Tuesday, October 10, 2017
For the Disabled, New York’s Sidewalks Are an Obstacle Course
Dustin Jones must navigate an obstacle course every time he goes out.
Mr. Jones, who uses a wheelchair, gets stuck at sidewalk corners where the curb ramp is too broken to roll over or missing altogether. He has to keep going around the block until he finds a usable ramp. The one time he tried to roll off a curb without a ramp, he almost tipped over into the street. He never did that again.
“I’m not able to move around like I want to on the sidewalk like every other New Yorker,” said Mr. Jones, 29, a disability rights advocate who lives in the Bronx. “I believe it’s very unfair. These types of things should not be happening in a city like this.” . . .