Wheelchair-accessibility Signs for NYC!

From: Speaker Christine C. Quinn

Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2012 3:01 PM

 

Dear New Yorker,

Many of us can't understand the frustrations that people with disabilities encounter in their everyday life. 

Even trying to enter a building in New York City can be difficult when there isn't a sign posted indicating where the nearest accessible entrance is located. 

That's about to change, though, thanks to legislation recently passed by the NYC Council aimed at making our city more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities.

Specifically, Intro. 797-A, introduced by Council Member Debi Rose, requires the owners of all existing New York City buildings to put up a sign at inaccessible building entrances with clearly marked directions to an alternative accessible entryway. 

Owners will also be required to post a sign at that accessible entrance listing a phone number that people can call if the entrance is locked.  In addition, signage to the nearest accessible public toilets, bathing facilities and elevators will also be required for certain buildings so that these basic amenities are easier to locate and find.

We still have a long ways to go before New York can truly be considered an accessible city. 

But these modest changes to the City's building code are a step in the right direction as we continue to work toward that goal, and we want to thank all of our colleagues for supporting this important piece of legislation.  Special thanks as well to all of the advocates who've been working with us to help ensure that New Yorkers with disabilities are able to live and enjoy their lives on an equal basis with others. 

We look forward to Mayor Bloomberg signing Intro. 797-A into law shortly. 

Thank you!

Sincerely,

Christine C. Quinn

Speaker

NYC Council

Debi Rose

Chair, Committee on Civil Rights

Lead Sponsor, Intro. 797-A

NYC Council

G. Oliver Koppell

Chair, Committee on Mental Health, Mental Retardation,

Alcoholism, Drug Abuse, & Disability Services

NYC Council

Join our "CIDNY Survey" of Accessibility Beginning July 25, 2012

Working with us to establish an accessible West Side, the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York (CIDNY) on July 25, 2012 will train students and others to conduct a survey  of stores, restaurants and other public establishments within Community Board 7's area.  
The training will be at 

• 3 PM
  
• Community Board 7
  250 West 87th Street
  

CIDNY's surveyors will be asking about entryways, bathrooms, and more.  Stay posted for the results! We hope that our commercial neighbors will be inspired to put in the ramps and widen the doorways to make their establishments welcoming to all. 


In the meantime, feel free to fill out our own on-line survey. Just click here !

Fair Housing Website by NYC Human Rights Commission

The NYC Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) and the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) are charged with providing and protecting fair housing in the City of New York. They have joined to create the website, FAIR HOUSING NYC, to explain the rights and responsibilities of tenants, homeowners, landlords, and building owners.  Click here for resources from that website.  Click on "read more" below for more information about what the website covers.

Courts interpreting amended ADA liberally

The NY Law Journal reports that the courts are enforcing the 2008 Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act liberally, making it easier for the disabled to prevail.  See the  article excerpts below, by James Hays and Sean Kirby:

NYC asks court to reverse requirement of accessible cabs

News and Insight 

NYC asks appeals court to reverse taxi handicap access ruling

4/19/2012COMMENTS (0)

NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - New York City asked a federal appeals court on Wednesday to strike down acontroversial order that the city's taxi authority was in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Michael Cardozo, the city's Corporation Counsel, told the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York that the lower court had misread the city's obligations under Title II, section A of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

"We have not prohibited anyone in any way from providing accessible cabs," Cardozo said, drawing a line between the city's regulation of buses and its regulation of the taxi industry, which is composed of private operators.

A lawyer for disabilities advocates said District Judge George Daniels had gotten it right when he found in December 2011 that the Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) was subject to the federal disabilities provision because the authority has an active regulatory role in maintaining and overseeing the taxi fleet -- thus acting as a public entity providing a public service.

"The TLC controls every single aspect of taxi cab service," attorney Sid Wolinsky said, from the "stitching on the seats to the decals."

New York City's taxi fleet is six times larger than the one in Los Angeles and grants three million rides a week, Wolinsky said. Only 232 of the city's 13,237 cabs are wheelchair-accessible.

In his opinion, Daniels ordered New York City to create a plan to improve access and -- pending his approval of such a plan -- required that any new taxis added to the fleet be wheelchair accessible.

The appeals court in March granted the city's request to temporarily freeze judge Daniels' controversial order.

The Taxi commission was on Wednesday in the process of holding a vote on a plan to allow livery cabs to accept street hails in all five boroughs.

