September 07, 2006
Disabled Muslims Lobby for Better Access to Mosques
The landmark 1990 Americans With Disabilities Act requires new public facilities -- including houses of worship -- to be handicapped-accessible.
But because many mosques are small, housed in older buildings and rarely built from the ground up, few are fully accessible for the disabled.
Sister Aisha al-Adawiya, president of the advocacy group Women in Islam, said most mosques in New York ignore the disabled.
Read the rest of "Disabled Muslims Lobby for Better Access to Mosques".Posted by Michelle at 12:45 AM | Comments (0)
New York to Washington Bike Ride Planned to Promote Hiring of Workers With Disabilities
With the U.S. employment rate of people with disabilities at 20%, Jeff Klare, CEO of Hire Disability Solutions, a national leader in increasing employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities, will undertake a 300 mile bike ride from New York to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of the need for greater corporate hiring of workers with disabilities.
Read the rest of "New York to Washington Bike Ride Planned to Promote Hiring of Workers With Disabilities".Posted by Michelle at 12:35 AM | Comments (0)
July 22, 2006
Putting petals to the metal
The traditional yellow cab will get some flower power - and kid power - this fall as part of a citywide art project, Mayor Bloomberg announced yesterday.
Supersize floral decals painted by city children will adorn the hoods, rooftop signs and trunks of thousands of taxis in honor of the centennial of the first metered cab...
Hailed as one of the city's largest volunteer efforts, the Garden in Transit project will run from September to December 2007. The vibrant floral designs will be paid for by private donations through Portraits of Hope, a community arts program.
Read the rest of "Putting petals to the metal".Posted by Michelle at 01:10 AM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2006
Older residents hit hard by heat wave
There are about 1 million residents in assisted living and adult care homes across the country, according to the National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing Home Reform. While these residents are typically not as frail as those living in nursing homes, they represent an elderly and often disabled population who are taking medications that make them sensitive to heat.
"Their sensors are different. Older people might wrap themselves in a sweater and not realize they're overheating," said Cynthia Rudder, spokeswoman for the New York City-based Long Term Care Community Coalition.
Read the rest of "Older residents hit hard by heat wave".Posted by Michelle at 01:36 AM | Comments (0)
July 07, 2006
The Disability Gap
Nationwide, under 2% of students have learning disabilities severe enough to qualify for extra time on the SAT. In private school Manhattan, the percentage is substantially greater. And that means dramatically higher scores.
Read the rest of "The Disability Gap".Posted by Michelle at 11:10 AM | Comments (0)
Hearts, homes open for vets: N.Y.C. hails 'wounded warriors'
Some 40 disabled vets from Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington and their families will arrive today to a heroes' welcome in New York City.
The heart of the visit will be lessons in various water sports - from scuba to water skiing - all adapted for their injuries.
The soldiers will get an FDNY and NYPD escort as they cross into the city this evening.
Read the rest of "Hearts, homes open for vets: N.Y.C. hails 'wounded warriors'".Posted by Michelle at 10:59 AM | Comments (0)
July 06, 2006
NYC's 10 Worst Landlords: Mark Hersh
Generations of tenants tell similar stories about Mark Hersh: They've seen him threaten tenants with a baseball bat and sometimes beat them with it. One former tenant says he was the victim of such a beating in 1992. Some say he refused to accept their rent then evicted them for not paying. According to affidavits he takes money from the welfare checks of his disabled tenants in exchange for cashing them. They tell of squalid conditions, tenants begging him for repairs that never get made, and a lack of heat and hot water.
Read the rest of "NYC's 10 Worst Landlords: Mark Hersh".Posted by Michelle at 01:38 PM | Comments (0)
Disabled girl wins round on ed funds
A family whose quest for special education services was championed a decade ago by President Bill Clinton has taken their latest battle to the federal courts, where a judge gave them a temporary reprieve.
The family of Alba Somoza, 22, says she was cheated out of an education by a school system that gave her a sham diploma. She's suing the city for another two years of services, worth $400,000 a year.
Read the rest of "Disabled girl wins round on ed funds".Posted by Michelle at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
June 20, 2006
Special Ed pupils in limbo
Scores of new small high schools are shutting out special education students--a controversial practice federal authorities are now examining.
