Amsterdam grew as a 19th-century mill town, climbing from 5,426 people in 1870 to 33,524 by 1920. Many of the houses still standing there were built for that industrial workforce, and they are multi-story homes, often near landmarks like Guy Park Manor or in neighborhoods shaped by the Bigelow-Sanford and Mohawk Mills carpet era.
The same pattern repeats in the county's older villages along the Mohawk River, from Fort Plain and Canajoharie to St. Johnsville, Fonda and Fultonville. If you or a parent want to stay in a long-owned house with bedrooms upstairs, a stair lift is often the simplest way to keep using the whole home.
Homes built in the early 1900s tend to have staircases that were never planned with a lift in mind. Some run straight from the front hall to the second floor, and those usually take a straight rail, which is the quickest and least costly type to install.
Others turn at a landing or wind as they climb. Those need a curved rail made to fit that exact staircase. When we visit, we measure the stairs, check the landings and look at where the rail can mount, so you know which type your house needs before anything is ordered.
Not every home here is a century old. Split-level homes, townhouses and walk-up apartments are also common in the county, and each brings a different setup.
A split-level often has two short flights instead of one long one. Sometimes one lift covers the flight used most, and sometimes two short straight rails work better than one curved rail. Townhouses usually have one main interior staircase, while a walk-up apartment means talking with the building owner before any rail goes in.
Montgomery County covers about 403 square miles, with the Mohawk River valley through the middle, Catskill foothills to the south and Adirondack foothills to the north. Plenty of homes in places like Glen, Root, Charleston and Minden sit on sloped lots with steps up to the door.
For those entry steps, an outdoor stair lift built for weather is one option. If the person uses a wheelchair and cannot transfer to a seat, a platform lift is the better fit. Housing here is spread out, with roughly 56 units per square mile across 22,522 housing units in 2010, and moving to a single-story place can mean leaving town entirely, which is why many families choose to adapt the home they have.
About 18.5% of the county's 48,698 residents are 65 or older, and 68.0% of households own their homes. That is a lot of people living in houses they know well and would rather not leave.
If that includes you or a parent, there are VA programs to check, though one of them specifically does not cover stair lifts, as explained below.
Money is a real question here. The county's median household income was $33,128 in 2010, and about 13.7% of residents live below the poverty line, so grants and low-interest loans matter as much as private payment.
A good first call is the Montgomery County Office for the Aging at (518) 843-2300, 135 Guy Park Avenue, Amsterdam, through its NY Connects program. Ask about statewide options too: New York Medicaid Home Modifications (NHTD Waiver & MLTC), the New York RESTORE Program and New York EISEP. The programs below list what each source says about stair lifts, and none of them names stair lifts as covered, so ask each one directly.
A statewide program that funds accessibility modifications such as ramps, lifts and handrails for people with a documented disability at or below 80% of area median income (120% for disabled veterans), in owned or rented homes; stair lifts are not named specifically. Call HCR at (833) 499-0343 to find the current local administrator.
A VA benefit for medically justified home changes, with a $6,800 or $2,000 lifetime maximum depending on disability status. It explicitly excludes stair glides, so it does not cover a stair lift.
VA grants for veterans with qualifying severe service-connected disabilities, with FY2026 caps of up to $126,526 for SAH and $25,350 for SHA on a permanent home. The VA describes ramps and wider doorways but does not name stair lifts, so ask when you apply.
Loans up to $40,000 at a fixed 1% rate over 20 years, and grants up to a $10,000 lifetime maximum for very low income homeowners age 62 or older in USDA-eligible rural areas. Stair lifts are not named specifically, and eligibility must be checked address by address.
A nonprofit serving people with disabilities from its Amsterdam office at 131 Maple Avenue Extension, covering the Montgomery and Fulton County area; its pages do not list stair lifts. Call (800) 627-2981 to ask whether a stair lift can be funded, loaned or referred.
The county's referral and case-management hub for older adults, offering in-home and caregiver support, NY Connects, insurance counseling and more; it does not list home modifications or stair lifts. Call (518) 843-2300 as a first stop for funding leads.
A county agency in Fonda that helps veterans and families with VA benefits, pensions, home loan guarantees and transportation to VA medical centers; stair lifts are not listed. Call (518) 853-8152 for help working through VA housing grant applications.
Older adults
135 Guy Park Avenue, Amsterdam, 12010
Veterans
Montgomery County Office Building, PO Box 1500 - 64 Broadway, Fonda, 12068-9802
No. The VA explicitly excludes stair glides from HISA coverage. A veteran with a qualifying severe disability can ask about SAH or SHA grants instead, and the Montgomery County Veterans Service Agency at (518) 853-8152 can help with the application.
Start with the Montgomery County Office for the Aging at (518) 843-2300. Its NY Connects program is the county's referral hub for older adults looking for home-modification funding leads.
The Access to Home Program accepts both owner-occupied and rental primary homes, as long as the resident has a documented disability and meets the income limit. Call HCR at (833) 499-0343 to reach the local administrator, and talk with your landlord before any installation.
Section 504 grants require the homeowner to be 62 or older and unable to repay a loan. The repair loans, up to $40,000 at 1%, do not carry that grant age rule, though income and rural-area limits still apply.
It can. Much of the county outside the city of Amsterdam is rural or small-town, so many addresses may qualify, but each address has to be confirmed on the USDA eligibility map.
Usually, yes. Stairs that turn or wind need a curved rail made to fit that staircase, while a single straight run takes a straight rail. We measure the stairs in person to tell you which one your home needs.
Tell us about the stairs in your home and we will explain which lift fits, what it costs and how installation works.