Wednesday's appeals court panel -- judges Amalya Kearse, Dennis Jacobs and Peter Hall -- said it would issue a decision at a later date.

[click here for the rest of the article]

Ethical Issues in Suing for Missing ADA Accommodation

NY Times
Disabilities Act Prompts Flood of Suits Some Cite as Unfair

By MOSI SECRET

Published: April 16, 2012

A small cadre of lawyers, some from out of state, are using New York City’s age and architectural quirkiness as the foundation for a flood of lawsuits citing violations of the  Americans With Disabilities Act.

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The plaintiffs typically collect $500 for each suit, and each plaintiff can be used several times over. The lawyers, meanwhile, make several thousands of dollars, because the civil rights law entitles them to legal fees from the noncompliant businesses.

The practice has set off a debate about whether the lawsuits are a laudable effort, because they force businesses to make physical improvements to comply with the disabilities act, or simply a form of ambulance-chasing, with no one actually having been injured.

Click here for the rest of the article. 

Taxi Accessibility - Next court date 4/19/2012

NY's Channel 13: 

Taxi of Tomorrow May Be Here, But Accessibility Is an Issue Today  [click here for the video]

Bloomberg and Taxi Commissioner David Yassky have said that the new taxis can be retrofitted to allow for wheelchairs, and Carlos Ghosn, chief executive officer of Nissan, said the cab “has been designed so it can be modified for wheelchair users, without compromising the integrity of the vehicle,” reported Gothamist. Even so, disability-rights advocates say the taxis are still far from ideal, and New York City has missed a chance to be truly 100 percent accessible.

On Tuesday, Mayor Bloomberg and Nissan presented the shiny new Taxi of Tomorrow to New Yorkers over wine and “fancy snacks” at the New York International Auto Show. Set to roll out in 2013, the Nissan NV200 taxis will give people’s vision a boost with overhead reading lights and their hearing a break with “low-annoyance” horns, but as for addressing mobility —they are not wheelchair-accessible.

“We want access and we want it sooner than later,” said Joseph Rappaport, who advises the Taxis For All Campaign.

Taxis For All Chair chair Edith Prentiss called the Nissan the “taxi of yesterday” in a statement. At the unveiling on Tuesday night, several activists protested the Taxi of Tomorrow. According to DNAinfo, one advocate, Ronnie Raymond, carried a sign that read “all taxis should be accessible.”

“It is interesting that when they plan something like this, they don’t invite any disabled people at all,” Raymond said to DNAinfo. “It’s sad.”

In January 2011, Disability Rights Advocates, a non-profit legal center, filed a lawsuit in federal district court against the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission on behalf of a group of advocacy organizations that had been fighting for a 100 percent accessible taxi fleet for many years. Federal Judge George B. Daniels ruled in late December that the city’s taxi fleet is overwhelmingly inaccessible, thus constituting discrimination against people with disabilities. The judge ordered the city to come up with a plan to “provide meaningful access to taxicab service for disabled wheelchair-bound passengers.”

In October, 2011, the United States Department of Justice filed a brief supporting Disability Rights Advocates’ position that the Americans with Disabilities Act requires the New York taxi fleet to be wheelchair-accessible.

But the city disagrees with the judge’s ruling, and has filed an appeal. The plaintiffs and the city appear in court again on April 19.  at 9:15 AM at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, ,  (500 Pearl St, WC entry 200 Worth St, Ceremonial room on the 9th floor).

This Court appearance will be on time and last about about an hour (If the
judges ask a lot of questions). Although we're in front of the judges at 10,
we recommend you be there by about 9:15 to get through security.

Of the roughly 13,000 cabs  in New York’s fleet,  about 230 are wheelchair accessible.

NYS EPIC drug program to be restored

EPIC Restored


The 2012 N.Y. Budget Law includes a provision restoring the EPIC program, which provides supplemental prescription drug coverage to seniors with Medicare Part D.  The well-loved EPIC program was gutted in the 2011 budget, but mostly restored to its previous state.  However, this change will only take effect in 2013, so the Empire Justice Center's advice regarding the EPIC cuts continues to apply for the rest of 2012.

Trilby De Jung of the Empire Justice Center wrote a comprehensive summary of the healthcare-related changes in the 2012 Budget Law.  To see a comparison of the EPIC rules for 2012 and 2013, and some tips for helping seniors get through 2012, see this article by Valerie Bogart of Selfhelp.


