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August 01, 2005
A 52-mile long display of patriotism
...more than 200 riders from Rolling Thunder, a national veterans' advocacy group, rode 52 miles to raise money for disabled veterans.
Their wait is over: Disabled tenants win rent-increase breaks
The City Council passed a bill last week setting up a program for disabled tenants that is modeled on the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE), which currently provides rent-increase exemptions to more than 45,000 senior households....
Council Speaker Gifford Miller (D-Manhattan) said the new program for the disabled--called Disability Rent Increase Exemption (DRIE)--will "allow New Yorkers with special needs to remain in their homes, rather than be forced into nursing homes or shelters."
August 03, 2005
The Name Game
...the move to make the District 2 ballot whiter, straighter, and more male could seem at odds with CoDA's mission. "Shame on you, CoDA," says Michael Lopez, the disabled candidate. "Shame on you for preventing Hispanics and gays from getting on the ballot."
Pedal pushing for a new path
...Fundaro and other bikers could soon have smooth pedaling along a 2.5-mile bikeway parallel to the Coney Island Boardwalk from W. 37th St. to Brighton 15th St. in Brighton Beach.
Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan) secured $2.56 million for the project last week as part of a federal transportation bill.
Funding will also allow for the installation of ramps leading directly to the water to provide access to the beach for the elderly, disabled and people pushing strollers.
Determination Without Boundaries: A Story of Resilience in the Face of Injustice
Terrence Stevens, 38, is paralyzed from the neck down as a result of muscular dystrophy. The 32-year-old Rockefeller Drug Laws ensured that a quadriplegic Stevens would face imprisonment at a maximum security prison for a decade of his life. The basis of his arrest--5 ounces of cocaine found inside the bag of a traveling companion in a Greyhound bus he was on--underscores just how unjust these laws are.
When Stevens, confined to a wheelchair, entered the system in October 1992, the conditions to accommodate disabled persons were atrocious. Even if the cocaine had been Stevens', the mandatory 15-to-life sentence was as merciless as it could get for someone who would need to be bathed, dressed and turned over in his bed every two hours. For the first eight years of his sentence, Stevens received inadequate medical attention, and as a result, his spine curved, creating respiratory complications. Despite the severity of his disability, he became involved in and eventually became president of the Handicapped Educational Assistance Project, where he represented the disabled prison population. It was in this capacity that Stevens began his career of helping people affected by incarceration, and became an outspoken advocate for reform of substandard conditions for the disabled.
August 05, 2005
Pataki signs law to protect the disabled
Vito Albanese of Brooklyn was beaten and tied down at a New Hampshire treatment center and later received 40 stitches from a fall while at a New Jersey brain injury center.
Now, there may be more protections for people like Albanese, also known as Billy.
Late Tuesday night, Gov. George Pataki signed "Billy's Law," which would require the state to better monitor the 1,400 disabled and emotionally disturbed New York children and young adults in out-of-state treatment centers as far away as Florida and as close as the Berkshires.
Children's Events
'ELIZA'S WINDOW,' a puppet play with music about a disabled girl dealing with her parents' separation, written and directed by Natalie Burgess. Saturdays at 2 p.m. through August at Manhattan Theater Source, 177 Macdougal Street, at West Eighth Street, Greenwich Village, (212) 501-4751. Tickets: $12.
Union talk at care site
Employees at a Brooklyn day care center for mentally retarded adults say the facility is a "disgusting" place to work and management is stifling their efforts to unionize.
Lifespire--housed in a one-story building on 48th St. in Sunset Park, where 100 developmentally disabled adults are cared for--is rundown, often sweltering, understaffed and undersupplied, said Helen Hane, a pro-union employee.
"We're forced to treat the consumers in a way that we wouldn't want anyone to treat our families," Hane said. "This building is a disgusting place for the consumers to attend programs."
Jim Kelly's 8-Year-Old Son Hunter Dies
Duffner credited the Kelly family for Hunter living well beyond the initial prognosis and for its help in Krabbe research.