The boutique schools, highly touted by Mayor Bloomberg, are not required to enroll special education students during the school's first two years. And few are equipped for teens with wheelchairs, severely limiting the students' enrollment choices.
Ashley Anderson, an eighth-grader with cerebral palsy, said she was stunned when she flipped through the city's high school directory last fall and discovered that page after page blared "no accessibility" for wheelchairs.
Read the rest of "Special Ed pupils in limbo".Posted by Michelle at 07:17 PM | Comments (0)
June 16, 2006
Long-term care's perfect storm
Generous benefits, perverse incentives and powerful lobbies have made New York's long-term care system the most costly in the nation, says Crain's New York Business.
Long-term care, including nursing home services and home health and personal care, consumed $16 billion in 2004. The price tag -- which comes to $833.37 per capita, or two-and-a-half times the U.S. average -- swelled 23 percent over 2000 levels.
"If there's a state that's doing everything wrong, New York is probably it," says Devon Herrick, a senior fellow with the National Center for Policy Analysis in Dallas, which this year published a harsh critique of New York's Medicaid system.
Read the rest of "Long-term care's perfect storm".Posted by Michelle at 07:48 PM | Comments (0)
June 14, 2006
Seniors Moving Out of Nursing Home System
Around the country, nursing homes - once consider life's final stop - are experiencing a growing number of residents who are packing up and moving out, as more and more seniors receive the help they need through home care or in assisted living settings.
The New York State Health Department, which estimates that caring for seniors in home and community settings can cost up to half as much as nursing homes, is responding to the trend: State officials hope to get a federal waiver this summer that will let up to 5,000 elderly and disabled nursing home residents on Medicaid get the same care elsewhere.
Read the rest of "Seniors Moving Out of Nursing Home System".Posted by Michelle at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
April 21, 2006
Disabled in Action and Duane Reade Reach Agreement on Accessibility of Stores to Persons With Disabilities
Disabled in Action (DIA) of Metropolitan New York, several individual plaintiffs and Duane Reade Holdings, Inc. today announced that they have reached an agreement on measures to ensure that Duane Reade stores are accessible to people with mobility disabilities. The agreement is the culmination of five years of negotiations and legal action brought under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and related accessibility laws.
Read the rest of "Disabled in Action and Duane Reade Reach Agreement on Accessibility of Stores to Persons With Disabilities".Posted by Michelle at 12:56 PM | Comments (0)
Judge says NYC program unfairly penalized disabled
A city program that was supposed to offer extra help to welfare recipients with physical or mental disabilities became a logistical nightmare for some of them, a federal judge said.
U.S. District Judge Laura Taylor Swain ruled late Wednesday that New York's WeCARE program also unfairly discriminated against disabled people by forcing them stop using regular neighborhood welfare offices and travel instead to one of three special "disabled only" service centers.
Read the rest of "Judge says NYC program unfairly penalized disabled".Posted by Michelle at 12:52 PM | Comments (0)
April 20, 2006
Learning to Savor a Full Life, Love Life Included
A generation ago, young adults like Ms. Graham and Mr. Ruvolo were generally confined to institutions, with no expectation of a normal life. All that changed in 1975, when a court order closed the notorious Willowbrook State School on Staten Island and moved its residents, and others like them across the country, into community settings to live as fully as their limitations allowed.
That could include attending neighborhood schools and holding salaried jobs. Now many men and women in their 20's and 30's, encouraged from childhood to be independent, expect the same when it comes to expressing their romantic and sexual needs.
Read the rest of "Learning to Savor a Full Life, Love Life Included".Posted by Michelle at 11:44 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2006
New Fees And Charges In Projects Finalized By Housing Authority
The New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) has notified residents at its 344 developments that it is implementing a final schedule of proposed fees and charges that will offer substantial discounts to 82% of residents; elderly, disabled as well as residents who pay less than ceiling rent.
