Where Luxury Meets Accessibility

What is missing here is affordability. The affordable apartments tend to be in buildings that are older and only the new “luxury” developments are actually “accessible.” Unless someone is wealthy or on a government subsidy, it’s nearly impossible to be middle class and disabled in this city

If developers think it is not necessary to make every rental, condo, or co-op unit accessible, you are forgetting something very important: freedom of choice. As a disabled person, if I am looking for new place to live and you only built 20% of them to be accessible thinking that is more than enough for this one segment of the population, then 80% of the units are not even worthy of consideration for me and anybody else like me. I don't have the same choice that a nondisabled person has. And if the supply somehow meets the demand as a number, I still have to wait for one of the "accessible" units to become available so I can move into it. That doesn't even mean it is in the location and is the style that I want. By having an opinion that accessibility is not necessary everywhere, you really don't want to think about disability, and if you pretend it doesn't exist maybe it will go away. Wrong! Maybe if you deliberately forget about it, you'll never acquire one yourself. Fear is the mind killer.

A major point in the article -- accessibility for seniors -- is buried in the middle. The fastest growing age group in the US is 85+ and many prefer/ don't need nursing homes. They're also not necessarily poor. If a developer, much less rental property investor or home buyer, is smart, they will choose accessible spaces. In the upscale retirement community my parents spends half the year in, single-level properties without any steps sell like hotcakes while fancier properties with stairs/ narrow hallways, etc. tend to languish. We also own a rental property with one unit which is entirely on one floor with no steps: families particularly clamor for it since they don't have stairs for their young ones to negotiate. Accessible spaces are not just about doing the right thing but -- as one developer noted -- can also be good for business.

If developers were smart, they’d design adaptable flex spaces that allow people to age in place.

As one who uses a cane I understand the desire to havve space made usable -- BUT -- these rules make no sense for the vast majority of people, whether renters or owners. Why should I be foreced to bend down in order to use sinks, door locks etc, in effect, making my own disability even worse? Tho we too may need some mechainical type equipment help at some time in our lives most will not only minor changes, most willnot need wheelchairs. Further, why should coop and condo owners be required to adhere to such requirements? When a new owner moves in they have the choice and chance to make changes of any type they desire and if ADA is needed they'll pay for it the same as any other changes an owner might choose to make -- its just one of a number of reasons to consider when buying a place. Rental units might rmore easonably be required to have units able to be used by the diabled. Yet even here none of them ought to be made such that they're awkward for the non-disbled to also use. Perhpas require a certain percentage of apts be made accessible for the disbled keeping in mind that not all disabilities are wheelchair related and accomodtions for differences in types and levels of disability (let alone for those without a disbablity) to be comfortable. Either way, the regulations have to be updated and made more realistic!

Multi-family housing is a $$$ industry. Having the decency to design and construct new housing in accordance with the tennents of the fair housing act is certainly not too much to ask and compliance is readily achievable. If you are ignoring it, a law and code requirement, you shouldn’t be in the business. Jg

Let's not forget the lodging industry. The lack of common sense in wheelchair rooms is astounding. Holiday Inn Express, for example, places the towel rack in the only place in the bathroom unreachable from a wheelchair, while leaving an entire wall open and available. Why? Because that's where they put the towel racks in the other rooms. Roll-in shower stalls are routinely too small. It is abundantly clear that the lodging industry wishes wheelchair users would simply stay home. their bottom line would not change a bit. The disabled are such a small percentage of the population that they have no voice. The lodging industry sends a troubling, insulting message.

This article is sensationalized and over generalizes. Accessibility is important, but results in a wildy inefficient use of space for the vast majority of us who do not require accessible apartments. Silly assertions that “features like open kitchens and spacious bathrooms” are favored by everyone reflect either 1. a complete lack of understanding of the intense scrutiny employed to make every foot as livable as possible in a space-starved city, or, worse 2. a willful disregard of it in order to attract readers.