"He was such a brave little boy. ... He was a tough kid, like his dad," Duffner said. "It's really quite remarkable how one family has changed the course of a disease."
She noted that New York will begin screening newborns for the disease, something which the foundation has long favored. If caught just after birth, an umbilical cord blood transplant can halt its effects.
August 09, 2005
Theater: Catharsis and crusade
...That's a fair description of Charles Mee, prolific polymath of cutting-edge American theater. "I think I have 31 or 32 plays on my Web site, and none of them is about disability," said Mee, who contracted polio in his teens.
The Brooklyn playwright has written about living with a disability in his memoir, "A Nearly Normal Life" But his plays are more apt to deal with themes from Greek mythology--he's a distinguished classical scholar--or American politics.
Christopher Reeve's Wife Has Lung Cancer
Christopher Reeve's widow, facing a battle with lung cancer, said Tuesday that she's looking to her husband "as the ultimate example of defying the odds with strength, courage and hope."
"I hope before too long to be sharing news of my good health and recovery," said Dana Reeve, who won worldwide admiration for the steadfast support of her husband during his nine years as a quadriplegic.
August 10, 2005
Bloomingdale Park will get playground for handicapped kids
Responding to requests from parents of disabled children, the Parks Department will begin construction of a handicapped-accessible playground at Bloomingdale Park this fall.
Salaries, Profits and Nursing Homes
The New York Times has a front page story entitled "New York Medicaid Fraud May Reach into the Billions," 7/18/05. While we thought we already heard all the MA abuse stories possible, at the end of this article was some information that Disability Advocates should be seeking in your States. Let me quote the article:
"Among the biggest beneficiaries of the Medicaid program have been executives of the state's nursing homes and clinics, many of whom earn substantial salaries and profits from the program."
August 11, 2005
Budget Cuts End Programs For Disabled CUNY Students
In 1994, Madeline Gomez was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease and given two years to live. She defied her doctor's prediction and, although she cannot move her hands, has just received her associate's degree from Queensborough Community College.
Robert Nice, who owned a printing firm on Long Island, suffered an injury that left him a quadriplegic and on a ventilator. He decided to get a degree in psychology, to help children who are in a similar situation to his.
Unlike Gomez, Nice will not be able to fulfill his dream. Homebound, the federally funded program that allowed Gomez, Nice and hundreds of other disabled students to take classes at home, has been cancelled because it will no longer receive federal funds after August 31st.
August 15, 2005
Medicare's new plan may bring confusion
At least two drug plans must be offered in each state, although state officials estimate 15 to 20 plans may be offered in Illinois. At least two drugs from each type of drug class will be offered per plan, but over-the-counter medications and some drugs for anxiety will not be covered. The plan providers also may change their list of covered drugs but must notify enrollees 60 days in advance.
"The drug plans can look like anything down the road, frankly," said Deane Beebe of the New York City-based Medicare Rights Center.
August 19, 2005
Out-of-control truck clips boy, kills disabled man
A disabled Queens man was killed Thursday when a truck driver lost control, clipped an 11-year-old boy and then smashed into a man in a wheelchair outside his home, police said.
Local group recognized for work with disabled children
The Moses and Aaron Foundation's Special Fund for Children was established 10 years ago in memory of Rabbi Moshe Yitzchok Hecht who served the community of New Haven, Conn., and Aaron HaKohen Kaploun of Jerusalem, Yaacov Kaploun's father. Both were known for community service, their commitment to Jewish education and Jewish causes, and their acts of kindness.
The foundation aims to continue their legacy of kindness with a focus on children with disabilities, said Kaploun, who has a private practice in family and marriage counseling in Monsey. The aim is to bring joy and light to their eyes, he said.
August 22, 2005
ASPS Member Surgeons Celebrate the Faces of Plastic Surgery; Patients of Courage: Triumph Over Adversity
Caitlin Sarubbi, 15, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was born with an extremely rare congenital syndrome known as ablepharon- macrostomia where she was born without eyelids and absence of body hair. She also had a deformed mouth and facial appearance. She has endured 44 surgeries from eyelid and forehead reconstruction to hand surgery and more. Although legally blind and hearing impaired, Caitlin is a model student and a star athlete.
