Up, up and — get away!
Commuters at a Midtown subway station had a scare Monday morning after an escalator malfunctioned at its peak, shredding steps into the upper landing.
Straphangers posted on social media photos of the damaged escalator at the Fifth Avenue-53rd Street station on the E line around 9 a.m. Although there were no reported injuries, commuters said the accident was nerve-racking.
"Still shaking. I heard a loud crash while I was coming up the escalator at 5thAv/53rd St and saw this right in front of me," wrote Twitter user lolitapop9. "Could’ve shredded someone’s foot. @MTA @NYCTSubway you are playing with people’s safety! …"
The MTA said the agency sent personnel to the scene to fix the escalator and redirect straphangers.
"This is a disturbing incident and we’ve launched a full investigation. We will be inspecting every single escalator in the system, all 231 of them, starting immediately. Safety is a core value of the MTA, and we’re glad no one was hurt,” said Maxwell Young, an MTA spokesman.
(with Vin Barone)