Read the rest of "New Fees And Charges In Projects Finalized By Housing Authority".Posted by Michelle at 01:08 AM | Comments (0)
Catching up with playwright David Marshall Grant
Among successful stage and TV actors, David Marshall Grant is a breed apart. After playing the gay character Russell on the 1980s prime-time TV soap "Thirtysomething" and then lawyer Joe Pitt in Tony Kushner's "Angels in America," he shifted creative gears and assumed the role of respected playwright. In 1998, he began his writing career Downtown with the Off-Broadway play "Snakebit," which played in the West Village before being transferred to a more commercial run at the Century Theater in Union Square in 1999. His equally successful "Current Events" followed at the Manhattan Theater Club, and now Grant has written "Pen," a dark drama about a wheelchair-bound, domineering mother and her rebellious son living in Long Island in 1969. We caught up with Grant a few days before his new play opened at Playwrights Horizons to talk about his Downtown roots in the theater and the transition from acting to writing.
Read the rest of "Catching up with playwright David Marshall Grant".Posted by Michelle at 01:03 AM | Comments (0)
April 10, 2006
Not just another pretty face
Before the collapse, [Chuck Close] was big, burly and blunt. Now his 6-foot-plus frame has folded into a wheelchair, but there is added buoyancy to his spirit, coming from having faced a near-death experience and rebounded. His work was on a successful trajectory before the paralysis. But even with extreme limitation of movement, Close was able to pick up and move on with almost no discernible difference in the quality or quantity of his output. He has said in the past that not painting was never an option; that if he had to, he would spit the paint on the canvas.
...Close does not rely on a traditional painterly style of portraiture. He divides his canvas into a grid, giving each square an initial color that will have little or nothing to do with the final colors. Then he begins painting in the upper left hand corner, moving from left to right, top to bottom, chewing off a row at a time, like a mechanical typewriter. A mechanism installed in his New York City studio moves the large canvases up through a slot in the floor as he finishes each row so he is always eye-level with the row to be painted. Working each square one at a time is like painting thousands of individual abstract paintings, and he feels slightly celebratory, he says, when each is finished.
Read the rest of "Not just another pretty face".Posted by Michelle at 04:17 PM | Comments (0)
April 04, 2006
Architects Maul Eerie River Ruin
Now, the Roosevelt Island Visual Arts Association with Coler-Goldwater Hospital asked designers to breathe new life into the site that was once dubbed Welfare Island.
The presentations that make up "Southpoint: from Ruin to Rejuvenation" featured work from young architects from around the world, but 28 of the entries came from New Yorkers.
The entrants not only had to come up with a multi-use arts facility on Roosevelt Island, but also come up with a plan that would be useful to the high number of disabled residents of adjacent Coler-Goldwater Hospital.
Read the rest of "Architects Maul Eerie River Ruin".Posted by Michelle at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)
March 27, 2006
Web site links docs and social services
The Children's Advocacy Project, a one-stop resource, helps doctors quickly meet patients' nonmedical needs.
Read the rest of "Web site links docs and social services".Posted by Michelle at 11:29 PM | Comments (0)
Adventures for everyone: Barrier-free treasures are found everywhere
Here are 10 diverse wheelchair-accessible destinations across America. They may not be the top 10, but they certainly are barrier-free (Hope) diamonds in the rough:
Brooklyn Bridge
What American landmark could be more iconic than the Brooklyn Bridge? And what could be more exhilarating for a disabled visitor than to learn that the pedestrian pathway is 100 percent barrier-free?
The moment you start the ascent up the pedestrian path (above the parts for trains and cars), your heart skips a beat. One could traverse John Roebling's steel cable suspension bridge a thousand times and discover something new every 1,600-foot journey. Rolling west into Manhattan an hour before sunset, one can gaze north for dazzling perspectives of the Chrysler and Empire State buildings illuminated by the low-hanging sun. The fellow walkers on the 1883 masterpiece are pure New York street theater -- fat, skinny, loud, private, friendly, hurried, strange, local, immigrant, tourist, banker, pauper.
Read the rest of "Adventures for everyone: Barrier-free treasures are found everywhere".Posted by Michelle at 01:07 AM | Comments (0)
Speak of the Devil
New York private eye Fritz Malone is a tough guy who gets it exactly right as the hero of Richard Hawke's amazing thriller, Speak of the Devil.
The book opens with a literal bang at Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, when a shooter guns down people, apparently at random. Malone, who was just out for bagels, tries to help. This pulls him into an intriguing plot of corrupt cops, hostages, extortion and escalating violence. Much of the novel's appeal stems from Malone's story: the illegitimate son of the former police commissioner, dating the daughter of his former partner, a man who is now disabled but still a mentor. Hawke's dialogue is sharp and snappy and the plot moves with all the energy of New York City.
