Q&A
Accessibility features and language support for NYC Ferry
1:00:54
·
3 min
EDC officials discuss the accessibility features of NYC Ferry for persons with disabilities and the language support provided across the system.
- All NYC Ferry vessels and landings are built to comply with local accessibility laws
- Safety measures are in place to ensure safe boarding and deboarding during various weather conditions
- NYC Ferry provides language support through QR codes at landings, linking to information in 7 different languages
- The NYC Ferry app and website can be translated into 44 different languages
- Six non-English languages (Spanish, Chinese, Polish, Korean, Russian, and Yiddish) are identified as critical languages for the system
Amanda Farías
1:00:54
Thank you.
1:00:54
Lastly, unaccessibility.
1:00:59
How does NYC Ferry ensure that persons with disabilities can fully access the ferry system?
1:01:06
And all and are all NYC ferries accessible?
Franny Civitano
1:01:09
Yes.
1:01:10
All NYC Fairies were built to local law 68 and 88 standards, and all ferry landings are accessible to people with wheelchairs, canes, strollers, all of that.
Amanda Farías
1:01:22
And in terms of accessibility and the ferry landings during different inclement weather?
1:01:28
How are we assuring that?
1:01:30
For example, with snow, high winds that folks using, but people with disabilities have the same accessibility and utilization of the of the landing.
James Wong
1:01:40
Yeah.
1:01:40
So safety is paramount within NYC Ferry.
1:01:44
We play place a great deal of responsibility and trust in our captains and our crew who are keeping an eye on riders and making sure that vessels are birthing when that is safe to do so.
1:01:55
So there's, you know, we have a lot of designs that help to make sure that the system is safe, but we also have operations where if there are winds that are too high, we will not birth.
1:02:05
We will not talk.
Amanda Farías
1:02:06
And does each vessel have adequate number of wheelchair tie downs?
1:02:11
And Yes.
1:02:12
Great.
1:02:13
And then I just have a my final question on 2 final questions on languages at the landings.
1:02:20
What what's the operational side of ensuring that we are meeting the language needs perfectly landing throughout communities.
Franny Civitano
1:02:29
Yes.
1:02:29
So we are going through a signage update right now.
1:02:33
They should all be in place either today or later this week.
1:02:39
But one of the things there is that I believe that there is a QR code on the signage that will direct you to where you can find that information on our website in 7 different languages.
1:02:57
Okay.
1:02:58
And then there are in our app, there's also if you download the app and your phone is set to any there's 40 different language.
1:03:06
I think 44 different languages, the app will translate into that language where your phone is, same with the website.
1:03:14
So we are trying to make sure that NYC ferry is accessible in all languages.
Amanda Farías
1:03:18
So with the signage updates at each of the ferry landings, are we gonna have comparable languages to the surrounding communities that are there?
1:03:26
Are we going to do it in the top 3 or top 5?
Franny Civitano
1:03:31
We did an assessment several years ago of populations, not only who are in the service area, like where the ferry landings are and what languages are spoken in in those neighborhoods, but also, you know, what people respond to in our surveys.
1:03:49
So we've identified that there are 6 non English language that represent the whole system,