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December 04, 2005
Theaters agree to help blind, deaf get access to movies
...That would change under a deal with eight national theater chains to make it easier for visually and hearing impaired people to enjoy movies in 140 theaters statewide, according to New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
"Movies are an important part of popular culture," Spitzer said. "Every adult and child should be able to enjoy a film with family and friends, especially during the holiday season."
The agreement will include "rear window captioning," in which hearing disabled customers would use an acrylic panel to read captioning projected in reverse to the back of the theater. Thirty-eight theaters under the agreement would also provide on-screen captioning of some movies and headsets that offer descriptive narration of films.
Currently, just two theaters in western New York, one in Central New York, one in Albany and five in metro New York City offer captioned or narrated movies.
December 05, 2005
City's hire was $helter skelter
The disgraced former head of a charity for disabled children has landed a $20 million city contract to house homeless families in a Bronx hotel--even though he reportedly embezzled $1.4 million at his last job, The Post has learned.
Bernard Kahn, the former CEO of the Hebrew Academy for Special Children, resigned his $244,000-a-year post in 2004 after an internal audit found he allegedly used agency funds for personal expenses, including his daughter's wedding.
December 06, 2005
City Probes $20 Million Deal on Shelter
The city is investigating a $20 million contract to shelter homeless families that was awarded to a Brooklyn man who reportedly stole more than $1 million from a charity for disabled children.
Kensington Residents Want City To Put A Stop To Overdevelopment
Earlier this year, the 19th century building that Kensington Stables rented and used as a barn was sold to make way a 107-unit condominium complex. The horses were forced into the remaining building, and to make room, the indoor riding ring had to be eliminated. With no indoor riding ring, Kensington Stables lost its program for the disabled.
December 07, 2005
State Seeks Renewal of Medicaid Exemption
New York is the only state that allows H.M.O.'s, community groups and clinics to help people fill out applications for Medicaid, the government health plan for the poor. That practice has helped increase Medicaid enrollment statewide by more than a million people.
Federal law generally prohibits anyone but a government employee from working on Medicaid enrollments, but the Clinton administration waived the rule for New York five years ago. That exemption expires on March 31, and the state had until Dec. 1 to ask for a new one, but as recently as two weeks ago, the Pataki administration had not made a decision.
Blind Traveler Down a Dark River
Blind Traveler Down a Dark River
by Robert Bennett
Set in the not too distant future in New York City, the book Blind Traveler Down a Dark River is an exciting, well constructed, fast moving story of a blind computer expert caught up in a intricate murder story involving high technology and environmental terrorism.
December 08, 2005
Blotter: Bronx Cheer
A party for the students of the Bronx Center for Multi-Handicapped Children was going fine Wednesday afternoon when, at about 2:45, a few students started feeling a little funny. More confident. Pugnacious. Flamboyant. And they started talking really loud and repeating pointless stories.
A few other students told teachers that the soda they were all drinking tasted kind of funny.
As 13 of the severely disabled youngsters were rushed to the hospital to sober up, smirking 16-year-old Cordero Harrigan was arrested for allegedly spiking the soda with, of all things, cognac. The merry prankster now faces 13 counts of child endangerment and, for some reason, gang assault. His connection to the party was unclear.
Poor in New York, part 3: Insufficient insurance
Though the state plan has largely focused on cutting benefits as a means to reduce expenditures, a large factor in Medicaid costs is the way that coverage is delivered. The vast majority of Medicaid care is provided institutionally, particularly for the elderly and disabled. Though in some cases necessary, this can also be a costly alternative to in-home care. According to the United Hospital Fund, long-term care accounts for nearly 40 percent of Medicaid costs for the disabled and 75 percent of costs for the elderly. The average per capita cost for each of these groups is 12 times greater than the average cost for children, and seven times that of non-elderly adults.
Jen Chapin headlines 25th annual Lennon Tribute
She said she never forged an emotional connection to Lennon, who in 1972 organized a benefit concert in Madison Square Garden to benefit the developmentally disabled at the former Willowbrook State School.
But the British legend's commitment to social justice undoubtedly shaped who Jen Chapin is today. It's part of why she agreed to do the benefit, an effort produced for the last 20 years by former Staten Islander Joe Raiola.
December 09, 2005
Ex-cop with AIDS sues city
A former New York City transit cop says she did her duty arresting a violent suspect in Manhattan nine years ago, but the city failed her by turning her down for a disability pension after she contracted HIV as a result of that arrest.
