High heel-safe subway grates finally arrive

Fashion-conscious New Yorkers no longer need to walk the streets in fear on the Upper East Side.

The MTA introduced “high-heel friendly” grates this week as part of the completion of a subterranean ventilation facility below East 55th Street.

Work on the facility began in November 2012, according to the transit agency. It was built beneath the roadway of 55th Street between Park and Madison avenues and will provide ventilation for the tunnels under Park Avenue that will carry LIRR trains to Grand Central.

The facility is located 150 feet below street level, entirely hidden from above, with the exception of an emergency hatch and ventilation grates in the sidewalk.

“In order to be easier to navigate for those wearing high-heeled shoes, the sidewalk ‘high-heel friendly’ grates are made with slip-resistant surfaces and the openings between the cross-bars are only ½ inch wide,” the MTA said.

Agency spokesman Aaron Donovan told Gothamist that these same grates are being implemented in the Second Avenue Subway’s ventilation.

“There are some installed at 63rd Street and 96th Street as part of the Second Avenue Subway,” he said.