JFActivist

New York City Cabs Must be Accessible to All

By Alexandria Braboy, AAPD intern

The Justice Department recently backed a lawsuit filed by disability rights advocates that charges New York City Taxi & Limousine Commission (TLC) with non-compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Of the more than 13,000 taxis in NYC, only 232 are accessible to wheelchair users. The lawsuit makes it clear that this disproportionate statistic isn’t good enough. The lawsuit argues that New York is required to make all taxis wheelchair accessible or guarantee an equivalent alternative.

New York City Mayor Bloomberg took issue with a completely accessible taxicab system. A few days ago, he publically dismissed making taxis accessible to all New Yorkers and visitors. He argued that accessible cabs sell for more money, “use a lot more gas,” and that the “average person” would be uncomfortable in an accessible cab, among other things.  

But arguments like his miss the point of the lawsuit. Keeping the majority of cabs—an “essential [service] […] for the public”—inaccessible excludes people with disabilities from an essential mode of transportation. All New Yorkers regardless of whether they have disabilities need taxis; they should be accessible to all.

AAPD is a strong advocate for accessible transportation. We believe that our nation needs to invest in modes of transportation that promote opportunities for everyone.  Fully accessible taxis are an important part of that. 

To weigh in with Mayor Bloomberg, call 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC) or email http://www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html 

 

AAPD Joins Transportation Equity Coalition to Ensure Civil Rights of People with Disabilities: You can join in too!

by Jenifer Simpson, AAPD Senior Director for Government Affairs

AAPD has partnered with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights (LCCHR) to ensure that the transportation needs of people with disabilities are addressed in any new transportation policy agendas.  Several key leaders from the disability community are working directly with AAPD in this effort. They include Kelly Buckland of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL),  Billy Altom of the Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living (APRIL), Marilyn Golden of the Disability Rights & Education Defense Fund (DREDF) and James Weisman of United Spinal Association.  The intent of the partnership is to generate more awareness of the overall. Transportation Equity agenda in our community and to influence federal and state policy so that the transportation needs and civil rights of people with disabilities are part of every transportation policy discussion. 

There’s no doubt that transportation equity is a civil and human rights priority. Availability of affordable, reliable and accessible transportation widens opportunity and is essential to addressing our employment needs.  Similarly, transportation is critical to our participation in higher education, health care and civic activities such as voting. However, current transportation spending does not equally benefit all communities and populations. We need to ensure ‘a disability voice at the table’ as transportation decisions are made at both the federal and state levels. By joining in the activities of the Transportation Equity for People with Disabilities campaign you can participate to help ensure there are more opportunities for us to succeed.

 If you would like to be regularly informed of the Transportation Equity for People with Disabilities Group's activities, including invitations to participate in state level efforts, you can join as follows:

 

Go to the website at http://groups.google.com/group/transportation-equity-for-people-with-disabilities and click on the “join this group” button.

Or you can subscribe directly by sending an E-mail to transportation-equity-for-people-with-disabilities+subscribe@googlegroups.com .  

We encourage you to let your friends and colleagues know about this group so that they can sign up too and learn more about this specific topic as well.

If you no longer want to participate in the group’s notices and discussions, all you have to do is just send an email to transportation-equity-for-people-with-disabilities+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com

 

More on LCCHR at http://www.civilrights.org/

More on Transportation Equity at http://www.civilrights.org/transportation/

Information on Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) protections in regard to people with disabilities is at http://www.fta.dot.gov/civilrights/12325.html

Instructions and Form for filing an ADA complaint against a public transportation entity is at http://www.ada.gov/t2cmpfrm.htm

More about AAPD at http://www.aapd.com

 

Transportation and Job Opportunity

by AAPD's VP of External Affairs, Lara Schwartz

Unemployment is high and job creation is a top priority for America.  But job creation is not the only piece of the puzzle.  For many Americans including those with disabilities and people with low incomes, job opportunity cannot exist without job access. Even if a person is offered her dream job, there is no true opportunity if she lacks accessible transportation to get to the interview. 

