There’s nothing like biking over the Brooklyn Bridge early on a Sunday morning in the summer when the least amount of people are up and about. I would pick any one of several routes to the bike path at 69th and the BQE and then push on to Coney Island. It was so much fun and the absolute best way to learn the city.
I used to bike all over the city.
Sometime during 2012, however, I had to give up biking. Unfortunately, I have lymphedema in my lower legs. Support hose or not, my legs swell within minutes of rising in the morning and gradually get larger as the day progresses. By the end of the day my legs are too swollen to bike and walking can be quite painful—especially with heat and humidity.
Walking is a big part of a realtor’s job. Three summers ago, I started looking at mobility scooters as an option to avoid subway stairs and walking long distances from subway stations to the buildings I need to visit. I don’t like the look of most of the mobility scooters on the market, but the idea of being able to ride door-to-door was quite appealing. So, I decided to rent a scooter for a weekend and put it to the test.
The company I used, which I think was scootaround.com, delivered the scooter to my lobby assembled and charged. They told me they would pick it up when I called them. In May 2019, for a two-day rental, I paid a little over $100. At first, I was a bit embarrassed using it, but just circling my block I got excited.
My goal that day was to take it on the subway down to South Ferry tootle around Fort Clinton, Battery Park City, the 9/11 Memorial site and maybe travel north on the Hudson River if the battery allowed. It was an ambitious goal, but I couldn’t wait to see the changes along the waterfront. There are elevators at 96th and Broadway for the Nos. 1, 2, and 3 subway lines. As I live one block away, it would be a quick trip to ride up the hill to the station.
Lesson No. 1 when riding a mobility scooter on the NYC Subway
Getting through the turnstyle.
At that time the transit authority required that you ask the token booth person to open the gate remotely AFTER you dipped the metro card into the turnstile slot and then turned the bar! This activity required getting off the scooter. If you’re in a rush, that’s valuable time wasted. After doing all of that the gate didn’t open. Of course! One thing I love about New Yorkers—most people are eager to help, and this time was no different. A rider about to exit the system seeing what I was trying to manage, quickly came to my rescue, holding the gate open for me so I could ride through the gate, on to the elevator down to the platform.
Happily the MTA has upgraded this system so that now all you have to do is dip your MetroCard into the slot or tap your phone on the reader and the gate automatically opens. This small change makes traveling on the trains so much easier. You do the reverse to get the gate open when you leave the system. You are not charged a second time; it simply releases the gate.
Lesson No. 2 when riding the Subway
I had assumed that it would be easy to just drive on to the train at the designated “boarding” areas, but in most of the stations the platform and the train are not evenly matched! As I moved forward with the scooter, it slammed to a stop when the front tire of the scooter hit the doorsill of the train door. After an unsuccessful second attempt, the only thing to do was get off the scooter as quickly as I could (“quickly” being subjective), put the scooter into neutral and push it on. That didn’t work either. The seatback flipped forward leaving me nothing solid to grab and the front wheel turned to the side.
Trying to keep my cool and act quickly as the train conductor watched, I tried again by grabbing the steering stick and lifting it into the car, but then I couldn’t get the back wheels over the doorsill. Geeze Louise! But again fellow straphangers came to my rescue and together they lifted it up and rolled it on. Whew! After thanking everyone, I flipped the neutral lever to secure the scooter and then rode it all the way to South Ferry.
Once above ground I didn’t know where to go first. So many things had changed, projects completed, new buildings had gone up, bike paths expanded. It was a beautiful day, and I spent hours enjoying the sights. That day I think I got back on the train at the Oculus without incident. The next day I decided to visit Governor’s Island which was equally fun and easy to do.
Would I really use it for work?
I am somewhat embarrassed using it—I feel guilty taking up so much room—although double-wide strollers are way larger than me on my scooter! But discrimination . . . I have a handicap so how good a broker could I be? These were the thoughts swrilling in my head. After discussing my dilemma with my father—who was not a fan of NYC and could never understand why I didn’t want to live anywhere else and own a car, he surprised me by handing me an envelope of cash and instructed me to “Get over your concerns and go buy that scooter!”
The next day I was at the Big Apple Mobility store on West 37th Street debating over a tri-wheel or four-wheel Pride Sport. Eventually I picked the tri-wheel and drove it out of the showroom to Eighth Avenue where the evening rush was underway. People couldn’t see me, and I found myself crawling along to avoid bumping into them. Seeing my challenge, a young well-dressed businessman leaned in and suggested I get a flag and then shared that he had just bought an identical scooter for his mother to use when she visits the city. When she’s not in town, he stores it in his off-site storage unit. (I wonder how he handles keeping the battery charged, but that topic will be covered elsewhere.) He told me she “loves” it!
Just out of the showroom!
We parted at 42nd Street where I hung a left riding over to the water and then rode it all the way up the Hudson River Greenway to 96th Street. I stopped at the Intrepid to take a pic for my dad and then took more pics of the wonderful new landscaping and renovated piers all along the way.
My scooter has had a number of names, but I now refer to it as my “Benz.” There is no room for it in my apartment and it can’t be left in the public hallway or lobby but as it happens there is a perfect spot in my building’s locked bike room where there just happens to be an electrical outlet! The Benz even has its own garage space. 😊
A quick pic for my Dad
No. 1 Train at the Oculus. I’ve just pulled the scooter off the train while the conductor watched. Looking up at him as I settled into the seat and turned the scooter on, I said “It’s my Benz.” Without skipping a beat, he smiled and offered “You should get a hood ornament for the basket!” I gave him a thumbs up and drove off.