Posted by Michelle at 12:46 AM | Comments (0)
March 25, 2006
Students help disabled athletes
The NYU School of Medicine will host a benefit basketball tournament for New York City Regional Special Olympics participants on Sunday, April 2 at Coles Sports Center.
The tournament is the second annual athletic benefit sponsored by NYU and the Special Olympics, and will take place from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Last year's track and field meet at Riverbank State Park drew 70 athletes and 150 volunteers, Special Olympics Director of Development Laurie Kennedy said in a letter.
Read the rest of "Students help disabled athletes".Posted by Michelle at 01:45 AM | Comments (0)
March 24, 2006
Hurricane Brodsky
The Plan relies on a cumbersome two-tiered shelter system that forces residents to go to a reception center before proceeding to a shelter. A substantial amount of residents would not even follow this system, which creates significant transportation problems.
The Plan does not identify sufficient shelter space and reception areas for evacuating residents. There could be millions of New York City residents seeking shelter that are not able to obtain it.
The Plan is completely unable to evacuate special populations, such as nursing homes and hospitals. Some institutions do not have any weather-related evacuation plans in place and those that do have plans are inadequate.
...Assemblyman Brodsky said, "Hurricane Katrina was a wake-up call to remind us of how truly vulnerable we are, especially the poor, the disabled, and minority communities. Experts have recently stated that the Northeast is due a major hurricane in the near future and the City is simply not prepared. I'm glad the City has begun good faith efforts to improve the plan, but their plan will not protect the health, safety and property of the residents of New York."
Read the rest of "Hurricane Brodsky".Posted by Michelle at 12:16 AM | Comments (0)
March 22, 2006
Stairways to Nowhere: Handicapped subway riders suffer from too-little access
For hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers, the impossibility of navigating the city’s subway system is an all-too familiar experience. While 11 percent of the system’s stations are wheelchair accessible, repairs and rerouting make the system torturous for the disabled—like poor Charlie riding the MTA in the old song, they can get on but not off. And there is no magic wand in sight: the MTA’s capital budget calls for an expenditure of $192 million for wheelchair accessibility in the 2005-2009 fiscal period, which will create only 15 more handicapped-accessible subway stations.
...Even die-hard advocates for the disabled, such as Michael Harris, campaign coordinator for the Disabled Riders Coalition, acknowledge the difficulties the MTA is facing. “Every elevator must be custom built,” he says, a situation arising from the unpredictable architecture of the stations, and the fact the builders never anticipated that elevators would be retro-fitted a century later. Harris, who is wheelchair-bound himself, describes the process by which the MTA started on the road to handicapped accessibility as a long one. Initially, the Eastern Paralyzed Veterans filed suit against the MTA in 1979. A consent decree issued in 1984 mandated that a hundred key stations be handicapped-accessible by 2020.
Read the rest of "Stairways to Nowhere: Handicapped subway riders suffer from too-little access".Posted by Michelle at 10:32 PM | Comments (0)
March 20, 2006
Bloomberg brake on escape lift
An Israeli company promoting an escape apparatus for high-rise disasters has run into high-level resistance from Mayor Bloomberg.
The escape and rescue apparatus consists of five collapsible, fireproof "cabins" that are lowered chainlike down the exterior of a building from a rooftop anchorage and storage.
The escape system would be a backup if elevators and stairwells are knocked out. Each cabin can hold up to 30 people, who would enter through designated escape windows fitted with ramps for the disabled.
Read the rest of "Bloomberg brake on escape lift".Posted by Michelle at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)
March 17, 2006
Eye Doc Guilty Of False Claims For Services To Disabled
A former ophthalmologist has agreed to pay $1,015,817 to resolve both civil fraud charges and a remaining criminal restitution obligation to the United States based on his filing false statements with Medicare to obtain reimbursement to which he was not entitled.
According to the civil complaint and superseding indictment, Shaul Debbi's medical practice consisted of treating patients in adult homes in New York City and Long Island. These adult homes are long-term residential facilities housing individuals who suffer from various disabilities, including mental and emotional disabilities. Both the civil complaint and superseding indictment charge that Debbi submitted false claims to Medicare for ophthamological services he purportedly provided to the residents of the adult homes, and that Debbi also arranged for a physician's assistant he employed to examine residents in the adult homes when Debbi was not there. It's further charged that he subsequently billed Medicare for services provided by the physician's assistant as if Debbi himself had performed the services.