As Congress and the Administration consider how to combat unemployment, it’s important that they include accessible, affordable transportation in their agenda.   People with disabilities disproportionately lack access to cars, but most of our nation’s transportation investments continue to focus on car-based travel.  Options such as rail, commuter buses, and transit-oriented development—which means building employment, housing, and community services around accessible transit—not only increase opportunities for people with disabilities, they benefit the entire community by reducing traffic and pollution, enabling senior citizens to be closer to services and activities, and providing options for lower-income workers who can ill afford the $9,000 per year that it costs to own and maintain a car. 

Click here to learn more about how access to transportation affects job opportunity.

 

 

Airport Security: AAPD Asks TSA to Uphold Civil Rights

Photo Caption (l-r): Bryan Hudson, Helena Berger, Jeremy Buzzell, Jenifer Simpson, Brewster Thackeray

 

Airport Security: AAPD Asks TSA to Uphold Civil Rights

by Jenifer Simpson, AAPD Senior Director for Government Affairs 

On October 5, 2011, AAPD met with key staff from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the division within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security that focuses on airport security in regard to airline departures.  The purpose of the meeting was to learn more about how TSA addresses complaints and concerns by people with disabilities and what is TSA’s approach to resolution. AAPD, for instance, has heard several times anecdotal stories about egregious behavior by TSA staff or TSA-contracted staff at some airports and we wanted to learn more how these would be handled now that this office is staffed fully.

Attending the meeting for AAPD were Helena Berger, E.V.P. and Chief Operating Officer and Jenifer Simpson, Senior Director for Government Affairs. Staff from the relatively new TSA Office of Disability Policy and Outreach (ODPO) included Jeremy Buzzell, Senior Policy Advisor (formerly at U.S. Department of Education), Bryan Hudson, Program Analyst (formerly with the Rhode Island Protection & Advocacy Agency for People with Disabilities), and Brewster Thackeray, Senior Policy Advisor (formerly with AARP and NOD). 

AAPD learned that ODPO’s charge is to address disability policy issues and civil rights/consumer concerns specific to security issues at airports. This would include investigating complaints where people feel wronged or where the rights of people with disabilities have been violated, such as under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act or under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). 

At the meeting, AAPD learned that TSA’s ODPO will resolve complaints and concerns generally within thirty days of receiving a letter, call or email from a consumer.  In almost all cases, ODPO will directly respond to the concern and conduct investigatory activities. In some cases, they may forward the concern to the correct legal entity when it is not in their jurisdiction (e.g., it’s really a complaint under the Air Carrier Access Act). Where they uncover systemic problems ODPO can advise the appropriate Training, Enforcement or other entities within TSA to take appropriate steps, including working directly with the TSA Customer Service and Support employees at the nation’s airports.  AAPD was pleased to learn that there is updated Training for TSA employees, with a national curriculum that includes disability topics. AAPD is anticipating a report from TSA-ODPO once it has reviewed the 2010-2011 year of data it has collected about concerns and complaints. We would expect to see description of any steps TSA would take to address the most common concerns – such as about metal implants or about  airport practices that generate significant concerns.

Central to TSA ODPO’s strategy is to work with disability organizations regularly to provide information – to educate and make aware – about new TSA procedures and technologies used. They are developing more informational Fact Sheets, FAQs and better website information for this purpose.  ODPO is also working directly with a coalition of disability organizations which meets quarterly to learn more about how TSA operates and where organizations’ can share their concerns directly with TSA officials and with ODPO.

 

To submit a disability concern, inquiry or complaint to TSA, send an email to TSA.ODPO@TSA.DHS.gov

 Or write them directly at Transportation Security Administration, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 601 South 12th Street - West Tower, TSA-6, Arlington, Virginia 20598

When complaining, be sure to include in writing an explanation of the complaint. This should include the name of the airport, your flight information, date/time of the incident, and if possible the name of the employee. The ODPO staff AAPD met with emphasized that the sooner a complaint is made after an incident the better they can resolve it.