She's filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city of violating her civil rights.
Manhattan: Home Health Workers Strike
New York's largest health-care union, 1199 United Healthcare Workers East, began a four-day strike yesterday against People Care, a home-health agency that cares for the elderly and disabled in their homes. The union said that about 800 of People Care's 1,100 workers walked out to protest the company's failure to sign a contract that several other home-health agencies have signed. A company spokesman said that only 200 workers walked out. The union says People Care pays $6.50 an hour, and the contract calls for $10 an hour beginning in 2007. People Care said wages were competitive with the rest of the industry."
Transit Authority
New York City Transit bus drivers have been instructed in a bulletin sent to them earlier this year to swipe the MetroCards of disabled passengers when requested to do so. That is the key: A driver will not offer to swipe your card, so you must ask. Once asked, he cannot refuse.
Plucky Paul sez go for it
He lost both of his legs in the Staten Island ferry crash, but Paul Esposito is more interested in inspiring others than in assigning blame.
Speaking to a group of disabled people at the Hilton Garden Inn on Staten Island, Esposito, 26, offered tips on how to get the most out of life.
December 12, 2005
Drug hunt preceded Finest slay
[Steven] Armento and [Sopranos actor Lillo] Brancato, his daughter's ex-boyfriend, had been drinking at the Crazy Horse, a strip club on Boston Road, when they decided to score some Valium and other pills, police said.
Their plan, police sources said, was to break into the home of a disabled man they had befriended, Kenneth Scovotti, 63, who kept a trove of prescription drugs in his basement apartment at 3119 Arnow Place, next door to [police officer Daniel] Enchautegui's home.
3 non-profit groups receive $60,000 in donations
The North Central Kiwanis Club donated $5,000 to the Getting Resources for Autistic Children's Equality (G.R.A.C.E.) Foundation.
...Assemblymember Matthew Mirones (R-East Shore/Brooklyn) donated $5,000 to the Staten Island Recreation Association.
The funds will be used to support the agency's "Helping Others Overcome Physical Handicaps." program. The program is a spin-off of a nationwide program certified by the Denver-based North American Riding for the Handicapped Association.
December 14, 2005
On-air exploits create a buzz
Meet the new Jeff Curro, Stern's emblem of excess, aka "Jeff The Drunk."
It began four years ago when Curro called Stern's radio show and was introduced to millions of the shock jock's fans. Unlike folks who had shunned him, Curro says Stern's fans embraced him, disabilities and all.
Now a regular guest on Stern's show and a member of a clutch of loonies known as "the Wack Pack," Curro enjoys the benefits of celebrity beyond his wildest dreams.
Almost-famous for his ability to become spectacularly inebriated before appearing on the radio show, Curro is riding a wave of publicity in advance of Stern's final show Friday on WXRK (92.3 FM) in Manhattan.
The Big Chill
"A frozen New Orleans." A winter failure could prove catastrophic, because any extended loss of heat could cause water pipes to burst in residential and commercial buildings alike. Also, the thousands of "traps" where steam escapes (and billows from manhole covers) could freeze and fail, causing distribution pipes to crack or lose pressure. Former Central Intelligence Agency chief Jim Woolsey, now active on energy issues, argues that parts of the city "could resemble a frozen New Orleans." Also, repressurizing the system could prove laborious and hazardous, because of the power of steam escaping from cracks. "Nobody could simulate the kind of disaster that could happen," says Adam Victor, president of TransGas Energy, a company that has been trying to build a backup power plant in the city but has run into opposition from residents and city officials who prefer building parkland at the old industrial waterside location. Con Edison downplays concerns about the system. "You can't say never because something can always break," says Chris Olert, utility spokesman. "But we've upgraded the plant so it's in tip-top condition, and we've bought plenty of gas for the steam system." Power will be available for New Yorkers, he says, though at a cost up 30 to 35 percent over last year.
Transit Strike Contingency Plans
Culled from a longer article on NY1: Paratransit vehicles are exempt from HOV restrictions, and Access-a-Ride vans are to be considered priority vehicles in midtown Manhattan for the duration of the transit strike.
The TLC Call Center (212-NYC-TAXI) would accept requests for transportation from disabled people who need transportation. Requests for service would be forwarded to licensed transportation providers.
