A Win For NYC!

Guess what? Every bus in NYC is wheelchair accessible. Does that mean they're perfect? No, but it's a step in the right direction, no?

Now if we could just fix the potholes and problems with our sidewalks.

Video about bus travel from my favorite youtube vlogger, OutAndAboutNYC

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Source: 11 Alive News

Do you see it? 

The story behind this photo is here. The gist of it is this: a young boy, age 12, was kept way off to the side of his own chorus group during their pre-Spring Break performance. 

The school called it a "regrettable oversight."

To Alex's mother, it "broke [her] heart."

Screw the "regrettable oversight." Why wasn't this child included? The first word that springs to mind is bullying. This child has been physically OUSTED from his group of friends. 

According to his mother, there was no wheelchair access in the old gym originally, so Alex could not sit with his classmates. So, Alex positioned himself by the portable risers, and waited for his Choir teacher to position him with the chorus. Then the class begins to sing ... and Alex is still waiting.

In reference to the previous post on suing buildings with few accessible zones, I'd say, in this case, an accessible space would have helped some.

Unfortunately, I don't think that an accesible space would have allowed this teacher some form of tolerance. 

Resource for NYC Travelers for Disabilities

This site is a wonderful resource for travelers with disabilities who are looking for NYC information. It is a place where businesses may post their information about accessible facilities.

Among the places with good accessibility are:

The Russian Tea Room

Hard Rock Cafe New York

Various NYC Parks

The Hilton Times Square

Something to think about, though - "Accessible" is a fairly weak word. To some establishments, it may mean just a bar in the bathroom, and maybe an elevator. But think of a person who must use a wheelchair - they are cumbersome, large, and require space to move about. Showers may need to be larger to accomodate a shower chair, as shown below.

Image from Ebay

Now let's think about your typical NYC hotel room. 

Is BIG AND SPACIOUS the first thing that comes to mind???

Then let's think about prices. Are NYC hotels going to be perfectly content with giving away their most spacious rooms for the same price as regular rooms, and reserve them for clients who have disabilities?

Doesn't sound like many hotels would make that a priority. 

In the Courts...

Thanks to Suzanne England, I stumbled across this New York Times article.

It revolves around lawyers who come from out of state, find non-accessible New York stores and buildings, recruit a bunch of plaintiffs, and sue. The plaintiffs, mostly handicapped, receive around $500. The lawyers earn their salaries from this type of work.

So is this legal? Is it kosher?

Let's consider that the problem DOES exist - these lawyers are not finding loopholes in the system. This is a straightforward law, and there are buildings and people that are simply not following it.

Perhaps there are more humane ways to go about making NYC more accesible. Maybe an ultimatum saying that buildings must comply with the law by a certain date, to allow for struggling or mom-and-pop businesses to find the money and the time.

But are there some buildings that just will never be accessible for those with handicaps? Some buildings are as they were in the 1800s and earlier, when this city was formed, and so should the authenticity and landmark-quality of the building be changed?

To be honest, I don't know. For if we say that some buildings should simply not be changed for whatever reason then we are restricting a large portion of the population from ever enjoying them.

Sometimes, yes, there are things that are not possible. But does that mean there isn't a way? Can't we find some compromise? I think it's out there, and I think there's a way. I feel like we just have to find it.

From Google Images

Suffrage

Often we think about physical barriers, but there are consequences to those barriers as well. For instance, in this case, physical barriers have been shown to prevent certain citizens from voting - a right guaranteed by the constitution.

What are we preventing? What is simply not considered in the way that we build our cities? Those with disabilities are a minority - and, just as any other minority is at risk of prejudice, so are those with disabilities.

People with limited vision or mobility cannot utilize voting machines, machines cannot be accessed by those in wheelchairs. This cohort's voice has been robbed of them - their ability to cause change in their lives - through government - is cut off.

Much of the time, as one poller mentioned, it is about convenience. There are obstacles, physical "hoops" one must jump through. Voting is a unique right - it is essentially the right to create change. Therefore, for those who need change, those who live lives that could be opened greatly by change - voting is a necessity.

Accessible Homes!

This video is about building accessible homes in New York.

The man in the street

There's a man in a motorized wheelchair who hangs around my neighborhood. I'm not sure of his name. He likes to wink at the women who pass by, and call out to them that they're beautiful. He keeps a safe distance.

However, he does not keep to the sidewalk. This man spends his time riding in the middle of the street. I don't know his reasons, really, and he laughed when I asked and said he could go faster. With the crowded streets of NYC, it is considerably harder to get around.

A quick Google search turns up a page of articles praising New York's accessibility. And yet, is it so?

The amount of bumps and holes in sidewalks is noticeable to even an able-bodied person. This is a common sight to any New Yorker:

(Credit: http://iedei.wordpress.com/tag/nyc/)

The question of shopping, too, brings up various problems. Some factors that could impede a person with a disability are:

• Lack of ramps to enter building
• Open/Automatic doors
• Roadblocks
• (that is, store displays that impede movement)
• Hard-to-reach items
• Narrow aisles

On the subject of last week's blog, I found this video on getting from Brooklyn to New York, by a video blogger called OutAndAboutNYC. Using a video camera, she illustrates her journey - exposing the flaws in the exits and entrances of the subway system.