Handicapped accessible-Midtown East (Union, Bath, Boston: environment, luxury, apartments)

[janeer]

My son, who is in a wheelchair, has gotten a job at an investment bank and will be moving to NYC this summer. Is anyone aware of any buildings that have apartments with accessible bathrooms and kitchens? Bathrooms most important. Must be in Midtown East area. Any suggestions welcome; thanks!

[UpsonDowns]

try here for help

[nyoka]

Originally Posted by janeer

My son, who is in a wheelchair, has gotten a job at an investment bank and will be moving to NYC this summer. Is anyone aware of any buildings that have apartments with accessible bathrooms and kitchens? Bathrooms most important. Must be in Midtown East area. Any suggestions welcome; thanks!

Has he tried asking HR at the bank? They usually can refer to a couple of buildings in that area. I use a wheelchair and used to work in banking in that area and finding accessible apartments is not easy in NYC. The only apartments that have what I would consider to be truly accessible kitchens and bathrooms (i.e. lowered counters, appliance, roll in showers, etc.) are in assisted living buildings for the elderly. I only know one building that accepts non-elderly people with disabilities and it is all low-income so your son would not qualify and there is something like a 10 year wait list. It kind of sucks that nothing is set up for young people with disabilities who want to work and earn a good living. By law apartments can be modified but you need to reverse all the modifications when you move out which is a major expense and royal pain. In terms of bathrooms, your son's best bet is to look at relatively new construction luxury buildings. I live in one such building in Midtown West and I can fit my wheelchair into the bathroom but only barely and there is no turning radius. He will probably have to re-learn new ways of doing things to match his living environment. Most bathrooms in NYC apartments are really tiny. When you look for buildings look for post-war buildings that have doormen and elevators as they're the most likely to be in the luxury category. I would be more flexible on location, the subway is pretty much a no go for wheelchair users but the bus fleet is 100% accessible and going north-south is a lot faster than east-west so an apartment in the Gramercy area or the Upper East Side won't have a very bad commute at all. Union Square is also very convenient to just about everywhere in the city if he doesn't mind the commute. I used to live there and take the bus to work in East Midtown and it took me like 15 minutes plus I was short walk away from all the fun stuff in the Village, though many places, especially bars and clubs, have steps/stairs at the entrance. Even many of those that are accessible from the street lack accessible bathrooms. If he gets to know which establishments are easier to get into and steer events there then he will have a great time.

Also, he should be prepared for the winters - invariably snow gets shoveled into the curb cuts and getting around is a royal pain. Access-A-Ride is the worst transit option around but he should register right away as when we get a bad snow storm it's been my only option. Thankfully soon it will be possible to order wheelchair accessible cabs by calling 311 but I don't expect that system to work perfectly. NY is not the most wheelchair friendly place in the world, but it is a great city and lots of fun to live in.

[janeer]

Originally Posted by nyoka

Has he tried asking HR at the bank? They usually can refer to a couple of buildings in that area. I use a wheelchair and used to work in banking in that area and finding accessible apartments is not easy in NYC. The only apartments that have what I would consider to be truly accessible kitchens and bathrooms (i.e. lowered counters, appliance, roll in showers, etc.) are in assisted living buildings for the elderly. I only know one building that accepts non-elderly people with disabilities and it is all low-income so your son would not qualify and there is something like a 10 year wait list. It kind of sucks that nothing is set up for young people with disabilities who want to work and earn a good living. By law apartments can be modified but you need to reverse all the modifications when you move out which is a major expense and royal pain. In terms of bathrooms, your son's best bet is to look at relatively new construction luxury buildings. I live in one such building in Midtown West and I can fit my wheelchair into the bathroom but only barely and there is no turning radius. He will probably have to re-learn new ways of doing things to match his living environment. Most bathrooms in NYC apartments are really tiny. When you look for buildings look for post-war buildings that have doormen and elevators as they're the most likely to be in the luxury category. I would be more flexible on location, the subway is pretty much a no go for wheelchair users but the bus fleet is 100% accessible and going north-south is a lot faster than east-west so an apartment in the Gramercy area or the Upper East Side won't have a very bad commute at all. Union Square is also very convenient to just about everywhere in the city if he doesn't mind the commute. I used to live there and take the bus to work in East Midtown and it took me like 15 minutes plus I was short walk away from all the fun stuff in the Village, though many places, especially bars and clubs, have steps/stairs at the entrance. Even many of those that are accessible from the street lack accessible bathrooms. If he gets to know which establishments are easier to get into and steer events there then he will have a great time.

