🏥 UPPER EAST SIDE · 535 EAST 70TH STREET · UPDATED AUGUST 2026
Wheelchair Transportation To & From Hospital for Special Surgery (HSS)
Almost everyone discharged from HSS needs an accessible vehicle, because almost everyone leaves unable to bear weight. Here is how to arrange one, and the detail most people get wrong.
Confirm Which HSS Location Before You Book
HSS is not one building. The main hospital is on East 70th Street, but HSS runs surgery centres, rehabilitation sites and offices across four boroughs and three suburban counties — and a wheelchair van sent to the wrong one is an hour lost. Check the address printed on your appointment or discharge paperwork against this list.
| Location | Address |
|---|---|
| Main Hospital & Kellen Tower (inpatient, surgery, discharge) | 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY 10021 |
| The Pavilion | 541 East 71st Street |
| Belaire Building | 525 East 71st Street |
| East River Professional Building | 523 East 72nd Street |
| River Terrace | 519 East 72nd Street |
| Ambulatory Care Center | 475 East 72nd Street |
| Center for Advanced Movement Technologies | 510 East 73rd Street |
| Pediatric Rehabilitation & Young Athlete Center | 510 East 74th Street |
| 75th Street Campus / HSS Rehabilitation | 429 East 75th Street |
| HSS ASC of Manhattan | 1233 Second Avenue at 65th Street |
| HSS Midtown | 770 Lexington Avenue |
| HSS Hudson Yards | 31 Hudson Yards, 10th Floor |
| HSS Sports Medicine Institute / ASC West Side | 610 West 58th Street |
| HSS Brooklyn | 148 39th Street, Brooklyn |
| HSS Queens | 176-60 Union Turnpike, Fresh Meadows |
| HSS Westchester | 1133 Westchester Avenue, White Plains |
| HSS Long Island | 333 Earle Ovington Blvd, Uniondale |
Getting a Vehicle to the Main Hospital
The main hospital sits at 535 East 70th Street, between York Avenue and the FDR Drive, right on the East River. The useful detail for a driver: the entrance can be reached from either 70th Street or 71st Street. That matters on discharge day, because 70th Street is a short block feeding the hospital driveway and it backs up in the afternoon. Telling your dispatcher "535 East 70th, but come via 71st if 70th is jammed" is the single most useful sentence you can give them.
Coming north on the FDR, drivers exit at 61st Street, take York Avenue north to 70th Street and follow signs to the hospital driveway. Coming south on the FDR, they exit at 71st Street and the hospital is immediately on the south side. The patient and visitor parking garage is on the north side of 71st Street — the Belaire Parking Garage at 525 East 71st Street — which is where a caregiver following in a second car should go.
Why Discharge From HSS Is Different
HSS is an orthopaedic hospital. It performs more knee replacements than any other hospital in the United States and is consistently ranked the top orthopaedic hospital in the world. The practical consequence for transport is that a very high share of people leaving HSS cannot bear weight, cannot bend a hip past ninety degrees, or cannot climb the stoop at their own front door — including people who walked in unaided a day or two earlier.
Two things follow. First, book transport before surgery, not on discharge day; you already know roughly when you're leaving. Second, the destination end matters as much as the pickup. A brownstone with seven steps, a walk-up, or a building with a narrow vestibule needs a company that offers stair assistance, and not all of them do — ask specifically. If you are travelling home to Long Island, Westchester or further, say so when you call, because not every operator will take the trip.
If You Are Travelling From Out of Town
A large share of HSS patients come from outside New York for surgery. If you're flying home after a joint replacement, airline wheelchair assistance ends at the gate — it does not cover getting from a Manhattan hotel to the terminal. That's a separate booking, and post-operative patients usually need a ramp van rather than a sedan because of the leg extension. Our JFK, LaGuardia and Newark guides cover what's free at each airport and what you have to arrange yourself.
Public Transport, and Why It Usually Isn't the Answer Here
For visitors rather than patients: the Q train stops at 72nd Street, and the M66, M72 and M31 buses all stop within one block of the hospital. The M15 local and Select Bus Service run on First Avenue, a few blocks west, with a transfer to the M66 crosstown. None of this is realistic for a patient being discharged after orthopaedic surgery, which is the reason this page exists.
Booking a Wheelchair Van To or From HSS
AccessibleRides NYC is a directory, not a transportation company — we don't dispatch vehicles. The providers below are the ones in our directory whose stated coverage area includes the Upper East Side and trips out to Long Island, Westchester and New Jersey. Call at least two, because availability on any given day varies more than any company's marketing suggests.
- NYC Wheelchair Transportation — largest fleet in our directory, 24/7 dispatch, ambulette and stretcher. Best first call when your discharge time is uncertain. (212) 920-7287
- NYC Fly Wheels — smaller operator, strongest reviews in our directory for recurring appointment schedules. (212) 457-1907
- NYC Transportations — Queens-based, CPR-certified drivers, all five boroughs. (718) 207-0511
- Benny Express Transportation — the option to call if the destination is Nassau, Suffolk, or upstate, or if a bariatric vehicle is needed. (212) 882-1339
For rate ranges by trip type, see the cost estimator on our home page. If the ride may be covered by Medicaid, read our NEMT & Medicaid guide before you book privately — booking privately first can forfeit coverage.
What to Have Ready When You Call
Dispatchers can send the right vehicle the first time if you give them all of this at once: the exact building and entrance (not just "HSS"), the floor and unit, the discharge window rather than a single time, the destination address including whether there are steps at the door, the wheelchair type and its weight if it's a power or bariatric chair, any equipment travelling along such as oxygen, and whether a caregiver is riding. Our 7-question booking checklist covers what to ask them in return.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where do wheelchair vans pick up at HSS?
The main hospital entrance is at 535 East 70th Street and can be reached from either 70th Street or 71st Street. Confirm the exact pickup point with your nurse or care manager on the day, as HSS may direct discharges to a specific door depending on the unit.
Should I book my ride before or after surgery at HSS?
Before. Elective orthopaedic surgery has a predictable discharge window, so there is no reason to wait. Booking in advance also lets you tell the company about steps at your home, which is the detail that most often causes problems on arrival.
Does HSS arrange transportation home for me?
Ask your care manager or social worker directly. Hospitals vary in whether they arrange transport, help you arrange it, or leave it entirely to you. If your ride may be covered by Medicaid, raise it with them before booking privately, because booking privately first can forfeit coverage.
Can a wheelchair van take me from HSS to the airport?
Yes, and many patients need this. Airline wheelchair assistance only begins at the terminal, so the trip from Manhattan to JFK, LaGuardia or Newark is a separate booking. After joint replacement a ramp van is usually necessary rather than a sedan, because of leg extension.