I am hoped to visit new york late october. I want to see some art galleries, usual sites, some shopping and dining out. Walking is a problem to me. How easy is it to get taxis everywhere, and do galleries and large stores provide wheelchairs to use whilst in them?
Also ant suggestions as to the most central place to stay.
Thanks
Sue

Almost every public place is accessible by wheel chair because of the American with Disabilities Act. You should have no problems getting a cab at the airport or the hotels as there is usually a line of available cabs or the hotel doorman can call one for you. At other places, you will have to signal for one and it's especially hard to get one during the rush hours or when its rains. Maybe you could use a car service and ask them to pick you at a certain place at a certain time. My company uses a car service called Carmel and their number in New York is 800-666-6666. There are also other car services you could check out. I have never seen wheel chair service at the stores but that does not mean it does not exist. You might want to search the internet for web pages for particular stores and see what they offer. The stores would probably have an e-mail address you can send a query to. The same thing applies for the art galleries. I know that places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Natural History have their own web pages. You could also just search the internet for New York City and you will probably get all the links that you may need to get your answer. As for the hotels, jsut search New York Cith hotels and you will get a whole slew of them and most of them even come with maps on how to get there and waht attractions are close to that hotel. My guess is that you should limit your search to hotels in the mid town area. I know this is not much help but I wanted to at least point you in some direction. I hope you have a great time in New York.

Thanks mm,
your e-mail is very encouraging, and I feel a lot happier about my visit.

Sue,

I have personal experience with these issues; I'm just going to say a few things here, but please feel free to email me at the above address with specific questions. Stores and galleries are unlikely to provide wheelchairs. The museums absolutely have wheelchairs for your use and are pretty accessible. Except in lower Manhattan, where buildings are old and have not been upgraded, most though not all shops, restaurants, etc. have one step if they are not completely accessible. In general, access is pretty good in public areas, although sometimes one must go a roundabout (and therefore longer) way to avoid stairs. If you are standing, even with a cane, etc., it should not be hard to hail cabs, except at rush hour, when everyone has a hard time. The city bus system is also very accessible and is safe and easy to use. All the busses "kneel" if you can ,anage the three steps up, and also have wheelchair lifts. As far as hotels go, the midtown area is probably the best location if you want to see the big museums like the Met and MoMA and your shopping style is more Madison Avenue (department stores, classic shops) than Soho (downtown, trendy boutiques). But Manhattan is not hard to get around, even with limited mobility. The larger chains (Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, etc.) and some other large hotels should be quite accessible if they're within your budget, and there are plenty of smaller ones in the area that shouldn't pose problems, as well. You may want to avoid staying right in the Times Square area, as it can be loud. If you're interested in smaller, private art galleries, some are accessible and others are not. A phone call once you're here will tell you. As I said, please feel free to emal me; I deal with accessibility issues frequently and can probably answer any specific questions. It might help to know your approximate hotel budget (if you're looking for recommendations) and if you're traveling by yourself (answers might be different then).

While the previous poster indicated museums will have wheelchairs, let me remind you of the obvious:
when YOU arrive they may all be in use, so there is no guarantee that one will be available for your immediate use.
Although I have never tried it, perhaps you could phone ahead and 'make an appointment' for one. However, you can also expect their answer to be: first come, first served, we cannot guarantee one will be available when you arrive.
Good luck and I hope you enjoy New York City..it's an exciting place!