Nowhere in this article is the NYC Department of Buildings mentioned. As an architect in the city, I know they are responsible for reviewing the plans for all code compliance, including ADA accessibility, before a building permit is issued. If you don’t show compliance for even the smallest apartment renovation, you don’t get a permit. The DOB is also responsible for periodic inspections during construction to make sure the approved plans are in compliance. I would think large new developments would be scrutinized even more. The line in the article blaming architects, engineers and contractors for messing up the best laid plans by “misreading” blueprints, I found particularly offensive. The writer should know that the architect and engineer are the ones who design and make the blueprints for submission to the DOB for approval.

While I like the concept of an accessible kitchen, I don't want an "open" kitchen. I do not want the mess visible from my living area, nor the odor of cooking throughout the home. I also need storage space (which seems to be eliminated) for dinnerware, flatware, cutlery, pots and pans and cooking equipment such as toasters, mixers, etc., as well as food preparation space. I have seen some horrendous kitchens, some spacious, and it seems to me that whoever is designing them hasn't a clue about how to cook.

No mention of NYC Housing & Preservation (HPD) lack of transparency, code enforcement and how they do not track their developers where new residents to buildings built by HPD have crumbling handicap ramps and other accessibility issues. The turnover at HPD is sooooo bad and the average commissioner lasts about 2 years. Code enforcement doesn't exist and self certification by the agency on their buildings were allowed. As developers feverishly break ground on projects to cash in on soaring property values, lawyers, architects and engineers and the city are not assuring we have accessible buildings. As we all are going to grow old this should be a requirement that HPD and REBNY are ignoring. But, the bottom line is show me the $$$ where the developer has given $$$ to the local politician.

Sorry to be a naysayer here but I for one am not in favor of this. It creates apartments that are less functional, with less usable space and less storage space to boot. Some examples: No more mirror cabinet in the bathroom over the sink. Instead you get a wall mounted, usually tiny cabinet at knee or hip height. In my current place, it is mounted in front of the toilet. Just where I need my mirrored cabinet. Also - no under sink storage. I get that this is more convenient if you have a wheelchair but for everyone else it’s just annoying. You lose valuable space and end up with something that isn’t practical for the majority of people No more folding wardrobe doors. Instead you get proper doors that swing out. Which wouldn’t be an issue if Manhattan apartments weren’t already tiny, but now you can’t fit a queen bed anymore (or you need to sacrifice a nightstand) given the required door clearance No more galley kitchens - sounds great, but I’d much rather have 2-3 extra feet of living room space than kitchen floor Clearly we do need more accessible housing, buildings, and other accommodations. However we ended up in a place where the vast majority of us get something less functional than what we had before.

At long last, common sense has arrived. If all apartments are built so that whether or not one is in a wheel chair, using a walker or mobile, the residence does not become a hinderance rather than creating a situation when an individual and/or the family may remain. Now that may mean less units, however, the units would maintain its usability 100 years from today. The money saved over time would more than justify this approach. For example, many people have to enter nursing homes because they cannot navigate their lives in the homes within which they have lived for years. What is the cost of a nursing home for an individual who might otherwise be able to care for himself/herself? Its one thing to have a visiting nurse check in on an independent wheelchair bound individual versus the daily cost of nursing home care. City, State and Federal governments have a lot money but it is how these funds are utilized which determines if monies are not wasted constantly replacing housing which failed to address the needs of all, regardless of mobility issues. Please NY Times, more stories like this one.

This is an amazing article: It shines a light, makes a difference within the parameters of the real-estate beat, and necessarily is more thoroughly reported and compassionately written (and well-photographed) than it had to be. What a clip. C.J. Hughes and the NYT: Thank you! I lived in NYC as a young adult, some of that time in a wheelchair. I've also used walkers and, now, a cane. My illness was a total shock, and it could happen to anyone. To the untrained eye, issues of access for people with disabilities may seem feel-good at best and superfluous at worst. But they mean everything to me. They allow me to work to support myself and live independently. Thank you again. Keep up the good work!

Hmmmm....we have tiny, cramped apartments. Each square foot of space costs $1000. Any connection?

At some point in most lives "assessible" features in a home is needed…. even if it is in old age. It may cost an additional .05% in construction cost. However, the value it adds to the quality of one’s life and a multi-generational community is sweet.

"Features like open kitchens appeal to everyone." Where's the data on that? That's an overgeneralization!

