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Comment by nerdponx | Hacker News Reader

My question is whether this will help or hurt access by the elderly and disabled to supermarkets and other big-box stores like Home Depot.

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It's an interesting question, though it is somewhat suburb-centric.

In NYC, the elderly and disabled have no natural access to these kinds of services unless they live a block or two away from such an establishment, for the simple reason that hardly anyone living in NYC owns a car. Yes, they can take a cab, and that makes it feasible, but economically speaking, the most common outcome is these people are dependent on the bodega on their block to provide their food.

Well said, but I actually had the UES in mind, specifically as compared to the UWS, which always seemed much more accessible by comparison. More trains, fewer hills, and better spacing-out of services. But the socioeconomic make-up is also very different, so it might be a non-issue.

I disagree, I see a lot of elderly people pushing around some pretty sizable grocery hauls in wheeled carts in NYC. When you're retired and you don't have anything else to do with your time, then walking some extra blocks to go to a real grocery store and save money and get better product is absolutely worth it. People live longer in Manhattan than anywhere else in the United States. Part of that has to do with people continuing to be active and getting exercise at older ages. And grocery runs count. But you're definitely right that hardly anyone owns a car.

I see no reason to automatically equate "elderly and disabled" with "poor" (bodega?!). Ubers/Lyfts are not terribly expensive compared to owning and maintaining a car+insurance in the city, especially if only used for shopping and not commuting.

In NYC, small grocery stores (i.e. one of many retail storefronts on a block) are often colloquially referred to as bodegas, no matter the economic status of the area.

I have to second the other guy. There's no negative stigma associated with the word "bodega". It's just a small store that sells a large variety of random goods, including food, and that is run as a small business (i.e. it isn't a national chain). They're everywhere, in all neighborhoods.

Access to supermarkets and big-box stores isn't as necessary when if streets are lined with small grocery stores and other retailers. Assuming the zoning allows it, I would think the increased pedestrian traffic makes those types of stores more sustainable.

Well, that and the premium prices they charge.

Less the cost of a car, less the time you have to go out of your way to go to a box store, less the space in your apartment to store the stuff.

I live in the West Village and just got back from picking up my weekly farm delivery six blocks away. The vegetables were picked probably in the last 36 hours and are consistently the most delicious I've tasted, including compared to my parents' gardens, where I can eat them off the vine.

I walked to the pickup place and back in less time I've seen people wait in line, or even walk from their car to the entrance of a supermarket.

If you're living in NYC, the difference you pay in rent, compared to say, Los Angeles, is greater than the TCO of a new car.

Isn't that generally proportional to the cost of living of the whole neighborhood?

Not really. When I lived in SoHo, we would walk an extra 5 blocks each way to shop at the Grand Union because the pricing was significantly different shopping at a place with more buying power.

In the long term, if elderly people are able to be more active (walking etc) they're going to have a better quality of life. The reduction in air pollution will also help.

The elderly people (>75) I know don't often go to places like Home Depot. In Barcelona supermarkets will be within walking distance -- if I've found the correct area on Google Maps, there are at least 3 within 300 metres of each other.

Manhattan doesn't have many supermarkets or big box stores, certainly not in the areas the article references.

When's the last time you've been to Union Square?

Most areas of manhattan are not like Union Square.

Right, but the article specifically calls out 14th St. as a place to try this new kind of city block.

Well, just this morning a driver killed an elderly person in Manhattan! She certainly won't be going to the supermarket anymore! (and this isn't a rare occurrence)

http://gothamist.com/2016/10/04/pedestrian_killed_by_bus_dri...

In Manhattan everyone delivers.

Speak for yourself. I can't stand the pollution it causes. I pick up nearly everything.

Really?

The only things I've ever had delivered by car or truck are things for which I would need a car or truck to pick up (furniture, more bags of groceries than I can carry.)

Barcelona is a very dense city and you usually don't need to go "driving distance" to find a supermarket.

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