Exploring New York City’s Stair Streets with Michael Cairl | Episode 255

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

For the past three years, our friend Michael Cairl has been recovering from a stroke that limited his mobility and transformed how he gets around the city. As part of his recovery, Michael has been exploring the city in new ways and documenting it on his blog, On Foot, On Wheels. On foot, he has been climbing the city’s many stair streets, tackling more than 20 of them on his urban walks with friends and family. There are over 100 mapped public streets in the city that are actual staircases, most of them in the hilly sections of Upper Manhattan and the Bronx, (including the one made famous by the 2019 film Joker), but Michael’s also climbed them in Brooklyn and Queens. On this virtual program, Michael will share some of his favorite spots he has discovered, and his passion for making the city more accessible to all. While you can’t navigate these streets on wheels, Michael’s adaptive tricycle built by Adapt Ability allowed him to continue his love of cycling, and all proceeds from this program will support Adapt Ability Bikes.

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Brooklyn Army Terminal Virtual Tour for Open House New York | Episode 248

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A dramatic look up at the window frames that connect two sides of the Brooklyn Army Terminal's gigantic and imposing Building B, made of poured concrete with off-set balconies

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Take a virtual visit to one of the most popular sites of Open House New York Weekend, the Brooklyn Army Terminal, and join us for a live exploration of the site’s architecture, history, and industry. Designed by architect Cass Gilbert and built in 1918–1919, the Terminal is an architectural and engineering marvel that served as a major military installation for nearly 50 years. Today it is a city-owned industrial park that is home to over 100 tenants, including manufacturers, technology companies, nonprofits, artists, and more. On this virtual tour, we will explore the history and architecture of the stunning atrium, and visit with Adapt Ability Bikes, a nonprofit that builds adaptive bicycles for people with disabilities, and stop into BioBAT Art Space to see the work of artist Tatiana Arocha.

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Exploring the Brooklyn Army Terminal | Episode 215

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A dramatic look up at the window frames that connect two sides of the Brooklyn Army Terminal's gigantic and imposing Building B, made of poured concrete with off-set balconies

PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

Completed in 1919, the Brooklyn Army Terminal is a marvel of architecture and engineering. On this virtual tour, we will examine its design and construction during World War I, its 47-year service as a military supply base, and its reinvention as a hub for industry, manufacturing, and technology today. We will spend time in the breathtaking atrium, step into the skybridges that connect the buildings, and look at how the site has been renovated.

This program is presented as part of Jane’s Walk 2021 with the Municipal Art Society of New York.

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Inclusive Design and Employment for People of All Abilities | Made in NYC Week | Episode 146

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

In this special Made in NYC Week program, learn how New York City’s makers and manufacturers are advancing inclusion of people with disabilities through adaptive design and employment practices. In this panel discussion, we will speak with the Adaptive Design Association, which creates adaptations of expensive and non-custom commercial products for people with disabilities; learn about Adapt Ability, a new nonprofit that specializes in affordable solutions for adaptive bicycling; and take a behind-the-scenes look at Undercare’s adaptive clothing for people with mobility challenges with CEO and Founder Susanne Leary Shoemaker. In celebration of Disability Employment Awareness Month, we will also be joined by Karen Waltuck, JobPath’s Director of the Consortium of Customized Employment, to learn how a network of 13 agencies are working together to create more integrated and competitive work environments for manufacturers and other sectors through customized employment programs for people with developmental disabilities. This program will be hosted by Turnstile Tours’ President Cindy VandenBosch, who is an accessibility professional in the museum and tourism fields.

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Cycling for All New Yorkers: Adaptive Bicycles with Adapt Ability | Episode 141

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PAST PROGRAM | Virtual Programs

As New Yorkers are riding their bicycles more than ever, new Brooklyn-based nonprofit Adapt Ability is on a mission to ensure that people with disabilities can enjoy cycling in the city’s parks and streets. During this virtual program, we will interview Sunset Park entrepreneur Sandra Alfonzo about her journey from being a bicycle shop owner to running a nonprofit that makes and rents adaptive bicycles to children and adults with disabilities. We’ll also go live to Michael Cairl (check out his blog On Foot, On Wheels) in Prospect Park to see the trike he uses from AdaptAbility in action and to hear about his experience transitioning to adaptive cycling.

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