Also, he should be prepared for the winters - invariably snow gets shoveled into the curb cuts and getting around is a royal pain. Access-A-Ride is the worst transit option around but he should register right away as when we get a bad snow storm it's been my only option. Thankfully soon it will be possible to order wheelchair accessible cabs by calling 311 but I don't expect that system to work perfectly. NY is not the most wheelchair friendly place in the world, but it is a great city and lots of fun to live in.

Thank you for your reply and experience, it's useful; he interned there last year and so has learned a bit about getting around and the constraints (like having a handicapped van towed, etc); since he now lives in Boston, he knows the problem with winters, and the cabs, when they become available, should make a difference. His bank will provide van service too. Commuting is the issue, given he will be working into the wee hours; glad to hear that Union Sq was only 15 minutes--I wondered about that. Did you mean post-war or pre-war? I would have thought pre-war builidngs would be more spacious? What time do buses stop running?

[SeventhFloor]

Originally Posted by janeer

Thank you for your reply and experience, it's useful; he interned there last year and so has learned a bit about getting around and the constraints (like having a handicapped van towed, etc); since he now lives in Boston, he knows the problem with winters, and the cabs, when they become available, should make a difference. His bank will provide van service too. Commuting is the issue, given he will be working into the wee hours; glad to hear that Union Sq was only 15 minutes--I wondered about that. Did you mean post-war or pre-war? I would have thought pre-war builidngs would be more spacious? What time do buses stop running?

pre-war apartments tend to be more spacious when it comes to bedrooms and living rooms in my experience, but they skimp on kitchen and bathrooms, and back then there weren't laws that required handicap accessbility or adaptability. a newer building may be your best bet because handicap adaptability is required now. that way its easier to put grab bars in, etc. and the kitchen counters and bathroom are built so that they also can be converted from adaptable or accessible.

and for the other poster....the 5'-0" turning radius sadly is only a requirement for bathrooms and dressing rooms in commercial spaces. residential bathoom fixture only need the required clear floor space in front of it. would be nice if the radius was a requirement for residential as well.

[nyoka]

Originally Posted by janeer

Thank you for your reply and experience, it's useful; he interned there last year and so has learned a bit about getting around and the constraints (like having a handicapped van towed, etc); since he now lives in Boston, he knows the problem with winters, and the cabs, when they become available, should make a difference. His bank will provide van service too. Commuting is the issue, given he will be working into the wee hours; glad to hear that Union Sq was only 15 minutes--I wondered about that. Did you mean post-war or pre-war? I would have thought pre-war builidngs would be more spacious? What time do buses stop running?

I meant post-war, many tend to be newer. Most pre-war buildings have ridiculously tiny corridors and narrow door frames inside the apartment.

Buses pretty much never stop running. Some lines stop at around 1am but others run all night. It's definitely not as convenient as day time though because they run less frequently like some run every half hour. If the bank will provide van service then that makes a big difference. In that case I would advise that he pick a neighborhood on the East Side that he will enjoy hanging out in during what little free time he will have because with a van it will only take a few minutes to get wherever he's going as there's no traffic at night. Anything that's close to Lexington/3rd Ave will get him on a convenient bus and there's 3 bus lines that run on those avenues in Midtown. I would avoid the West Side at all costs as I did that commute for a while and got stuck in some of the worst traffic jams going through Times Square.

[janeer]

Originally Posted by nyoka

I meant post-war, many tend to be newer. Most pre-war buildings have ridiculously tiny corridors and narrow door frames inside the apartment.

Buses pretty much never stop running. Some lines stop at around 1am but others run all night. It's definitely not as convenient as day time though because they run less frequently like some run every half hour. If the bank will provide van service then that makes a big difference. In that case I would advise that he pick a neighborhood on the East Side that he will enjoy hanging out in during what little free time he will have because with a van it will only take a few minutes to get wherever he's going as there's no traffic at night. Anything that's close to Lexington/3rd Ave will get him on a convenient bus and there's 3 bus lines that run on those avenues in Midtown. I would avoid the West Side at all costs as I did that commute for a while and got stuck in some of the worst traffic jams going through Times Square.

Thanks all. I know from own experience that getting across town is often a nightmare; I will certainly focus in on Lex-3rd (he lived at 46th and 2nd last summer) and just have to search for the most spacious place we can find.