Accessibility
Brooklyn Botanic Garden is committed to making its gardens, exhibitions, programs, and facilities accessible to all who visit.
Garden Entrances
Visitors using wheelchairs can enter the Garden using any of the public entrances when the Garden is open. The nearby Prospect Park and Eastern Parkway/Brooklyn Museum MTA stations have elevators. Paid parking is located at the 990 Washington Avenue entrance. After hours, persons using wheelchairs should exit through the Administration Building at 1000 Washington Avenue.
Wheelchairs for visitor use are available at each public entrance on a first-come-first-served basis. A government-issued picture ID card will be held and returned to you when you return the wheelchair.
Personal Care Attendants (PCA) assisting visitors with disabilities are admitted free of charge.
Accessible Paths
BBG’s grounds are accessible by paved pathways throughout the Garden. Garden areas can be reached in a variety of ways, including stair-free options for most specialty gardens. However, due to the historic nature of the Garden, certain paths may be narrow, rough, uneven, or steep.
Visitor Services
Each entrance and information booth is equipped with induction loops that transmit directly to hearing aids with T-coils.
The Visitor Center, cafés, and Garden Shop are all accessible by wheelchair. An elevator providing access to the Auditorium and the Library is located in the Administration Building at 1000 Washington Avenue.
The lower level of the Conservatory, including the gallery, Desert Pavilion, and Tropical Pavilion, can be reached by elevator.
Uniformed security guards, stationed at each entrance and throughout the Garden, can help direct visitors to appropriate facilities and resources.
Restrooms
Wheelchair accessible restrooms are located in the Visitor Center, Conservatory, outside Yellow Magnolia Café, and at the Flatbush Avenue entrance.
Service Animals
Brooklyn Botanic Garden does not allow visitors to bring pets into the Garden. The Garden does allow service animals onto the premises, consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and NYC Human Rights Law. Service animals are defined by the ADA as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.”
Questions concerning Brooklyn Botanic Garden’s service animal policy should be directed to [email protected].
In accordance with Section 36.302(c)(2) of the ADA, the following criteria must be met:
- The animal must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered, unless these devices interfere with the animal’s work or the individual’s disability prevents using the devices.
- The individual with the disability must maintain control of the service animal through voice, signal, or other effective controls.
- The animal must be housebroken.
- The animal must not demonstrate agitated or aggressive behavior, including but not limited to barking, whining, biting, growling, jumping, scratching, leash pulling, and sniffing other visitors.
If a service animal does not appear to meet these criteria, BBG Security personnel will request that the handler correct the animal’s behavior, or in some cases, may request that the animal be removed from the Garden.
Alice Recknagel Ireys Fragrance Garden
Created in 1955 and enjoyed by all visitors to Brooklyn Botanic Garden, this was the first garden in the country designed for the visually impaired. Visitors are encouraged to touch and smell the plants, which have been selected for fragrant or tactile qualities and are all nontoxic. Plants are grown in elevated beds for accessibility by persons in wheelchairs. A continuous metal railing offers guidance, and Braille labels identify the specimens.
Find out more about the Alice Recknagel Ireys Fragrance Garden.
Education Programs
The Garden provides learning opportunities for visitors of all ages. Experienced educators work with both children and adults at all developmental and cognitive levels. Education greenhouses have hydraulic, height-adjustable potting tables that enable all students to work comfortably.
The Garden periodically offers special early-morning programs of facilitated, multisensory activities in the Discovery Garden for families who have children with disabilities. See bbg.org/earlyopening for details.
When scheduling a school visit to BBG, please notify Registration about the learning or physical needs of your students. BBG offers discounted fees for special-needs programs; please ask about this when you register. For more information, call 718-623-7220.
Accessible Tours & Programs
The Garden’s calendar of guided tours, led by extensively trained Garden Guides, ensure that individuals of all abilities have a rewarding experience.
The Garden periodically offers free special guided tours designed for individuals with memory loss and their caregivers, as well as free group tours for caregivers only. Contact [email protected] for more information.
Accommodations for Garden programs for visitors with disabilities can be arranged with two weeks advance notice. Contact [email protected] to request.
Free Service Agency Group Visits
Groups from nonprofit senior centers, shelters, rehabilitation centers, and other 501(c)(3) organizations serving seniors and people with disabilities may register in advance for a free, self-guided visit. Please fill out this brief form to request tickets.
bbg.org
The Garden is committed to making its website accessible to all by meeting or exceeding the requirements of Section 508 of the federal Rehabilitation Act and WCAG 2.0 level AA.
If you have any feedback or concerns related to the accessibility of any content on bbg.org, please contact [email protected]. Please include the webpage URL and a description of any specific problems you have encountered.
Contact Us
If you have questions or comments about accessibility at BBG, please email [email protected] or call 718-623-7260.