By Ana Disla
York College bathrooms have never been ADA-compliant. However, this is going to change soon. At the State of the College Address on Oct. 12, Claudio Lindow said every single step in the preparation of making the bathrooms compliant is going well, “construction will start at the end of the Spring semester, towards the summer.”
According to the ADA.gov website, the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, along with the Title II and Title III regulations, say what is required for a building or facility to be physically accessible to people with disabilities, which York College’s restrooms have never been. The Facilities and Planning Department of York College mentioned that they have completed the bid documents for the HPEC ADA Toilets and Shower Upgrade and ACB ADA Toilet Upgrade.
Advertising to solicit bidders will happen between November and December 2023. The key challenges in completing these projects were the addition of temporary restroom facilities, planning, and coordination due to multiple phases and the impact on adjacent spaces. All issues have been resolved and the projects are now ready to proceed to bidding.
Truett Vaigneur, CUNY LEADS Specialist at York College says that he knows there is a plan to modify or relocate the bathrooms in the building. He understands this is a complicated process, but he believes it is important for bathrooms to be accessible to everyone. “All accommodations should be met, not just one. Not just the bathrooms but all accommodations within this building and any other building at York and any other building at the City University of New York should in fact be met.” He continued by saying that he has seen firsthand the challenges people with disabilities face when trying to use bathrooms that are not accessible. He said he also understands that there are logistical challenges to making bathrooms accessible, such as the need to update plumbing and wiring. However, he believes that these challenges can be overcome and that bathrooms should be made accessible as soon as possible.
“My argument is not that they’re not trying. I think they are trying. My argument is that they’re taking too much time to accomplish this. You know, if you, like I said earlier, if you run into a barrier, an architectural barrier or a technological barrier, work with it, you know, overcome it, make it work, and then accomplish what you want to accomplish,” said Vaigneur.
Luis Alvares, the vice chair of the Community Coalition for Students with Disabilities and the Representative body for the disabled community at York College said that although the bathroom doors may be too heavy for students with mobility issues to enter, the bathrooms at York College, compared to other CUNY universities, are more accessible, since most bathrooms have one accessible for wheelchairs. “So, is it perfect? No, far from it? But is it ahead of all the others, in my opinion, most schools? Yes,” concluded Alvares.
At the Oct. 12 meeting Lindow said every single step in the preparation of making the bathrooms compliant is going well. “Construction will start at the end of the Spring semester, towards the summer,” he said.
