INACCESSIBLE EARTH

More than 75% of New York City subway stations are inaccessible. That’s more than 354 of 472 stations.

I’ve lived in N.Y.C. for over three years, and I haven’t taken the subway once. I can’t assume there is an elevator at every subway stop for me to get on and off, and I don’t want to take the risk of getting stuck somewhere underground. Everyone complains about how much they hate the subway—I would probably hate it too—but I don’t have the option to decide that for myself.

As I’ve lived here, I’ve noticed that restaurants, stores, apartment buildings—name another type of place people go—are completely inaccessible. I can go on Yelp and see if it’s accessible, but based on my experiences, an able-bodied person tags those places. Sure, it’s great to have an elevator, but if I have to get up stairs to get to the elevator, it’s not actually accessible.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 has been law since 1990—why haven’t these places been updated since then?!

I have yet to find a list that calls out inaccessible places, so I’m starting one—follow @inaccessibleearth for the list.

I designed this sign to call out these inaccessible places.

If you know an inaccessible place and want to put a sign up, email me. I'll send one to you. All I ask in return is that you please send me a picture of the posted sign and tell me its location.

If you don’t want to put a sign up, but still want to help, email me a photo of the inaccessible place and it’s address, and I'll add it to @inaccessibleearth.

WORDS & DESIGN BY JASON DECKER SLOVES

@INACCESSIBLEEARTH
INACCESSIBLEEARTH@GMAIL.COM

Oh!—also, I'm supposed to tell you that I have Cerebral Palsy and use a walker, blah, blah, blah...