NY1 For You: Disabled New Yorker Struggles To Enter And Exit NYCHA Building

By: Susan Jhun

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For one disabled Manhattan man, getting out of his NYCHA building is more challenging than it should be. NY1’s Susan Jhun filed the following NY1 For You report.

Leaving home for dialysis treatment is a real struggle for Juan Gonzalez, who has to bring a piece of plywood to use as a ramp to get his wheelchair in and out of his building.

“I'm losing my ability to walk right now because so many years in dialysis and these three steps is killing me,” says Gonzalez.

Those three steps make Gonzalez's exit exhausting.

“The chair weighs 300 pounds, I am 125 pounds, and with all the physical conditions that I have, it's very difficult for me to push the wheelchair, and actually, I hurt myself twice already,” says Gonzalez.

And the wheelchair ramp isn't secure in more ways than one.

“Last week they stole the original ramp, which was lighter,” says Gonzalez.

With his health rapidly deteriorating, Gonzalez applied to move to another housing building that's accessible. That was back in November, and Gonzalez says he hasn't heard anything since.

After he called NY1 For You, NY1 contacted the New York City Housing Authority. A spokeswoman said NYCHA staff has been in contact with Gonzalez throughout his efforts to transfer, which was delayed due to a missed appointment.

The spokeswoman went on to say Gonzalez's transfer to a housing unit designed for the disabled was approved that day and NYCHA will work with him to find an available and appropriate unit.

There’s hope that Gonzalez may be done with heavy lifting.