Unitarian Universalist Church at Washington Crossing

UUCWC’s Accessibility Task Force was created in 1998-99. At that time three major projects were identified to make UUCWC an accessible church: Implementing a way to have the fire doors open all of the time, installation of a chairlift for the big stairway between the upstairs lobby and the lower level, and installation of automatic door openers on the lobby door and the restrooms.

An application was submitted to the New York Metro District to be designated as a Chalice Lighter Congregation so that we could solicit funds from other congregations in our District to make our church an accessible building. UUCWC was selected to be the Chalice Lighter Congregation for the Fall of 2003. We raised $23,000 because of the generosity of our sister congregations and the hard work on the part of 42 UUCWC members and friends who visited most of the congregations in the NY Metro District. The Board of Trustees allocated additional monies out of the Building Committee budget to add to that total, so that we would be able to complete all three of the planned projects.

The first project, the fire doors being tied to the alarm system so they only had to be closed if the alarm went off, was completed in the summer of 2005.

The second part of the project, the installation of the chairlift, was completed in May of 2006.

In May 2008, the third part of the project, the automatic door openers on the front door of the lobby and the two upstairs restroom doors were installed.

On-going Projects
We will continue to work towards our goal of being designated as an Accessible Church by:
- Working with the RE Teachers and the congregation to implement a UUA curriculum “Welcoming Children With Special Needs”;
- Installing a ramp to make the dais at the front of the church accessible for everyone.

Because The Accessibility Task Force is involved in a variety of projects that work with many committees, the membership of the Task Force may change from year to year. We welcome new ideas and people to this task force. We are grateful for the on-going support of the Board of Trustees and our UUCWC congregation as we work towards the goal of our church facilities being truly accessible for all who come to participate in the services and programs at UUCWC.