What is ADA Accessible

In this post, I want to share with you what is ADA, and when your building must be ADA accessible.

Let me start with, what ADA means.

ADA is short for Americans with Disabilities, chapter 11 of the New York City Building Code controls the design and construction of facilities for accessibility to people with physical disabilities.

But you have to be aware of exemptions and when or where you need to provide accessibility.

New York City has one of the most complicated building and Zoning Codes in America.

Every project and design criteria are different depending on the site and neighborhood conditions.

However, there are notable exceptions where your project doesn’t need to provide accessibility:

Regular and small repairs
for single and two-family buildings

For jobs that you have to apply for C of O or get a new one

for any major repairs

for multi-family buildings ( 3 or more family considered multi-family ) you need to provide one accessible floor and units in order to get approval, you have several alternatives to choose from, you can adjust the level of the floor, or provide a Handicap accessible ramp or handicap elevator for your entrance.

Handicap ramp:

Is a low slope ramp to wheelchair users without any help can go up or down and get to the building easily, and it has to have 1:12 ratio or less

1 to 12 means for every vertical inch you need to go 12 inches horizontally, since this ratio causes a long ramp, you need to think about the loops and turns to make it more manageable at the design level, but keep in your mind for any turn you need to provide a 5 feet x 5 feet platform to allow wheelchair person can turn and move freely

Handicap elevator:

Is another solution instead of making a ramp, it’s a good option to save space, but its way too expensive in comparison to a ramp, and many homeowners prefer to save money and make the ramp

Waiver:

In some case that has an unusual shape or conditions that you cannot provide any handicap accessibility, by submitting a request to the commissioner, you can get a waiver and with that certificate get your approval from the plan examiner

In the end, for residential buildings which they have ADA accessibility and ADA units, you need to make sure everything inside the unit follows the ADA code, like an ADA kitchen that has a 30” ADA countertop or an ADA bathroom that has a minimum size and grab bars in the toilet and shower/bathtub area