Turnstile Tours invites visitors of all ages and abilities to join our tours and virtual programs. Please review the information below about accessibility services and accommodations. For more information or to place a request for any of these accommodations, please contact us. You can also include information about accessibility when making a reservation for any of our tours. The more you can help us prepare for your visit, the better we can serve you and provide a fully inclusive experience.
Website accessibility
Turnstile Tours is committed to ensuring accessibility for people with disabilities in all forms, including digital accessibility. We have engaged a third-party expert to conduct an accessibility audit of our website and are now working to address issues identified in the audit. We strive to make this website as accessible as possible. Please contact us by phone or email if you have any feedback about how we can improve the user experience of our website.
For visitors who use wheelchairs or have limited mobility
Public Transit Access
For each of our tours, we provide directions that include guidance for accessible public transit. Less than 30% of subway stations are wheelchair accessible, and even at some of those stations, elevators are frequently out of service. When planning your trip, please consult the MTA’s Accessibility page, this map of accessible subway stations, and the current status of elevators and escalators.
All MTA buses are wheelchair accessible, as is the NYC Ferry.
Walking Tours
We strive to make sure that our walking tours are fully accessible to visitors who use wheelchairs or mobility devices, but because we work outdoors in parks and industrial spaces, unforeseen obstacles may arise. If you do use a mobility device, or have questions or concerns about accessibility, please note this in your reservation or contact us so that our guides can review the tour route in advance. Due to construction, weather, or other circumstances, we may encounter uneven paths, obstructions, or steep inclines on our usual route, which will adjust to avoid. We also note for each tour the approximate distance traveled, restroom accessibility, and if there will be extended periods of standing (you can find this information for each tour in our FAQs).
Accessible services and accommodations upon request
Assistive listening devices: With at least 24 hours advance notice, portable FM assistive listening devices with headsets or neck loops can be made available for all public and private tours. Please note in your reservation or contact us at least 24 hours prior to your tour if you or a guest in your party would like to use a receiver. We cannot guarantee that assistive listening devices will be available if the request is made within 24 hours of the tour start time.
Verbal description and large print materials: All of our tours are designed to be multi-sensory. We also have staff members who are experienced in verbal description and have led tour programming for visitors who are blind or have low vision. We can also make available all of our materials in large print upon request. Please notify us in advance either when making your reservation or by contacting us if you would like your public or private tour to be staffed accordingly so that we can ensure a fully-inclusive experience.
American Sign Language interpretation: We seek to offer accessible experiences for all visitors. As such, with at least two weeks advance notice, we will seek to provide American Sign Language interpretation free of charge for visitors who are deaf for all of our tours.
For people with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities: We celebrate diversity in learning styles and abilities. With advance notice for public or private tours, we have the capability to provide accessible and inclusive programming for people with development and/or intellectual disabilities and their family members and friends. For example, with advance notice, we can provide a sensory-friendly experience for private groups of visitors with autism that includes visual supports and non-verbal tools before and during the visit (visual schedules, etc), fidgets, as well as multi-sensory and kinesthetic approaches. With advance notice for public tours, Turnstile Tours can provide these accommodations and can also assign a staff member who has experience leading programs for people with and without intellectual and development disabilities.