Tenants in wheelchairs claim entranceway used for new COVID testing is blocking sidewalk curb ramp

A group of tenants who use wheelchairs say they feel trapped in their own development.

News 12 Staff

Jul 23, 2020, 8:58 PM

Updated 1,544 days ago

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A group of tenants who use wheelchairs say they feel trapped in their own development. 
Tenants at River Park Towers claim an entranceway that leads to a sidewalk curb ramp, that they mainly use, is being closed off for a new COVID-19 testing site. 
They say some of the pedestrian curb ramps outside their Morris Heights development are either crumbling or are too high to maneuver safely over in their wheelchairs. 
Conway Clark, 65, who has a high-powered chair, demonstrated to News 12 just how unsafe it can be. 
The area is being outfitted for a new COVID testing site that is run by the Morris Heights Health Center. It is scheduled to open next month. 
News 12 spoke with a representative from Reliant, the property management company of the development. 
They tell News 12 that River Park Towers provides a wheelchair ramp on the left side of the building that is fully accessible to tenants and to the public. 
As for the new testing site, Reliant says the section is not part of River Park Towers and that it belongs to adjacent Robert Clemente State Park. 
As for the tenants, they say they will seek help from others to maneuver the curb.