For more information on what TSA is saying to people with disabilities, visit http://www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/specialneeds/before_you_go.shtm

Summary information on the Air Carrier Access Act at http://airconsumer.dot.gov/publications/disabled.htm

To file a complaint under the Air Carrier Access Act, go to http://airconsumer.dot.gov/CP_DisabilityandDiscrimination.htm

Lelarn more about TSA’s new screening pilot program – PreCheck, a voluntary program to allow expedited security checking -- started Oct. 4 at four pilot airport sites (Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International, Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County, Dallas/Fort Worth International and Miami International airports). More on this pilot program at  http://www.tsa.gov/press/releases/2011/1004.shtm

 

 

 

Streets and Roads to Become More Accessible

via AAPD (7.29.11):
 

Streets and Roads to be more Barrier-Free: Access Board Proposes New Guidelines for Public Rights-of-Way—Comments due Nov 23!

By Julia Feinberg, AAPD Policy Intern

On the 21^st Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the U.S. Access Board presented new proposed guidelines for public rights-of-way.  These guidelines include new proposed regulations for Pedestrian Access Routes (sidewalks, street crossings, curb ramps), Detectable Warning Surfaces, Multi-Lane Roundabouts, Transition Stops and Shelters, Pedestrian Signals, On-Street Parking and Passenger Loading Zones, and Street Furniture and Other Elements. The proposed guidelines would only be applicable to newly constructed areas or areas undergoing alterations.

Highlights:

All Pedestrian Signals that have visual signs for when it is safe to cross the street also must have audio and tactile warnings. This will be hugely helpful for people with visual and other disabilities.  Similarly, Detectable Warning Surfaces, which alert pedestrians to street crossings and open drop-offs, would now be required.  Of great interest to those of us that drive, 4% of parking spaces would be required to be accessible, but this may vary depending on the number of total parking spaces in the area.  Street Furniture such as drinking fountains, toilet facilities, and benches must also be made accessible per the updated requirements.

Send in your comments and thoughts directly to the US Access Board by November 23^rd, 2011!

 

Other Advocacy Steps...

1. Read the proposed regulations at www.access-board.gov/prowac/nprm.htm.
2. Attend public hearings on the proposed rules if you are in Dallas TX on Sept. 12^th or Washington DC on Nov. 9^th. Visit Access Board website for the locations, at http://www.access-board.gov
3. Listen in on the Access Board webinar on August 9^th, via website www.accessibilityonline.org, to learn more about these proposed regulations.
4. Submit comments and thoughts on these proposed regulations by November 23^rd, 2011 online at http://www.regulations.gov (ID is ATBCB-2011-0004), via Email row@accessboad.gov, or via Fax 202-272-0081, or snail mail Office Of Technical and Informational Services, Access Board, 1331 F Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20004.

Meet Mark! AAPD to Host Virtual Town Hall with New President & CEO

via AAPD (6.21.11):

 

What’s On Your Mind? Ask AAPD’s New President & CEO Mark Perriello!

Take the opportunity to share what’s on your mind! Join AAPD’s new President & CEO Mark Perriello for a virtual town hall at noon on Wednesday, June 29. Mark will answer your questions live about the future of AAPD, employment issues, disability, the 2012 presidential election and any other issues affecting our community.

We want to learn what’s important to YOU – our community. Our town hall is open to anyone, and there will be video, audio and live captioning

This is your chance to let us know what you’re thinking!

You can participate by tuning in to www.livestream.com/AAPD.To submit a question, please email it to communications@aapd.com.

We will be accepting questions prior to the event and live during the event.

 

Transportation Security Administration Criticized for Treatment of Passenger with Severe Mental Illness

via the Association for Airline Passenger Rights (6.15.11):

Association for Airline Passenger Rights Expresses Outrage Over TSA's Treatment of Passenger with Severe Mental Illness; Cruel Treatment Exhibited by TSA Agents Warrants Immediate Review

The Association for Airline Passenger Rights ("AAPR") today expressed outrage over the Transportation Security Administration's ("TSA") cruel treatment toward a 22-year old passenger with several mental illness despite concerns expressed by his family that he had the mental capacity of a 2-year old. The incident, which occurred at Metro Detroit's McNamera Terminal (DTW) while the family was flying to Disney World, demonstrates that an immediate need exists for TSA's to review its policies to prevent future abuse and humiliation of passengers with physical, sensory, cognitive and mental disabilities. AAPR contends that the incident violates the spirit of the Air Carrier Access Act of 1986 (ACAA).

