It needs no introduction: “The Big Apple”, “The City That Never Sleeps”, “Gotham”, “The Capital of the World”, “A City of Neon and Chrome.”
The city so nice they named it twice: New York, New York.
New York City was the first capital of the United States of America. Now it is not even the capital of its state: Albany took that distinction.
However, New York City is the quintessential cosmopolitan metropolis in the hearts of many. With countless iconic views recognizable from films, tv, and photos.
New York City is a melting pot of cultures and people from all over the world. It is estimated over 800 languages are spoken in the city. It is also home to the largest Chinese population outside of China. The largest Jewish population outside of Israel. As well as, the largest Puerto Rican population of any city in the world! It also has the highest number of billionaires in the world!
The population of NYC is 8.82 million over an area of 790 sq km (305 sq miles). To put this into perspective: if the entire world population lived with the same population density, we could all fit into an area the size of the state of Texas.
In addition to being home to many, it is also a major tourism destination, with an estimated 66 million people visiting each year. Although this number has slowed a bit during the pandemic to 22 million per year in 2020.
Even though it has a notorious reputation as being an expensive place to live (average rent is around $3500 USD per month); thankfully, a lot of the famous attractions and landmarks are free to check out and explore!
If you are spending more time than a short day trip, a great thing to check out is the New York City attraction pass. While we didn’t personally use one, it looks like a great way to save money and skip lines, and it includes a lot of different sites and tours. Check it out and read more about it here if interested. Unfortunately, not all of the attractions are wheelchair accessible, but there is still a lot of cool stuff to check out.
Check out video highlights of our day trip here.
Transportation Options: Getting to and Around NYC
Fun fact: all of the buses in NYC are wheelchair accessible, with ramps or lifts that can be deployed. We took a bus from Wayne, New Jersey to the Port Authority Bus Terminal. Keep in mind not all stops are wheelchair accessible, we found this out the hard way trying to get back to New Jersey at the end of the day. Price wise the bus was extremely reasonable. The cost was only 4.25USD each way for wheelchair users, for an approximately one hour trip each way. There was a lift to get on the bus and tie downs to secure my chair in place for the ride.
The first things that come to mind when you think of getting around New York City? Definitely the extensive subway system, and the yellow taxi cabs.
Subway stations are not all wheelchair accessible, but some have elevator access. This is a great guide if you are planning to take the subway as a wheelchair user. We never ended up travelling on the subway this time around, but it is on the list of things to check out next time.
Wheelchair accessible yellow taxis, as shown in the photo below, have ramps that allow wheelchair users to load and unload through the back. The fare rates for these taxis are also the same as the standard yellow taxi fares. They were all over Manhattan, but may be less common in other areas.
There are also wheelchair accessible ubers known as UberWAV available to get you around town.
We chose to just hoof it around town. We ended up covering a lot of ground. I am so glad I had my moving booster, but wished I had my RGK Frontwheel attachment as well, since there was a lot of cobblestone and uneven pavement. (A busy NY street is not exactly the place you want to accidently tip out of your chair).
We only had 8 hour or so to check things out. Lots to see in every direction, we only had time for an express tour. This is what we had time to check out on our self-guided express tour of NYC:
Times Square
Originally called Longacre Square before The New York Times moved there in 1904. Times Square is only a few blocks away from the bus station we arrived at. However, even as a born and raised city girl I did not expect to feel as overwhelmed as I did as I got my first taste of New York City. It is city living to the extreme.
There was commotion in every direction. Organized chaos. People moving steadily along the pavement, no time to stop and look around, only join the queue, and get swept up in the cascade of people careening down the sidewalk. It’s tough to try to find balance between enjoying your surroundings and being hyper-focused on the pavement in front of you, all so you don’t unintentionally catch a wheel in a cobblestone pothole, or run over questionable, mystery gunk on an NYC sidewalk.
Alas, we finally reached our destination. Times Square, Centre of the [Corporate] Universe. Giant, technicolor billboards and adverts as far as the eye could see. A love letter to corporate America. A challenge to see how many brand logos could be seared into your mind as you pass by. Cynicism aside, it was a neat place to see. A familiar sight from New Years Eve countdowns on television and famous photographs that stirred up a sense of nostalgia. The glassy, mirror surfaces of the skyscrapers reflecting the images into infinity.
