Kindness Is Everywhere. Accessibility Isn’t.

By Keen Berger

As the ferry approached Bay Shore, dozens of passengers stood and crowded around the exit, wanting to be off the boat so they could be on their way to the city. I stayed in my seat, near the door. Since breaking my pelvis in April, I stand as little as possible. I planned to disembark when the rush was over.

Instead the ticket collector, who opens the door when the ferry is docked, turned to me and asked, “Do you want to be first?” I replied, “Yes, thank you,” scrambling up as she guided me and my rollator. All the other passengers moved aside.

I had ordered a book from the independent bookstore, PT Knitwear, on Orchard Street. I walked there only to find out that it was closed. Walking with my rollator is good exercise for me; standing is not. I spied a clerk sitting inside the empty store and in my frustration, I banged on the glass door. She shook her head. I looked sad. Then she disappeared and returned with another employee who opened the door, got my book and rebooted the system so I could pay. I said, “Tell your mother you are a good man!”

I have many other examples; they have made me brave. Today at the post office, I walked up the stairs (my physical therapist taught me how) and then I asked the next arrival to carry up my rollator. He did, smiling, saying, “Of course.”

July was Disability Month. The Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities estimates that almost one million New Yorkers have a disability. If you are one of them, my experiences might not surprise you. But as a newly disabled person, I am taken aback at the care and thoughtfulness of strangers. If the current political horrors tempt you to despair, you need to know that this city is filled with helpful people.

I have another lesson: our government needs to do more. I have become keenly aware of inaccessible subways, of uneven curb cuts that lead to puddles, of narrow sidewalks, and of Trump’s attack on mail-in voting. My local post office, on East Broadway, has no ramp.

I have always been in favor of accessibility (and I was proud to be endorsed by 504 Dems when I ran for school board) but personal experience adds punch. I now appreciate why we need elected leaders who themselves were born in another country, who are trans, who grew up in public housing, who are Muslim, or young men. I am needed too ─ a U.S. born, heterosexual, homeowner, Baptist, old woman. Diversity is our strength.

I do not wish broken bones or any other disability on anyone. But ideology is strengthened by personal experience. Reading about mine might help you understand why democracy needs us all.

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Keen Berger is the former Democratic District Leader of Assembly District 66A.