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.

What it's like

Have you ever tried to spend a day in New York without using stairs?

I live on a third floor walk up. My best friend lives on a second floor walk up. Even first floor apartments often have this:

I’m not really even saying you have to have a wheelchair to need an elevator. I’m talking about even having a sick day. Maybe you broke your foot, maybe you’ve had the stomach flu for a week and haven’t had anything to eat in a couple days. Tendonitis, maybe. A sprained ankle.

Let’s just say this isn’t a city that’s going to take care of you when you’re hurt. There are cabs, sure – if you’re willing to pay upwards of five dollars every time you want to pick up something at a nearby deli. Not everyone lives near a subway station – more so, even fewer live near a subway station with an elevator. There are about 170 elevators in subways – around 130 more than in 1990 – but only in 62 stations.

And those subway stations aren’t exactly perfect, either. The New York times reports that one out of six elevators was out of service for more than a month this year. Two thirds of the subways elevators had at least one breakdown leaving at least one person trapped inside.

The MTA admits that there is much to be done – but the cost will be around $25 million.