December 17, 2005
A Dream Is Dashed, but the Signs Are Positive
Jin Luo, who arrived in New York from China eight years ago, has had more obstacles to building a life in his new country than most immigrants. Lacking literacy in English is only the beginning. Mr. Luo, 50, is deaf and unable to speak English or Chinese.
But until two years ago, he had a dream. He was working at a Pathmark supermarket in Queens, earning $7 an hour to bake cookies and clean up around the store. But he envisioned himself as someday earning a better living by cooking Chinese food at a hotel, a hope that he expressed in The New York Times in November 2002 in an article that was part of the New York Times Neediest Cases Fund campaign that year.
That dream, he said recently, ended after he had a stroke in February 2003. It left him unable to stand for long, an obstacle to working in a busy kitchen. "I have no dreams for the future," he said, speaking in American Sign Language through an interpreter. "It will stay the same, same, same."
December 18, 2005
With Help, Disabled Student Stays Independent and on Track for a Degree
For all the independence Ms. Morgan has gained, she still faces daily challenges. It takes her more time to do things than the average person, and with her four classes and internship, it is important for her to be able to get around the city. Hunter College offers a shuttle to take her from the dormitory on 25th Street at First Avenue to the main campus at 68th and Lexington. She also takes city buses and chooses the sidewalk routes with the fewest cracks.
Financial independence is another of those challenges.
Yellow Brick Road: Camp Anchor
7 p.m. Wednesday on Cinemax, Yellow Brick Road: Camp Anchor, a suburban New York City program for physically and mentally disabled children and adults, is the setting for this documentary.
The film follows members of the group, from casting to opening night, as they prepare to stage a production of The Wizard of Oz.
At dress rehearsal, it seems the whole production is about to fall apart--but come opening night, the group gives its audience plenty to cheer about.
December 19, 2005
Bronx Club Gets Boot
The former Bronx Boys & Girls Club at the center of a scandal over $875,000 funneled to the liberal radio network Air America is fighting eviction from its longtime home at Co-op City, The Post has learned.
The community group, known as the Gloria Wise Boys & Girls Club until its charter was revoked by the youth organization's national headquarters, was ordered to turn in the keys to a 10,000-square-foot schoolhouse and five meeting rooms.
Gloria Wise lost $9.7 million in city contracts to provide programs for kids, the disabled and senior citizens at Co-op City because of an investigation of its finances.
Hard news, easy listening
Created in 1977, InTouch Networks is a national, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, noncommercial radio service for the blind, visually impaired and disabled. Station manager Gail Starkey said InTouch generates eight hours of programming a day that is broadcast live once and rebroadcast twice each 24 hours. The best of the weekday shows are rebroadcast over the weekend.
The network is heard over 70 FM stations from New York to San Diego, with live programming from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. In New York City, 3,000 have the service--a number that is expected to grow as the population ages--and it is in an estimated 100,000 homes nationally.
December 20, 2005
New Medicare drug plan options confuse many
As the Jan. 1 deadline for the biggest change in Medicare in 40 years approaches, it is not only seniors who are worried: Pharmacists, local officials, politicians and advocates say they are finding too many glitches in a program that could mean some seniors - especially the oldest and frailest - will fall through the cracks, finding themselves without a drug plan or assigned to a plan that doesn't include their drugs.
...The first phase of the new Medicare prescription drug plan kicks in New Year's Day for the more than 6 million "dual eligibles"--those now getting Medicaid as well as Medicare who are typically low-income elderly or disabled--who will begin getting drug coverage from one of the new Medicare plans.
December 22, 2005
New York Medicaid spends most among 10 most populous states
Assembly Health Committee Chairman Richard Gottfried, a Manhattan Democrat, said about 75 percent of Medicaid spending in the state is for the elderly and disabled.
City Council Stated Meeting - December 21, 2005
The New York City Council met for its final session of the year and passed more than a dozen new bills.
Margarita Lopez focused on missed opportunities, arguing that the council should have passed legislation to create accessible taxis for the disabled. [Editor's note: Yes, wouldn't accessible taxis be nice during things like transit strikes?]
Day of Disruption
Some of those who trekked in were forced to rely on creative measures, from Rollerblading to hitchhiking. One disabled woman, who normally needs help from conductors to board the train and bus on her daily commute, rode her motorized wheelchair nearly 50 blocks.
"I'm just trying to go with the flow," said Saiph Rossworn, 26. "I'll just have to do it till it's over."