The chaos unfolded around us. Street performers dressed as characters, charging fees for photos., Hustlers giving out “free elbow bumps” (they used to be hugs he informed, but you must evolve with your market, it is still covid times after all). The free elbow bump of course cost a dollar once a photo was snapped. A good intro that nothing is free in NYC baby. But gotta respect that hustle. Enjoy the dazzle of the lights, but keep your head on your shoulders and don’t get caught up in the air of it all.
Did you know? : Skyscrapers are concentrated in Manhattan’s Midtown and lower portion as there is strong bedrock in these areas capable of supporting large buildings.
Central Park
Bit of a jaunt away, but more or less a straight line northeast from Times Square. Feel free to stop for some famous NYC street eats along the way. The epitome of quick bites on the go. I am not one to say no to a snack. We tried some of the hot nuts and a Krispy Kreme donut along the way. Gotta carb load when you are putting on the miles. After what seemed like wheeling along with a never-ending throng of people, we finally made it to the green oasis.
Surrounding the entrances to the park were food carts that had been calling my name all day long. The time was finally here to check an item off of my bucketlist: eat a New York City hotdog. Not going to lie, it wasn’t as good as I amped it up in my mind. The cool fall temperature combined with the plethora of toppings I piled on left me with a barely lukewarm dog by the time I settled to a spot near a bench in Central Park to take a bite. I should have followed another New York tenet: “time is of the essence.”
It was not the best (overpriced) hot dog I have ever had. However, I am still glad I got one. Mostly it was nice to sit and chill and enjoy the surroundings for the first time all day without being on the move. An interesting fact about New York City hot dogs I found out later: turns out it costs upwards of $289,000 USD for a one year hot dog stand permit in Central Park. Thus justifying the exorbitant hot dog price.
My favourite part of Central Park: the roundest squirrels I have ever laid eyes on. I assume they were eating well due to their close proximity to the hot dog stand. Most surprising was that they could climb trees at all!! One was being chased up a tree by a couple of off leash dogs… it looked like a scene straight out of a cartoon. After the impromptu lunch break we wandered the hilly trails of Central Park.
There were various arches and bridges to check out along the way. We also ended up stumbling across a giant skating rink which was fun for some people watching for awhile. It was also a great view of the towering skyscrapers that dominate the sky and soar to stratospheric heights. We took some time to wander around the park and do some people watching. We only covered a small fraction of the 840 acres (340 hectares) the park has to offer.
If you have ever been to Central Park and had the feeling that the pathways were originally conceived by a stumbling drunk who couldn’t walk a straight line, your assumption is warranted. But the lack of straight paths is actually to preserve the natural aesthetic of the park; in stark contrast to the straight-lines and right-angles of the buildings that encroach and enclose it. In fact, there is only one straight path in the entire park! Dubbed Central Park Mall, this straight section of promenade was originally designed to allow wealthy NYC socialites a place to stroll, show off their outfits and schmooze.
Central Park Zoo / Accessible Bathroom Break
We didn’t pay for admission to check out the zoo. Rather just scoped out the few enclosures we could see from the pathway. Mostly just stopped to take advantage of the accessible bathroom stalls (these are few and far between when out exploring NYC). Once again we came across my favourite NYC urban wildlife the bold and well-fed squirrel.
Fifth Avenue
Thankful for the grid layout of the city, we eventually stumbled upon the famous Fifth Avenue, since it bounds one of the edges of Central Park. All of the storefronts oozed overpriced opulence and the Aurelian, gold-plated veneer symbolic of the indulgent façade of the American ideal of “success”. I guess all of those billionaires need a place to shop too. Needless to say it was all window shopping for me. Not the place where I would suggest you buy your souvenirs. In the distance the peak of the Empire State Building kept us on course.
My favourite part was seeing the reverent, old gothic churches in stark contrast to the modern glitz and glamour, but sharing a city block. The old and the new. The vapid and the pious. The enduring and the flavour of the week. As we continued down the Ave, and the sun began to set, and a new city began to awaken. Christmas lights flickered. Storefronts were aglow. In the distance the illuminated Empire State Building grew larger as we neared it. Drawn to the pointed, purple, peak that piqued our interest like a moth to a flame. We continued down the Ave.
Empire State Building
Usually I am not one for overpriced touristy stuff. But seeing the view of the city from above was well worth the price of admission on its own. It was stunning. It was incredible to see how the city stretched as far as the eye could see in every direction. There is a museum on the way up that tells about the history of the building. It contains amazing archival photos and videos that out into perspective what a feat of engineering it was to build- even by today’s standards. Another cool fact about the Empire State Building is that it has its own zip code – 10118 in case you were wondering.