"We don't accept airlines violating the rights of passengers with disabilities, and we need to hold our government to the same basic standards," argued Brandon M. Macsata, Executive Director of the Association for Airline Passenger Rights. "This sort of inexcusable treatment of a passenger with severe mental disabilities, who was under parental supervision at the time nonetheless, cannot and must not be tolerated. If it wasn't a violation of the ACAA law - which is designed to protect very basic rights afforded to passengers with disabilities - then it surely goes against the spirit of the law"...

>>>To Read More on This Incident...

Do YOU have a travel horror story? Please share your experience below or send to policy@aapd.com.

A System in Disarray: Mistreatment and Mismanagement at NY Institutions for People with Developmental Disabilities

via the NY Times (6.5.11):
  

A Disabled Boy’s Death, and a System in Disarray

by Danny Hakim

...On a February afternoon in 2007, Jonathan, a skinny, autistic 13-year-old, was asphyxiated, slowly crushed to death in the back seat of a van by a state employee who had worked nearly 200 hours without a day off over 15 days. The employee, a ninth-grade dropout with a criminal conviction for selling marijuana, had been on duty during at least one previous episode of alleged abuse involving Jonathan...

In the front seat of the van, the driver, another state worker at Oswald D. Heck Developmental Center, watched through the rear-view mirror but said little. He had been fired from four different private providers of services to the developmentally disabled before the state hired him to care for the same vulnerable population.

O. D. Heck is one of nine large institutions in New York that house the developmentally disabled, those with cerebral palsy, autism, Down syndrome and other conditions.

These institutions spend two and a half times as much money, per resident, as the thousands of smaller group homes that care for far more of the 135,000 developmentally disabled New Yorkers receiving services.

But the institutions are hardly a model: Those who run them have tolerated physical and psychological abuse, knowingly hired unqualified workers, ignored complaints by whistle-blowers and failed to credibly investigate cases of abuse and neglect, according to a review by The New York Times of thousands of state records and court documents, along with interviews of current and former employees...

>>>For the Full Article...

 

How can recorded accounts of these institutions' mistreatment of residents and irresponsible management of funding be used to advocate for quality living situations for people with developmental disabilities? Please share your thoughts in comments below. 

Department of Transportation Briefs Disability Groups on Policy Proposals

From AAPD (4.5.11):

Department of Transportation Briefs Disability Groups on Policy Proposals

By David Heymsfeld, AAPD Policy Volunteer

On Friday April 1, AAPD attended a meeting by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) that summarized DOT's proposed policy agenda for the year. The meeting was targeted to "Disability and Aging Community Leaders" and included representatives from the American Council of the Blind, the National Association of the Deaf, the National Council on Independent Living, and the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund. The DOT Speakers included Polly Trottenberg, Assistant Secretary for Policy, and Bob Ashby, Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Regulation and Enforcement.

Three areas were covered in the briefing to disability and aging community leaders: reauthorization proposals, enforcement, and proposed rulemakings in the federal surface transportation programs.

Reauthorization proposals:

Assistant Secretary Trottenberg noted the following as of particular interest to the disability community:

--the criteria for discretionary grants under the new "livable communities" program (proposed at $4 billion a year) would include facilitating universal accessibility of transportation;

--the program to upgrade transit facilities to a "state of good repair" would make funds available for repairing elevators and escalators and other equipment. In general, DOT proposes a 128% increase in overall transit funding; they have not proposed a specific amount for disability related access infrastructure;

--for railways they would make funding available to Amtrak for level platforms and other improvements to ensure equal access. This would be funded out of Amtrak’s capital funding. There would be no specific set-aside for ADA compliance;

--in transportation planning programs, they would emphasize planning before projects go forward, to ensure equal access.

