pic.twitter.com/YAlxkXLDpK
— Maya Kaufman (@mayakauf) March 7, 2019

After the Feb. 21 wooden beam incident, MTA officials told the New York Daily News that they were investigating all elevated subway tracks.

“We take this incident extremely seriously, are conducting a full investigation into what happened, have personnel ensuring the rest of the area is safe, and are relieved that no one was injured," MTA spokesman Shams Tarek said.

But Johnson said Thursday that he's skeptical the MTA did a thorough investigation. "The MTA has said things that have been proven not to be true," he said.

Johnson also reiterated his call for the city to take charge of its subways and buses, a plan he debuted during his inaugural State of the City address Tuesday.