Padavan "Champion of Service"
Goodwill Industries in Astoria awarded its first annual "Champion of Service Award" to state Senator Frank Padavan (R-C, Bellerose) on Monday in recognition of his "outstanding work with people with disabilities and other disadvantages."
Stakes Rise In NYC Transit Strike
White House spokesman Scott McClellan says the strike is "unfortunate", and has been especially hard on seniors, the disabled and the poor.
Health Officials Worry of Diminishing Quality of Care if Transit Strike Persists
Should the strike continue, however, health officials worry about the stress placed on health care workers, and some disabled New Yorkers fear that an extended transit shutdown will strand them without access to important care.
December 23, 2005
Gifts For The Disabled: Accessibility To The Arts
Jean Ryan would love... for the curators of the Russian exhibition to make the wall labels easier to read. "Apparently the curators think the signs have to fit into the color scheme of the exhibit," says Ryan. So people with poor sight must do without them, and people with average sight have to squint a lot.
"People with disabilities often feel barely tolerated at museums instead of feeling welcomed," Ryan says. "At best, we're an afterthought." Ryan is one of the leaders of Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York, an organization that has been fighting for the civil rights of the disabled since 1970.
Queens-Based Adoption Service Announces Year Of The Teen
Adoption subsidies are one way to encourage families to adopt disabled, older, or other hard-to-place children. Subsidies provide a monthly stipend to adoptive parents. There is also a federal tax credit for parents who adopt kids over the age of 11.
Liberal state adoption laws grease the wheels further, allowing same-sex couples, singles, older people and disabled people to adopt.
Nonetheless, as kids in the foster care system grow closer to age 18, their chances of being adopted become slimmer. "These kids are desperate for a permanent family," Blechner said, and finding homes for those teenagers can be a challenge.
December 28, 2005
Housing That Has a Profit and a Social Motive
What he builds is called supportive housing, and he has completed two midrise apartment houses with 130 units and has started or is planning 11 more projects, all of them in Brooklyn or the Bronx.
Supportive housing is aimed at keeping people with disabilities or special needs out of institutions and off the streets by integrating them into buildings with working families as neighbors and offering them a panoply of on-site social services, counseling and supervision. It is a concept embraced by the state and city, which have signed an agreement pledging $1 billion over the next 10 years to such housing.
December 29, 2005
Truckin' to Pass Christian: Handicapped driver joins effort for hurricane relief
Today, Cascio owns a trucking company, based in South Salem, N.Y., with a distribution center in Danbury - Taconic Transfer Inc. He has used his trucks to meet the needs of many people over the years.
The year 1992 found him donating two drivers and trucks to haul medical supplies for the World Committee for the U.N. Decade of Disabled Persons. They picked up medical supplies from hospitals throughout Connecticut and delivered them to New York airports for flights to Russia.
After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, AmeriCares contacted Cascio. Again, he donated drivers and trucks to bring supplies from Connecticut to Ground Zero in New York City.
Help sought for autism center
The city's first center dedicated to families and children living with autism and developmental disabilities could be built in Queens if New York Families for Autistic Children acquires additional funds and a new location.
The proposed $5.5 million, 130,000- square-foot center, which would serve as the new headquarters of the Ozone Park organization, has already received some government aid.
Plans call for the facility to provide medical and dental services, recreational facilities and an educational resource center not just for children with autism and disabilities, but their families as well.
Ball Outfitted With Light Bulbs For Drop On New Year's Eve
Close to a million people packed Times Square last year to usher in 2005.
The NYPD will be closing the streets in the area as they become full. Streets between Broadway and Seventh Avenue will be closed to cars beginning at 4 p.m., beginning with 43rd and 44th streets.
As the area becomes more congested, police will shut down 44th Street between Broadway and Seventh, and so on up to Central Park.
If you plan to walk to the festivities, police say you will only be able to enter Times Square at Sixth or Eighth avenues.
There will also be an area on the northwest corner of 43rd Street set aside for the disabled who want to view the ball drop.
December 31, 2005
NYC Schools Chancellor Accepting E-mails
The parent of a disabled student asked [New York City schools Chancellor Joel] Klein to intervene after the boy had problems with his bus matron. Klein got involved, and the transportation department found the child a new escort within a couple of school days.
Department staff members say Klein gets thousands of e-mails a month, and that the volume spikes after he publicizes the address in interviews, public meetings and other forums.
That address, by the way, is JKlein@nycboe.net.