New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world. People living here don't always have it easy. Like Milagros Franco, a New Yorker born and bred. She has been living with a disability since birth.
After studying in New York, she got a job working for an NGO in Brooklyn that supports people with disabilities. She lives on the other side of the East River, in Manhattan, and relies on the subway to get to work every day.
New York subway should be barrier-free by 2055
Even though the right to travel freely is recognized under US law, only one in three subway stations has an elevator. That's a problem for Franco.
By 2055 at the latest, the New York subway system is supposed to finally be largely barrier-free. The deadline was reached in a court settlement after NGOs took legal action. In the meantime, little is changing. The city says it lacks the money.
Franco uses a wheelchair because she has cerebral palsy — a condition that affects movement and posture. Both her nervous system and muscle function are affected.
Every journey poses a challenge — when she goes shopping, for example, she often struggles to open the doors of many stores.
The New Yorker is now concerned about what the policies of incoming President Donald Trump could mean for people living with disabilities. It's a concern shared by many in the city. If Trump cuts welfare programs, for example, that could affect social housing. People living with disabilities depend on getting affordable housing.
Will Trump cut health care programs?
Potential health care cuts under Trump are especially worrying to NGOs that support people with disabilities. Sharon McLennon Wier is a leading activist in this area. She hopes that people with disabilities will still be able to live as independently as possible under the Trump administration.
A lot has been achieved for people with disabilities in New York in recent years. Taxis, for example, now have to be barrier-free. Franco has no plans to leave New York. The city is her home, and she has a purpose here. Through her work, she's helping other people living disabilities — in New York, a city of over 8 million, that's one in 11 people.