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I plan to have full wheelchair access listings rather than restaurant reviews. Sincerely, Wen |
Launched Winter 1998. Last updated:7/10/2010 Summer is here! Here in New York City, we had a heat wave; a real scorcher! Humans broiling in their own juices! If the weather could just maintain itself like it was on July 1st and 2nd, that would be ideal! Again, I hope you are in good health, and if not, then I hope you are well on your way to recovery. If this is you first visit to my guide, I had been writing/producing a comprehensive information guide on wheelchair accessible restaurants in the New York City/Metro area for over a decade, and of late, I am trying to compile fully, wheelchair accessible listings in Manhattan, and eventually, elsewhere. Formerly, my guide contained reviews of restaurants in terms of my dining experience and rated factors like extent and nature of the accessibility. From now on, my guide will list restaurants who offer full wheelchair accessibility in New York, NY. I changed my guide name to "Ballard's Access Guide", which used to have my full name in it, and have created a new masthead for my site indicative of the new name. I am neither physically disabled, nor am I affiliated with any disability rights organizations, but maybe I should be affiliated with one. (Though lately, I am getting over knee sprains, using a cane, and trying to be patient over a lung biopsy that has yet to fully heal and is still quite painful, nine months after the surgery was done...oy!) In spring 2009, I made an effort to publicize my free accessibility listings for Manhattan area restaurants, I sent out press releases, hoping Media outlets would pick up on the story, but my first attempt was not successful. Although, ABC TV's online submission form ended up being defunct and several supposedly free press release distribution services are kind of weird. However, so far I have emailed my press release to: The Gothamist, Manhattan Media Publishing (which includes: Our Town, The West Side Spirit, New York Press, Avenue, New York Family and New York Family Brooklyn, The West Sider and Chelsea Clinton, City Hall, and New York Family Editorial), The Resident, WPIX news desk, The Village Voice, WCBSFM, The Wall Sreet Journal, and The New York Times. With regard to my press release, I hope that many totally wheelchair accessible restaurants in Manhattan contact me for a free listing, since contacting restaurants out-of-the-blue, is a long, time-consuming endeavor that is often met with coldness or hostility. Over time I have discovered that many restaurant personnel seem to think that I am some kind of city inspector looking to hand out fines. My next effort will be on youtube and other social media sites. View the free listings info page for NYC restauranteurs here: I'm hoping that local newspapers, radio stations and TV stations will pick up on my press release, publicize it like mad, and that I get a great response from totally wheelchair accessible restaurants across Manhattan...and maybe...even...the world! Thank you for visiting my site; come again! Wen P.S. You can now type ballardsaccessguide.com into your browser and it will forward to this page! ***************************** ATTENTION TRISTATE AREA DWELLERS: THE MTA HAS AN ELEVATOR AND EXCALATOR SERVICE PAGE(last updated 7/10 at 7pm): and most are not working! http://advisory.mtanyct.info/EEoutage/ General NYC Accessibility Information If you are disabled and are planning to visit New York, NY, modern hotels would have more accessibility features than older, landmark hotels. This city has some good amenities for the physically challenged community. New York State Department of Health, The Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities: As on 2010, Mayor Bloomberg has these Public Service Announcements on TV Channel 25, (WNYC), for a pilot program where people with disabilities in NYC can get an accessible cab by calling 311. If you plan to ride the city-wide buses, there are discounts on fares(not just for senior citizens or children), I do not know how much discount you can get, but for more information, click these 2 links: ATTENTION TRISTATE AREA DWELLERS: THE MTA HAS AN ELEVATOR AND EXCALATOR SERVICE PAGE(last updated 7/10 at 7pm): and most are not working! http://advisory.mtanyct.info/EEoutage/ And if you are planning to use NYC/MTApublic transportation, I highly advise checking the service advisory from day to day. It can be very frustrating and time consuming when you set out to go somewhere, only to find out that certain trains, buses or routes are out of service. The advisory is not just for NYC buses and trains, but for the Long Island Railroad/Buses, MetroNorth trains, bridges/tunnels and other bus companies. You can access the advisory via the MTA homepage: http://www.mta.info/ All NYC buses have wheelchair lifts. If you are getting around NYC soley by bus and have not bought a Metrocard, make sure you or your PCA have plenty of US coins(no pennies), as the bus fare unit does not take bills nor will the bus driver give you change. Here's information on fares and Metrocards: http://www.mta.info/metrocard/mcgtreng.htm Unable to use public transit? Then use access-a-ride. For Long Island, there is the Able-Ride program Wanna go to a Broadway or Off-Broadway show? Here's another museum resource: Wanna go to Yankee Stadium? Want to hang out around Times Square(West 42nd Street and Broadway), the Broadway Theater District (the West 40s through West 50s) or hang out in Central Park(59th St through 110th St-length and Central Park West/8th Ave through 5th Avenue-width). Then I suggest you book a hotel near where you want to go, not a hotel downtown in the Wall Street/financial district or out in Queens. Although some travelers have saved big bucks by staying in hotels far away from where the action is. Decide which is more important to you when selecting your hotel. By the way, it is not advisable to hang out in Central Park when it is dark outside. If you need other access information, please feel free to email me and I will try to get back to you in a timely manner and answer your question/s. Please give me AT LEAST ONE FULL WEEK to get back to you, as emailing me a few days before you plan to arrive here is not enough time for me. Actually it might take me longer to reply since my full recovery is taking longer than I ever imagined (it has been 7 months since I had to call 911), so please forgive me for my untimely replies. Thank you. Sincerely, Wen BallardsAccessGuide (at) gmail (dot) com =======================FYI===================== The Guide to Riding Wheelchair Accessible Buses in NYC is available for free via the EPVA (The Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association ). Call: 800-444-0120. World Wide Access: Accessible Web Design - Based at the University of Washington, describes how many surfers cannot access the web due to their older systems and newer technology. Describes how you can make your website accessible to all. Liyana is a group from Africa who travel to spread the word about creating opportunity for people facing disabilities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qIJ1W-3XHLE&feature=related
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