At this time, these are conceptual proposals so there is no legislative language. Of course, it will be up to Congress to decide whether to accept any of the proposals.

Enforcement Activities:   Blane Workie, Deputy Assistant General Counsel  emphasized  the cases they have completed  against Delta and Jet Blue imposing substantial fines for the airlines’ failure to fulfill their obligation to assist disabled passengers in enplaning and deplaning aircraft. They will bring other cases, when violations are uncovered.

Regulatory Proposals:  Deputy Assistant Secretary Ashby said that DOT hopes to complete action this year on regulations to ensure that new and altered commuter and inter-city rail stations provide equal access to trains. They did not discuss what the final rule would provide. However, they indicated that a difficulty was that some rail stations are owned by freight railroads who do not want to raise their platforms and in some cases, DOT may not have authority to require the freight railroad to do so.

Ashby said that the proposed rule requiring transit systems to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices and procedures to avoid discrimination is on a slower schedule

Pending Rulemakings:  DOT also plans to issue Notices of Proposed Rule Making on a number of aviation issues. These will likely involve:

--whether airlines should be allowed to follow the "seat strapping method" to stow wheelchairs;

--facilitating of passengers' ability to carry ventilators, respirators and Continuing Positive Airway Pressure Machines on aircraft;

--improving the accessibility of airports, including closed captioning of audio-visual displays, and lifts used on tarmac areas;

--seeking cost information, on a number of issues, including accessibility of airline automated kiosks, and closed captioning of in-flight entertainment.

Readers should note that some of these regulatory proposals have been pending for a long time, and that all were previously scheduled to be completed in 2010.

If you have a specific complaint against a transportation agency, please write to the appropriate office. These are listed on the US DOT website at http://www.dot.gov/citizen_services/disability/complaints.html You may also send a copy of your complaint to AAPD, 1629 K Street NW, Suite 950, Washington DC 20006. Attn: Policy or write policy@aapd.com

Transportation: Will Technology Innovations Benefit People with Disabilities?

From AAPD (3.2.11):

Transportation: Will Technology Innovations Benefit People with Disabilities?

 

By Jenifer Simpson, AAPD Policy

 

On February 23, 2011, AAPD was invited to attend a workshop on “Technological Innovations in Transportation for People with Disabilities” held by the Federal Highway Administration in McLean, VA. The event was convened by Mohammed Yousuf in the Office of Operations Research & Development at the agency, as part of their Exploratory Advanced Research (EAR) program. The EAR program is examining how current and future advancements in intelligent transportation systems and other technologies could improve accessible transportation for people with vision disabilities and for people with other disabilities.  The aim would be both to advance safety and promote greater independence.

 

While connection of vehicles through wireless networks is a current focus for intelligent transportation – for the purpose of more efficient use of vehicles and the goods they transport – pedestrians can also benefit from technology advances. Research on vehicle-highway interaction, nanotechnology, and a host of other types of transportation research in safety, pavement design, highway structures and bridges, human-centered systems, operations and intelligent transportation systems, and in materials science can all offer new ways to provide accessibility for people with disabilities.

 

The workshop included presentations on advances in wireless technology, computer vision, artificial intelligence and robotics. Discussion focused on how these new technologies could be integrated to assist people with disabilities to be more mobile and independent. For instance, wayfinding, navigation, orientation and guidance for people with vision disabilities could be enhanced by more wireless connections and better databases of information about the built environment.  Similarly, people with intellectual disabilities might benefit from devices that provide directions and guidance. A key component to new tools for accessibility by people with disabilities is greater availability of sensor devices that can be attached to objects in the environment, such as lamp posts, traffic signs, building entrances, vehicles etc.

 

Comment Below: What are your ideas about how these technologies could make transportation systems more accessible and usable by people with disabilities?

 

For more on what intelligent transportation systems are about, please visit Department of Transportation website at http://www.its.dot.gov/faqs.htm

 

For more information on the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA's) Office of Research, Development, and Technology, visit http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/research/tfhrc/about/

For more about the EAR program and accessibility for people with disabilities, contact Mohammed Yousuf, via Email mohammed.yousuf@dot.gov