Finally, NYC Will Have 'High-Heel Friendly' Subway Grates

Some positive news for accident-prone New Yorkers who love heels: Those annoying subway sidewalk grates that you either have to walk around, teeter over, or risk slipping into are getting a stiletto-friendly makeover.

As part of the MTA’s East Side Access project, the subway grates around East 55th Street (between Park and Madison Avenues)—as well as some near 63rd Street and 96th Street for the Second Avenue Subway line—will have a narrower opening to accommodate all your difficult heels.

The refurbished grates are the result of a new ventilation facility that recently wrapped after a three-year long construction.

The MTA noted in a project update posted on Monday:

The facility extends 150 feet below street level, but is entirely hidden from view on the street, 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.

Now that the grates are safe to walk over in heels, the only fear you should have is that it’ll collapse completely under you and you’ll plummet into an unknown abyss.