I am not an (entirely) unhealthy person. At times I may stray from the doctor's recommended course of good diet and exercise, but who doesn't? Recently, however, I have come into conflict with my (un)healthy choices because of the subject seen in the above photograph. Four flights of stairs in a pre-war building in the LES. Like most buildings in this area, the apartments are narrow, tall, and long. Now, you may say that four flights are nothing, but I am the type of person where stairs are considered only in the case of emergencies (e.g., fire) or the nonexistence of an elevator/escalator. But I tolerate the climb because a) I've been working out my legs climbing another set of four flights multiple times a day in my school, and b) I care enough about the person living on the 5th floor to sweat through my shirt and breathe in the muggy, confined air of an old building.
However, Audience, if you do not share my tolerances, then this may not be the space for you. The narrow stairs are fine, single file, at a very slow pace. You need to go single file unless you somehow fit like a puzzle piece with the person you're walking with. You also need to ascend/descend slowly, as the steps are VERY slippery, which both my friend and I learned the painful way. Additionally, the trash rooms are located right across the stairs on every floor, and the open windows of the stairway are two feet from the brick wall of another building, so there is often a lingering smell of 40+ inhabitants combined with the unique smell of St. Marks Place. Really, this location is suitable for those who are physically able, can manage their time wisely, as to not rush up or down the stairs, and have little to no sensitivity to pungent aromas. For all else who do not fit into this group or do not have dear ones occupying such spaces, then I would reconsider a trip into this building.
Your post made me laugh. I too find stairs only necessary when the elevator is taking too long and class starts in two minutes, there are twenty people trying to fit into a tiny elevator, or I can't find the nearest one (which most times is far and not worth the hassle). I think what is also bothersome is how tight of a space it is. To go up four flights of stairs in a tight space is asking for a panic attack! I appreciate your post and your humor.
ReplyDeleteJudy, I completely agree that this is an issue! I am currently looking for apartments and elevators are a must! Even if I was living on the second floor, it's still a hardship. I think of myself, who doesn't have a disability, and how hard it would be for me to do the laundry, bring up the groceries, take out the garbage, or let's back track, to get my furniture into the apartment!? Then I think what if I get hurt and I end up on crutches? How will I get home? How will someone with a wheelchair be able to get home? As a woman I would also be thinking of walking down those stairs in high heels! (It looks scary!) I would definitely reconsider living in a building like this! Luckily you're only visiting ;)
ReplyDeleteWow Judy, that sounds like quite a difficult building to navigate. It makes me worry about what would happen in the case of a fire. If the stairs are that narrow, I can imagine it would be a hazard to have all the occupants try to rush down the stairs where there's only room for one person to walk at a time. That also sounds like a difficult issue to address... how do you fix a small staircase without spending loads of money? One option could be to add an elevator which of course is costly... At the very least, there should be something done about the fact the stairs are slippery! There is probably some kind of coating that could be applied or carpeting or something that would at least resolve part of the issue.
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of my last apartment. I lived on the 6th floor of an elevator building. However, the elevator was frequently out of order for sometimes a week at a time. This resulted in me huffing and puffing up and down the stairs becoming increasingly annoyed with each step. My anger at the building management flared when I saw an elderly woman moving at a snails pace up the stairs with her one hand on the railing and the other holding a cane. I imagine that this elderly woman chose to live in this building because it had an elevator, but she too didn't expect that it would be out of order this frequently. Those with disabilities or mobility limitations are forced to plan these details of their living space ahead of time. They cannot just will an elevator to appear out of thin air. All we could do was harass management with numerous phone calls to fix the elevator.
ReplyDeleteHi Judy,
ReplyDeleteLooking at this picture makes me want to stay inside! Why do you ask? Because I live in a building that has a 6 floor walkup and I just so happen to unfortunately live on the 6th floor. On scorching hot summer days, I would rather stand for 9 hours straight than carry my groceries up to my apartment so I can definitely feel your pain. Up until recently there used to be two 80+ year old women that lived on the 5th floor (I don't know how they ever left the apartment!), but always wonder if they were forced to stay in this apartment or have the opportunity to move to an elevator building.