A basket intended to catch debris from subway tracks ended up falling from elevated tracks in Brooklyn, and injuring a pedestrian on Sunday.
Frank Jezycki, NYC Transit Interim SVP, called it "a very unfortunate incident" at a Monday press conference about the MTA's Tropical Storm Isaias preparation. Workers had been at the Alabama Avenue J/Z station in East New York, replacing and installing baskets, when the rubber-coated wire basket fell at around 11:45 a.m., hitting a person on the sidewalk. The victim was then taken to the hospital in stable condition.
Jezycki said that it appeared the crew at Alabama Avenue had moved a rubber mat, which protects them from the third rail, and knocked the basket off the tracks.
"We believe there were several procedures and protocols that were in place that were not properly followed," he added. "We're still conducting our investigation, and we will take disciplinary action as we deem necessary."
After numerous 2019 incidents of items falling from elevated subway tracks onto sidewalks and cars, nearly missing people, the MTA embarked on a program to install more protective netting across the subway system. The Daily News reports, "An MTA audit last year identified approximately 2.4 million pieces of equipment that could potentially fall from elevated subway tracks." There are currently about 325,000 of these baskets systemwide.
