Access Hotline will eventually provide resources for describing & improving access in venues (with sample language, translations, & more)––but first we need to find out what info venues provide, what help venues need, & what resources & expertise can be contributed by the community.
VENUES
Fill out the short venue form to submit your venue's access links or to request help describing your space. Please include access info on your website & social media; on IG, you can do this by pinning an "Access" highlight to the top of your profile (like @comeforever_!).
(If you're looking for ideas on what to include, check out Carolyn Lazard's Accessibility in the Arts & the example statements below!)
VOLUNTEERS
Fill out the short volunteer form to help out. Disabled music lovers, folks with language skills, programmers, designers, print shop hookups all welcome; let us know how you can help! (The goal is to get funding to compensate disabled consultants; we're working on it!)
MORE THAN RAMPS
Access is about more than flat entry: Madison Square Garden has elevators, but plenty of people can't safely enter the arena because of their biometric surveillance. The priority is for folks to share the basics––are there stairs; can wheelchair users enter the space & restroom; what's the age policy; how do people get in touch with questions––but we hope over time you'll reflect on other ways your space is or is not accessible, & share that in your access statements, too. Other examples of access affordances include free water, materials in multiple languages, discounted & "no one turned away for lack of funds" (notaflof) pricing, harm reduction resources, air purifiers, closed captioning, masks, livestreams, audio description, all-gender restrooms, seating, & more!
EXAMPLES
Some venues providing access info on their websites include:
- Amant: "Our entry at 315 Maujer Street is step-free and suitable for wheelchair users. Our galleries, outdoor lot, bookstore, and restroom facilities are also wheelchair accessible. ASL interpretation for events at Amant is available on request. We require two weeks’ notice to confirm an interpreter. For further information about accessibility at Amant, or for booking an interpreter, please email us."
- Artists Space: "Artists Space is fully accessible via our ADA compliant entrance on 80 White Street. There is a wheelchair lift in front of the entrance and an automated door. The cellar gallery is accessible via the ground floor elevator." Artists Space gives more info on nearby transit, restrooms, service animals, program materials, interpreters, website, & more.
- Bar Freda: "There is accessible side door with a ramp and the upstairs bathroom is accessible with railings. The front door has 2 steps up and there are a set of stairs down to the basement venue."
- Cara: "CARA is accessible via the main entrance located on 13th Street. A standard wheelchair is available on a first-come, first-served basis. You can book it in advance by email or request it in person at the Visitors Services desk." (Cara gives more info concerning elevators, quiet hours, visitors who are deaf or have hearing loss, restrooms, service animals.)
- Center for Performance Research (CPR): "CPR – Center for Performance Research is a fully ADA compliant and accessible venue located on the ground floor, with two single-occupancy, all-gender restrooms and one wheelchair-accessible restroom. CPR’s audience chairs are armless and have a 300lb. rating." (CPR gives more info on rehearsal studios & ASL.)
- The Chocolate Factory: "The street level entrance to The Chocolate Factory Theater is fully accessible. Please note that we do not have accessible bathrooms at this time." (The Chocolate Factory gives more info on accessible modes of transportation.)
- The Kitchen: "Access to The Kitchen’s 4th Floor Loft is available via the Westbeth Bank Street Courtyard. There are stairs or ramp access to a door marked with The Kitchen’s name, behind which there is an elevator. The elevator enters directly into the loft. Our restrooms and dressing rooms are gender neutral. An ADA accessible bathroom is available for use in a neighboring space at Westbeth during public programs and select events." The Kitchen gives more info on ASL, captioning, printed materials, & seating.
- Knockdown Center: "Knockdown Center is fully ADA compliant, with ramp access and ADA toilets. Please contact us to request accommodation for a specific event. Accommodations are first come first serve, and space limited."
- Movement Research: "Movement Research Studios and Offices located at 122 Cultural Center are accessible spaces. Located on the first floor, our two studios – Courtyard and Ninth Street – are wheelchair and mobility device accessible. The second-floor office is accessible by elevator." (Movement Research gives more info on restrooms, fragrance policy, service animals, parking, public transportation, & other services.)
- Nowadays: "The wheelchair entrance to our indoor space is in the driveway, which is the access point most commonly used to enter Nowadays. During parties the driveway gate is locked, so please ask staff at the street entrance for assistance with entry." (Nowadays gives more info on gender-neutral bathrooms, strobe lights, haze, outdoor ground & dance floor material, food, snacks, water, earplugs, & more.)
- Property is Theft (P.I.T.): "Quick ramp setup; bathroom not accessible."
- Roulette: "Roulette’s main floor is wheelchair accessible via the ramp entrance on Atlantic Avenue. Requests for reasonable accommodation can be made in advance of the concert or event. Please contact our Box Office [by email]."
- Skinny Apartment: "the apartment is up a 6 stair stoop and on the first floor of the building. the space itself is very tight and can be difficult to navigate for people with needs for mobility accommodations, especially when many people are in attendance - be advised that this is especially pertinent for bathroom and backyard access. we are happy to try..." Skinny Apartment gives more info on transit, earplugs, sensory sensitivities, harm reduction supplies, & more.
- Village Vanguard: "Are you ... accessible? No, the 15 steps down to the club are not wheelchair accessible."
NEAT THINGS
A few for now, will keep adding; feel free to submit your own through the Volunteer form.
- 10 Principles of Disability Justice, from Sins Invalid.
- Accessibility in the Arts: A Promise and a Practice" publication by Carolyn Lazard, available as audio & text; excellent overview of accommodation recommendations, tips, how to list access info, & resources.
- A.I.R. NYC: ”a collective of disabled and chronically ill artists and organizers” & air purifier lending library.
- Come Forever: a masks-required “social space for cross-accessibility contact” with free supplies & resources for the community! Come Forever is committed to PACBI, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel.
- Creative Rebuild New York page for "Supporting New York's Deaf & Disabled Artists"
- Crip News: by Kevin Gotkin, "A weekly roundup about disability arts and politics."
- Cripple Punk Mag: ”Disability in Punk and DIY music … run by Merlin Sabal, a disabled writer, artist and organizer."
- Cuéntame: "Media projects disrupting the mainstream narrative of disability."
- Demystifying Access: "A guide for producers and performance makers: how to create better access for audiences to the performing arts," by Unlimited.