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The Hudson Yards Vessel Agrees To Increase Accessibility With 'One-Of-A-Kind Platform Lift'
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 23, 2019
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Scott Lynch / Gothamist
By
Ben Yakas
Published Dec 23, 2019
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Vessel, the $200 million honeycomb-like structure created by British designer Thomas Heatherwick in the center of Hudson Yards, has become a major tourist attraction since it opened earlier this year. It's comprised of 154 interconnecting flights of stairs, totaling almost 2,500 individual steps and 80 landings—but according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York, it's also inaccessible to individuals with disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Today, they announced an agreement with Related Companies to increase accessibility throughout Vessel.
Here's how the U.S. Attorney's office described the problems with Vessel in their announcement today:
But the Vessel’s current design allows individuals with disabilities to access at most only three (3) of the 80 platforms, all on one side of the structure, as the sole elevator reaches three platforms and visitors must otherwise traverse stairs to move among the platforms. Due to the high demand for the elevator, Related has at times directed that the elevator bypass the platforms at levels 5 and 7, thereby rendering only one platform (at level 8) accessible to individuals with disabilities.
You can see the problem in this video—when the elevator stops at a landing, there are stairs on either side.
Related has agreed to make several improvements, including designing, constructing, installing, and operating a platform lift mechanism that will allow individuals with disabilities to traverse the stairways and platforms at the top levels of Vessel, so they can "enjoy 360-degree views, providing access to the most traveled areas of the Vessel that are also currently inaccessible to individuals with disabilities." That change must be completed by January 2021.
They also agreed to ensure the elevator stops at levels 5 and 7 upon request to operate the elevator on a pre-set, timed schedule, and to modify the Vessel’s ticketing reservation options to allow individuals with disabilities to reserve priority access to the elevator. Those changes are supposed to be put into effect by March 1st, 2020.
That isn't the only bit of notable Related news in recent days: Stephen Ross, the billionaire developer behind Hudson Yards whose support for Donald Trump led to protests against his various companies earlier this year, has stepped down from The Shed’s board of directors. A spokesperson for The Shed, the Hudson Yards cultural center sandwiched between Vessel and the High Line, told Hyperallergic that Ross had quietly resigned several weeks ago “to focus on his other philanthropic activities.”
Tagged
vessel
stephen ross
manhattan
hudson yards
accessibility
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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