TL;DR:
Hearsee Mobility is now on the ground in New York City. From Brooklyn streets and subway stations to museums, public spaces, and other mapped environments, we are here to better understand where navigation works, where accessibility gaps remain, and what the blind and low-vision community experiences every day. This next chapter begins with something simple: listening.
What’s Happening (and Why It Matters)
New York City is a city built around movement.
Millions of people navigate its streets, transit systems, buildings, intersections, public spaces, and neighborhoods every day. For someone arriving in the city for the first time, even seemingly simple trips can require constant orientation.
Which direction am I going?
Is this the right entrance?
Which subway platform do I need?
Did I just walk past the street I was looking for?
Where exactly am I inside this building?
For many people, visual information helps answer those questions. Street signs, maps, landmarks, building directories, screens, arrows, and other people moving through a space all provide additional points of reference.
But accessibility cannot assume everyone navigates using the same information.
That is one of the reasons Hearsee Mobility has come to New York.
We are here to explore how accessibility and navigation function across different environments and, more importantly, to listen to the people who navigate them every day.
A New City Means Learning How to Navigate Again
There is something valuable about entering an unfamiliar environment.
Things that become almost automatic at home suddenly require attention.
A familiar intersection becomes an unfamiliar grid. A building entrance that would normally be easy to recognize becomes one of several possibilities. A quick trip across town requires understanding an entirely new transportation system.
Technology can help.
GPS can tell someone where they are. A navigation app can provide a route. Digital maps can identify nearby destinations.
But there are still moments when knowing a destination and understanding exactly how to reach it are two different things.
That distinction becomes even more important when navigation moves indoors, where traditional GPS may provide less useful positioning information and where the environment itself must communicate more of what someone needs to know.
For Hearsee, those moments are worth examining.
Listening Comes First
Hearsee did not come to New York assuming we already understand every accessibility gap in the city.
We came here to learn.
That means spending time in the environments people actually navigate, but it also means talking with the blind and low-vision community, accessibility organizations, venues, educators, transportation professionals, and others with direct experience.
What works?
What creates unnecessary friction?
Where does existing accessibility infrastructure perform well?
Where is information missing?
And where could the environment take on more responsibility for making navigation accessible?
Those questions need to come before solutions.
Accessibility technology is most valuable when it responds to real experiences rather than assumptions about what people need.
Introducing Navigating NYC
As we explore New York, we will be documenting what we learn through a new chapter of Hearsee’s accessibility storytelling:
Navigating NYC.
The series will look at navigation across different parts of the city and different types of environments.
That includes streets and intersections, transit environments, public spaces, cultural institutions, educational environments, and indoor spaces where finding a destination can become much more complicated than following a traditional GPS route.
Some of what we document will be about accessibility challenges.
But just as importantly, we want to highlight what works.
Accessibility conversations become more useful when they move beyond identifying problems and start examining the decisions, infrastructure, technology, and community knowledge that can make an environment easier to navigate independently.
When the Environment Becomes Part of Navigation
Hearsee approaches accessible navigation from a simple idea:
The individual should not have to carry the entire responsibility for navigating an environment.
Apps can help. Mobility skills matter. Personal navigation tools matter.
But the environment can participate too.
Hearsee works to make mapped environments part of the accessibility system through verified routes, Hearsee Tags, audio guidance, and navigation tools designed to provide additional location and orientation information.
The goal is not to replace the tools or skills someone already uses.
It is to provide another layer of accessible information when the environment would otherwise leave a gap.
New York gives us an opportunity to explore that idea across an extraordinary range of real-world environments.
What We’re Achieving Together
The work ahead is not simply about demonstrating technology.
It is about understanding where technology belongs.
Every environment is different. Every navigation experience is different. And the blind and low-vision community is not a single group with a single way of navigating.
That is why community involvement matters.
The experiences and perspectives we encounter in New York will help inform how Hearsee continues developing accessible navigation infrastructure and how we communicate with venues about the responsibility an environment can take in supporting independent navigation.
We will also use what we learn to continue the larger conversation about accessibility as infrastructure.
Because accessibility should not begin after someone encounters a barrier.
It should already be part of the environment.
What’s Next
This is only the beginning.
Over the coming weeks, Hearsee will be exploring New York City, documenting navigation environments, connecting with community organizations, and sharing what we learn along the way.
You will see more from streets, transit, public spaces, venues, and the people whose experiences should be part of the accessibility conversation.
We will share those experiences through Navigating NYC, our social channels, future City Accessibility Check stories, and longer-form Hearsee content.
There will be plenty to learn.
And that is exactly why we are here.
Get Involved
Share Your Story: If you are blind or have low vision and navigate New York City, we want to hear about the environments that work well, the places that create challenges, and the accessibility improvements you would like to see.
Partner with Hearsee: If your organization, venue, or community serves people who are blind or have low vision, connect with us to explore accessible navigation and mapping opportunities.
Follow Hearsee: Follow along as Navigating NYC takes us through streets, transit, public spaces, venues, and communities across New York City.
Ready to make accessibility part of your space? Contact Us.