Thanks to Luda Demikhovskaya for this information.

City Council bills to notify the disabled

From Speaker Christine Quinn:

This past week, the City Council passed a package of bills that will help make our streets safer and more accessible for those often most affected by these changes – the blind, the visually impaired, and people requiring the use of a wheelchair.  The first bill would provide for Accessible Pedestrian Signals (audible walk/don't walk signals) at some intersections; the second bill would require Dept. of Transportation posting of major transportaiton projects, bicycle lanes, and more. The third bill would require the taxi passenger's bill of right to include the right to ask for a wheelchair-accessible cab. 

Daily News Op Ed on NY Taxis & Accessibility

NY Daily News   

How New York City Let Me Down   

By Robert Slayton / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Thursday, March 22, 2012, 4:00 AM< I’m a New Yorker, in my heart if no longer in residence. Born in Manhattan at Mount Sinai, my parents took me home to their apartment near Crotona Park in the Bronx. Every summer, I watched my Yankees struggle, and, in those days, usually triumph.

And now my city has failed me.

In 2008, I contracted an extremely rare spinal cord disease, transverse myelitis, which left me a hemiplegic — paralyzed on one side of my body — and in a wheelchair.

Before you bemoan my fate, though, I’m doing fine, contrary to the stereotypes. My classes at the university are filled, several new books are in the works, I drive everywhere in a specially outfitted vehicle, and my marriage is beyond solid.

New York, however, is a problem. Rolling into the world of the disabled, I discovered that Gotham has a well-earned reputation as the worst city in North America for wheelchair users; one publication referred to “notoriously wheelchair-unfriendly New York City.”

Pools not accessible?

Some pools in our neighborhood are not wheelchair accessible.  (Riverbank State Park's pool at 145th St. and the JCC pool are accessible; the Paris pool and the 65th St. Y pool are not.)

Rules requiring public pools to be accessible were supposed to go into effect on March 15, 2012, but are on hold because some businesses objected.

Let the Department of Justice know your views: the DOJ is accepting public comments about the accessible pool regulations until April 3, 2012.

http://www.regulations.gov/#%21submitComment;D=DOJ-CRT-2012-0006-0001

2012 ADA Standards Now In Effect

Required Compliance with the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design Takes Effect

Starting March 15, the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design must be used for all new construction or alterations to facilities covered by title II and title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

These standards set the minimum requirements for new construction or structural changes made to the buildings of more than 80,000 state and local government agencies and more than seven million businesses. 

The revised regulations were announced by President Barack Obama on July 26, 2010, the 20^th anniversary of the ADA.

For more information about the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, call the toll-free ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301(800-514-0383 TTY) or visit www.ada.gov. The U.S. Department of Justice has also developed an online guide to help small business owners understand how the revised regulations apply to them.

NYC Taxi Case - Update

Taxi Second Court Decision

The Second Circuit Court of Appeals - the mid-level federal court covering New York - has ruled that the Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) must indeed submit a plan for long-term accessibility to the District Court (lower court) judge, Judge Daniels.  

The Court of Appeals simultaneously sped up the whole appellate briefing and argument schedule  to give the court a complete set of facts and arguments on whether the TLC has duties under the Americans with Disabilities Act. 

www.taxisforall.org/

The whole appeal is scheduled to be argued during the week of April 16th (exact date and time to be announced).   

According to DRA Staff Attorney Julia Pinover: "This is a good outcome – there are benefits for everyone in getting the entire appeal heard, and hopefully decided, quickly and though there are no guarantees, we feel our case on appeal remains strong."

Disabled in Action (another group) 3/11 meeting

Disabled in Action, another group, is meeting 
Sunday, March 11, 2012
1:30 -4:00 PM 
at Selis Manor, 1st Floor Auditorium
135 West 23rd Street
(between 6th and 7th Avenues)
Manhattan

Taxis for All - Court of Appeals hearing Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012

On Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012, the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals will be hearing oral argument in the case between Disability Rights Advocates and the NYC Taxi & Limousine Commission. 
In December,  the lower federal court ruled that New York City must provide the disabled with "reasonable access" to taxi cabs - and what exists already ain't it.  The Taxi & Limousine Commission appealed that decision, and the argument is Tuesday.

Come and lend your support.  The court is at 500 Pearl Street, at 10 AM, with wheelchair-accessible access to the building at 200 Worth Street.