About me

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My name is Nick Heilig. I'm 45 years old, I live in Buffalo, New York, and I have spina bifida. I use a manual wheelchair, and like a lot of people in my situation, I've spent a lifetime figuring out how to navigate a world that wasn't always designed with me in mind.

I am a proud and passionate Buffalonian. I love the Bills, I’ve loved the Sabres through every rebuild with the loyalty only a true Buffalo fan understands and so excited for the future, and I have a deep love for the Bandits and the Bisons too. Buffalo sports are part of who I am and being able to experience those games, those moments, and that energy in person matters to me enormously.

I also love going out to eat, discovering new restaurants, catching concerts, visiting museums, and traveling to new places. And I've learned, sometimes the hard way, that doing any of those things requires a level of planning that most people never have to think about. Is there a step at the entrance? Are the aisles wide enough to navigate? Is the restroom actually usable, or just technically compliant? Where is the accessible seating, and is it actually a good seat or is it tucked in a corner where you can barely see the stage? Will staff understand what access really means?

Too often, that information is missing, unreliable, or buried somewhere nobody thinks to look.

So I built Accessible Buffalo.

Accessible Buffalo was created from lived experience. Not theory. Not checklists. Not assumptions. Real life. Navigating spaces, encountering barriers, adapting plans, and learning firsthand what accessibility actually looks like when you are the one experiencing it.

For many people with disabilities, everyday activities require extra planning. When accessibility information is unclear or unavailable, people are forced to either take a risk or opt out entirely. No one should have to gamble their energy, safety, or dignity just to participate in their community.

When most people hear the word "accessibility," they picture a wheelchair ramp. And while that matters to me personally, the reality is that accessibility touches far more lives than people realize.

Accessible Buffalo is here for people living with physical disabilities, whether manual or power chair users. It is here for people with visual impairments and hearing disabilities. It is here for individuals with sensory needs, cognitive disabilities, and chronic illness. It is here for seniors who may find certain spaces difficult to navigate as they age. And yes, it is here for parents pushing strollers who have found themselves standing at the bottom of a flight of stairs wondering how they're supposed to get inside.

The barriers can be the same. The frustration is often the same. And the need for honest, reliable information is absolutely the same.

Accessible Buffalo exists to serve all of them.

Accessibility looks different on paper than it does in real life.

Someone who navigates the world with a disability notices things others might not, tight turns, steep slopes, awkward layouts, restrooms that technically meet code but are still barely usable, accessible seating that puts you behind a pillar or at the very back of the lower bowl. Accessible Buffalo is grounded in that kind of honest, ground-level perspective. Reviews and insights come from understanding how spaces actually function in practice, not just how they are described or marketed.

I want to be clear about something important, though. My experience as a manual wheelchair user living with spina bifida is one experience. It is not everyone's experience. Accessibility needs vary enormously from person to person, and Accessible Buffalo's goal is to grow into a resource that reflects as many of those perspectives as possible. Because every one of them matters.

Accessible Buffalo is intentionally local and community driven. It reflects Buffalo and Western New York as they truly are, historic buildings, evolving neighborhoods, seasonal challenges, and small businesses doing their best to do right by their customers.

But here's what I want people to understand: this is not about calling anyone out.

The goal of Accessible Buffalo is to showcase Western New York. To help people feel confident enough to try new places, new experiences, and new adventures, whether that's a Bills game at Highmark Stadium, a Sabres night at KeyBank Center, a concert at Shea's, a meal at a new restaurant downtown, or a weekend at the Buffalo Zoo. So many people with disabilities, seniors, and families hold back from trying somewhere new simply because they don't know what to expect. That uncertainty is exhausting. Accessible Buffalo exists to remove it.

And on the other side of that equation are the businesses and venues. We want to work with them, not against them. Many accessibility gaps are unintentional, and owners and operators often simply don't know what they don't know. Accessible Buffalo is here to help bridge that gap. To offer honest, practical feedback. To educate without shaming. To celebrate the venues and businesses that get it right, and to support the ones working toward it.

When businesses are more accessible, more people show up. It really is that simple.

Speaking, Storytelling, and Real-World Insight

Accessible Buffalo also exists to bring lived experience directly into the room.

Through speaking engagements, panels, and community conversations, I share real-world experiences with businesses, organizations, schools, healthcare providers, and community groups. These aren't lectures or compliance training. These are honest conversations grounded in everyday reality that help people understand how accessibility shows up in real situations, and why it matters beyond a legal checkbox.

Hearing directly from someone with lived experience helps accessibility feel human rather than abstract. It connects intention to impact, and it helps communities think differently about inclusion, design, and belonging.

The hope for Accessible Buffalo is bigger than reviews.

Accessible Buffalo envisions a Western New York where people with disabilities, seniors, and families can plan confidently and participate fully. Where businesses and venues see accessibility as a strength and an opportunity, not just a requirement. Where community spaces evolve with intention and care. Where lived experience is respected as expertise, because it is.

The long-term goal is a region where the conversation shifts from minimum compliance to meaningful access. From assumptions to understanding. From exclusion to belonging.

Our experiences may not all be the same. But the desire to be included, to be welcomed, and to show up fully for the things and the people we love, a Bills playoff run, a Sabres playoff run, a night out with family, a first trip to a new museum, that's something we all share.

Accessible Buffalo exists because lived experience matters. And when we build with it, everyone benefits.