It was built over 410 days from 1930 to1931. At 102 stories high, it remained the tallest skyscraper in the world until 1970. It’s art deco style is a quintessential part of the NYC skyline. Featured in countless films and tv shows: from King Kong, to Spiderman, and many more.
In terms of accessibility, it was fantastic. There were private, large and clean accessible restrooms. The floor was nice and smooth to roll on. The elevators were some of the fastest and smoothest I have ever rode on. All the staff were wonderful! They made sure the ramp and access ways were cleared for us. At the top they had wheelchair accessible height viewing binoculars, and lowered walls for unobstructed views. It was very cool to pick out some of the famous landmarks of NYC: Macy’s, the Statue of Liberty (even though it was pretty microscopic from that far away), the Brooklyn Bridge, and of course the site if the Twin Tower memorial.
Thankfully, we were not up there during a thunderstorm! The Empire State Building antennae gets struck by lightning on average 23 times per year.
After taking in the view from the top, we figured it was time to head back towards the bus station to catch a bus back into New Jersey. Our flight was leaving early in the am, and we needed time to get back and pack.
We had a bit of a debacle at the bus station since not all of the bus stops at the Port Authority bus station are wheelchair accessible. We had to go to the south terminal and arranged with the bus company to arrange for an alternate stop to get us onto the bus. This took close to an hour or more of wheeling around.
Once we finally made it to this new arranged meeting stop, the bus arrived and we were finally home free.. or so we thought. The wheelchair lift ended up breaking stranding a couple of us on the bus. After almost another hour and 5 people trying to figure out how to reengage the hydraulic system. We bid good riddance to the original bus and decided to test our luck with another that pulled in. (At this point tensions were running high and we had lost all confidence in the lift system on the original bus).
The only issue, we soon found out is that this bus did not stop at our originally planned stop, but the driver was nice enough to drop us as close as he could, but still added a couple kilometers of rolling uphill after a long day. And it’s worth mentioning that at this point in the day it was pitch black, and we had to roll on the street for a portion of the way since here was no sidewalk available. needless to say, my push assist unit, my reflective jacket and light up castor wheels came in handy.
It was a long day of rolling around, we racked up close to 20km (12.5 miles) over the day. New York City is huge and we only got to experience a taste of what the city has to offer! However, I would not rank it as the most wheelchair friendly destination. There are lots of people, lots of cobblestone/uneven pavement, lots of old buildings lacking accessibility, lots of dust/city grime (be sure to bring a pair of gloves or two).
So much to see, and so much to do. The day truly flew by in a New York minute!
A common theme was the foot traffic keeps on moving (in stark juxtaposition to the cars jam packed in the streets honking at each other incessantly), (Which is ironic since it turns out it is actually illegal to honk your horn in NYC, I guess those guys didn`t get the memo).
One gets the feeling that the people are the life blood of the city, moving through the streets like red blood cells through its veins. People move incessantly along the sidewalk, always moving, never stopping, as if a cease in movement would cause the city personified to lose its very life force. Thus you must relentlessly march on to keep the city that never sleeps alive. People constantly moving to and fro, no time to waste, and no time to stop the flow.
To be honest: I’m glad I got to see New York, but I was also glad to be free from the city after a day of exploring and cherished the peace and calm that came with it.
Our visit was short and sweet. Overload, and short-circuit the senses, check. Lights, colours, horns, chaos, commotion, calamity, I wouldn’t want it any other way.
Until Next Time New York!
Wish I would have had time to check out Ess-a Bagel (a NYC bagel is another thing on my bucketlist). As well as grab a slice of pizza and ride the NYC subway.
I would have also really loved to check out Contento: an upscale restaurant designed and owned by wheelchair users! As you can tell from the pictures in this post I was clearly not dressed for such an occasion. My outfit choice by the end of the day looked like I was channeling the bird lady from Home Alone 2, rather than NYC chic. I would have also liked to time it out right to go and watch a taping of Saturday Night Live, but we were there on a Sunday.
Also on my list would be to check out the Statue of Liberty from more than afar. Seeing some of New York City’s many world-class museums. Exploring more of Central Park, as well as the High Line Park. Checking out Grand Central Terminal (shhhhh….it has a secret whispering gallery). Maybe even checking out a Broadway show even though it’s not really my thing. Finally, it would have been cool to check out the subway stations too to see if I could catch a glimpse of the infamous pizza rat.
Check out video highlights of our day trip here.