This seems like putting the cart before the horse when the MTA experience is like fighting your way through a mosh pit at a metal concert

Mr. Goldman's comments that making all apartments accessible "is a waste of time" is short sighted. Instead of crunching numbers about the size of the wheelchair bound population, Mr. Goldman, as well as other developers, should remember that disability issues can happen to anyone at any time. How many young and usually able-bodied people have been permanently disabled in car wrecks, or broken a leg skiing, or had knee replacement surgery, or eye surgery? Sometimes the condition is temporary, sometimes not. It's not an age thing. Also, it would seem more expensive to have to tear something out to retrofit it, than to build it properly the first time. I think the hospitality industry should also take note. Accessible accommodations are not norm either.

I have been an advocate for years for "Barrier Free" housing. I have multiple sclerosis and can no longer walk. I live in one of the top five cities for disabled people and have only found one company of almost 80 or so that offers barrier free apartments. Affordable ADA apartments are needed everywhere.

Accessible apartments are necessary for many people who must use wheelchairs permanently. Accessible apartments are also useful for people who use wheelchairs, walkers, canes and other devices to assist with mobility temporarily due to sport's injuries or illness. It is amazing to me how many healthcare providers have offices which are not accessible to people using wheelchairs. While they often have staff who will stop what they are doing to help it is not the same thing as having a threshhold which allows a smooth transition into the office. Arranging waiting room furniture to allow space for wheelchair or walker or various types of crutches is another easy fix that is often over looked. One of my favorite "accommodations" is a recently installed sidewalk to replace an aging, narrow, cracked walk. The new sidewalk has a tree in the middle of the walkway which preserves the straight lines of the sidewalk precisely for the block, but does not have room on either side of the tree for a wheelchair or walker--- or stroller!

It won't do much good if you can't ride the subways because of lack of elevators. My husband (native NYer) has mobility problems and can't even visit anymore. Thank God for Uber, they were the only ones we could use to get around, since most of the taxis didn't want to bother with us. How will anyone get to work? As for regulations, they cost a lot to manufacture. We started a business and had to have two handicap accessible bathrooms, instead of one and a regular one. The reason? A handicapped buyer would need both. My feeling is the handicapped future buyer can pay to build one just like we were.

EDITOR: Not sure that knee implants make one handicapped rather it keeps one from needing a walker or a wheel chair. Problems with too heavy doors (glass ones) abound in NYC -- Met Museum of Art, e.g. and many other locations. So far as the bathroom door problem, a folding or better a sliding door or a pocket door -- popular during the Victorian era would work. In the case of my building, the super likes to tighten up the front doors so they are difficult to open... and there needs to be a ruling as to how wide a platform should be in front of a door that needs to be unlocked (as in in front a building). The step leading to the front door of this building is far more narrow than the platform in front of a normal suburban home; and ramp access to all buildings can be a boon to people who aren't handicapped... just like elevators to the subways. Interesting series.

Thresholds primarily exist to fill the gap under the door. The bottom of the door has to be high enough off the floor to go over a rug with a pad underneath. That leaves a quite a gap under the door without a threshold. I would presume that wheelchair users would prefer to not have carpets, but many people do want them.

Architects are required by federal law to follow the minimum requirements of the Fair Housing Act, and they try to. But "minimum requirements" translates as "worst allowable conditions," which still don't work for many people. Accessibility is not an expense, it is a call to simple human decency. Don't let the minimums become a cap.

I'll tell you exactly why - typical 20x100 NYC lot in R6 zone - traditionally, one would design a 4 story walk-up building with 2 apartments per floor (8 total). To make those apartments accessible, I have to add in an elevator, make the bath 6x8 (instead of 4x6), & increase the floor area of stairs and halls to accommodate door pulls/swings. By the time I've done that, I can no longer get 2 apartments per floor. I could get 4 accessible apartments, but to get my return on investment, now I'm selling over-priced units that nobody can afford. So I skip the elevator, and make the two first floor apartments accessible (which end up as studios) and the other 6 regular traditional units. There's no easy way to get a larger lot, there's no height bonus for making accessible units, and there's no SF bonus to build accessible units. So physically, I can't build a bigger building to accommodate the extra space required for accessible apartments. And there's no subsidies to make building half as many, larger units to offset the builder's losses because the market won't bear higher-priced units.