August 23, 2005
Council: Pay pensions to war disabled
The City Council wants the state to authorize disability pensions to any city worker who is permanently disabled while on military duty in a war.
OU Awarded Grant for After-School Programming for Manhattan Youth with Disabilities
A grant for weekday after-school programming for teens and young adults with special needs has been awarded to the Orthodox Union’s National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD)/Yachad program through its Jewish Union Foundation division. The once-a-week activities are expected to begin the second week of September at a location to be announced.
The grant was provided by the Manhattan Family Support Committee of the Manhattan Developmental Disabilities Service Organization, a division of the New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. The grant was was awarded because Orthodox Jewish students cannot take part in many supplementary programs because they occur on Saturdays.
Campaign 2005: Long-Term Issues Facing the Arts in NYC
Cost is one of the main barriers to New Yorkers' participation in the arts, but it is not the only one. There are physical barriers that discourage the disabled. There are language barriers, a lack of information about cultural offerings, and, according to one report a lack of "cultural literacy."
August 25, 2005
Making Special Education Work For Your Child In Queens
New York City has many resources and programs for children with special needs, but navigating the system is no easy feat. As Patricia Cruz, president of the President's Council, District 75, which runs the public special education schools in the city, puts it, "Once your child has been diagnosed, put on your boxing gloves, because you'll be fighting your way through the system) until he graduates."
Mentally disabled man missing in Uniondale
Cops are asking the public's help in locating a mentally disabled Uniondale man who went missing last Thursday. Stephen Taggart, 52, is described as white with brown hair and brown eyes. He is 5 feet, 8 inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds.... Taggart lived in New York City before moving to Uniondale, and he was previously on subway trains and at the Port Authority Bus Terminal and Pennsylvania Station.
Death at a group home
Police are probing how developmentally disabled man came to die in a parked car on a stifling summer day.
August 28, 2005
Getting Out the Vote, Not to Mention the Dictionary
The candidates agree that the reputation of the court needs to be improved, as do its practices. Cases move at a crawl. They agree that the courthouse, a Beaux-Arts masterpiece on Chambers Street, needs to be renovated. Both hate having to raise money for the race. Both are articulate and attractive, smart and substantial.
But there are differences. Ms. Glen, who recently stepped down as the dean of the City University of New York Law School, has served as a Supreme Court judge and is an expert on law and aging. Ms. Markewich is an experienced litigator at a large firm who tries cases in Surrogate's Court, and is an advocate for the disabled. She uses two artificial legs.
August 29, 2005
Welfare Program Whacked: Advocates File Suit Against City
Six months after the city began WeCare, an ambitious program to move disabled welfare recipients to work, advocates have filed suit, charging that the initiative actually discriminates against the people it's intended to help.
GALLOPs Plan to Bring Therapeutic Riding to NYC Makes Good Horse Sense
GALLOP (Giving Alternative Learners Uplifting Opportunities, Inc.), a NYC based non-profit organization, is demonstrating therapeutic horseback riding to acquaint the public, the health care and disability advocacy communities, potential funders, elected officials, and journalists with some of the many benefits therapeutic horseback riding brings to people challenged physically, emotionally and cognitively. GALLOP hopes that building awareness and enthusiasm among the project's natural supporters will enable it to more readily secure and operate its own dedicated space in the near future.
The demonstration, made possible by The Tomorrow Foundation, will be held on August 31, 2005 on Pier 25, Hudson River Park (West St. at N. Moore, just North of Chambers St.), courtesy of Manhattan Youth Recreation and Resources and the Hudson River Park Trust, a NY State and NY City partnership formed to benefit the public. Winslow Therapeutic Center is providing additional support. A briefing will be held at 9:45 am, followed by a therapeutic riding lesson.