Please Be Seated
Accessibility of New York City's public benches
Please Be Seated
Accessibility of New York City's public benches
Published: Feburary 26, 2023
New York City is one of America's most walkable and least car-dependent cities. However, the city's public benches are not as accessible as they should be.
Nearly 1.2 million New Yorkers are older than 65 years old, and the number has increased drastically in the past decade. As the city's population ages, the need for accessible benches in public places, especially streetside benches, becomes more urgent.
New York City’s Department of Transportation manages 2,200+ public benches (CityBenches) across five boroughs. There are three types of benches: backed bench, backless bench, and leaning bars.
Leaning bars: a new addition to the CityBench family since 2017, has been critized for its lack of accessibility for older folks as well as people with moving disabilities.
Where are public street benches located?
2,000+ pedestrian-use street bench locations in New York City.
In 2016, the first batch of leaning bars were installed along 34th St and 1st Ave.
backed bench
backless
leaning bar
In 2016, the first batch of leaning bars were installed along 34th St and 1st Ave.
backed bench
backless
leaning bar
* Street pedestrian benches installed by the NYC Department of Transportation. Data collected in 2020.
Map: Cynthia Tu · Source: NYC DOT · Get the Data
Additionally, streetside benches are not evenly distributed across the city. In some neighborhoods, it's tough to find a place to sit; in others, you can find a bench on every block.
In order to see which neighborhoods are the most bench-deficient, I plotted the distance between each census tract's geographic population center and the nearest bench location. Using Google Maps' distance API, I calculated the walking distance and the time of these trips.
Leaning bars are excluded from this analysis because they are not designed for sitting.
In some NYC neighborhoods, it's tough to be seated
How far does it take to walk to the nearest bench* from each census tract?
Travel time** (minute)
0
5
10
15
30
60+
Travel time**
(minute)
0
5
10
15
30
60+
* Leaning bars are excluded.
** Based on walking distance from the population center of each census tract to the nearest bench, calculated using Google Maps API.
Map: Cynthia Tu · Source: NYC DOT, Google Maps API, NHGIS · Get the Data
As the map shows, residents in most neighborhoods in Manhattan can easily find a bench within 5 minutes of walking. Brooklyn and West Bronx are also relatively well-served.
Queens and Staten Island are the most bench-deserted boroughs, with the majority of the population living in areas where it would take more than 10 minutes to walk to the nearest bench.
However, Midtown Manhattan, New York city's tourist hotspot, turns out to be a "bench desert" compared to other places in Manhattan.
It would take over 10 minutes to walk to the nearest pedestrian bench in this area.
Although some leaning bars are installed in Midtown Manhattan, they are not enough to meet the needs of the residents, not to mention those with speical needs.
Travel time
(minute)
0
5
10
15
Hell’s
Kitchen
30
Midtown
South
60+
Hudson Yards
backed bench
leaning bar
backless bench
Travel time (minute)
leaning bar
backed bench
backless bench
0
5
10
15
30
60+
Hell’s
Kitchen
Midtown
South
Hudson Yards
To make New York a truly accessible and aged-friendly city, simply adding more seatings on its streets is not enough. The city's urban planner must also incorporate more welcoming and comfortable seating options for the elderly.
For instance, benches made of metal are not as comfortable as wooden benches under the hot summer sun and in winter. Benches with back support are also more comfortable than backless benches. It is also worth considering the height of the bench, which is important for the elderly to sit down and get up.
You can request a seat for your neighborhood by contacting the Department of Transportation.
Learn more about the data analysis in this story.