Read the rest of "Eye Doc Guilty Of False Claims For Services To Disabled".Posted by Michelle at 02:43 PM | Comments (0)
Urban legends and JWOD: Know the facts on how procurement program serves you
Everyone knows that there are alligators in New York City’s storm drains. And that Elvis hangs out at 7-Eleven stores. And I’m sure the federal procurement community knows all kinds of stories about the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD) Program, through which agencies are required to buy products and services from nonprofit organizations that employ people who are blind or have other severe disabilities. The stories federal procurement officials hear, like all urban legends, have been passed down from contracting officer to contracting officer over the past 60 years--and have no basis in fact.
Read the rest of "Urban legends and JWOD: Know the facts on how procurement program serves you".Posted by Michelle at 02:31 PM | Comments (0)
March 08, 2006
Actress, advocate Dana Reeve, 44, dies
Reeve, who never smoked, announced in August that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer. While the disease often is lethal, Reeve's death at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Medical Center in Manhattan on Monday night still seemed sudden and shocking. Only two months ago, she belted out Carole King's "Now and Forever" to a teary-eyed Madison Square Garden crowd at a ceremony honoring New York Ranger great Mark Messier.
Read the rest of "Actress, advocate Dana Reeve, 44, dies".Posted by Michelle at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)
March 05, 2006
Bus Lines Cited in Federal Probe
In a recent sweep of 14 bus companies that operate in the busy Washington-New York-Boston corridor, investigators found that 11 carriers had violated the federal law that guarantees interstate service to disabled passengers, according to government officials.
The alleged violations are being probed by the Justice Department, which enforces the Americans with Disabilities Act, officials said. The ADA requires, for example, that large carriers -- with annual revenue of $7.2 million or more -- outfit at least some of their buses with wheelchair lifts. Disabled passengers must give smaller bus lines 48 hours' notice, but the carriers must find a way to accommodate them.
Read the rest of "Bus Lines Cited in Federal Probe".Posted by Michelle at 12:18 AM | Comments (0)
March 03, 2006
Tenants hit roof on fee hikes
Angry tenants of New York City Housing Authority buildings are saying fee hikes for repairs and utilities will be an unfair burden to seniors and the disabled.
Read the rest of "Tenants hit roof on fee hikes".Posted by Michelle at 05:53 PM | Comments (0)
'Pyretown's' themes go beyond the disability
Belluso's "Pyretown," that begins performances tonight in the Studio Theatre at City Theatre is a two-character drama about the relationship that forms between Harry, a young man who uses a wheelchair, and a Louise, 39-year old woman who is struggling to raise her children after separating from her abusive husband.
"He would always have loved to have (Harry) done by someone in a wheelchair. But he was accepting that it could be done by a walking actor," Rodriguez says. "John could have written roles that Toby could play."
Unfortunately, Belluso did not live long enough to see Forrest play the role. The playwright, 36, died Feb. 10 in Manhattan where he was working on "The Poor Itch," a play commissioned by New York's Public Theater.
Read the rest of "'Pyretown's' themes go beyond the disability".Posted by Michelle at 05:50 PM | Comments (0)
February 25, 2006
Marymount Manhattan College Hosts Fourth Annual "Bound for Broadway" to Benefit Christopher Reeve Foundation
The student cabaret show "Bound for Broadway" will return to Marymount Manhattan College for the fourth year on Thursday, March 16. The event, which has become a popular annual tradition at MMC and is sponsored by Student Theatre at Marymount (STAM), will showcase the performances of musical theatre students and include a raffle and a catered dinner.
All proceeds from "Bound for Broadway" will go to the Christopher Reeve Foundation, which is committed to finding treatments and cures for paralysis caused by spinal cord injury and other neurological disorders, and improving the quality of life for people living with disabilities.
..."Bound for Broadway" will take place Thursday, March 16th, at 6:00 PM in the Regina Peruggi Room (Marymount Manhattan College, 221 East 71st Street). The evening includes a catered dinner, the program, and a raffle. Ticket cost $8 in advance, and $10 at the door. All proceeds go to the Christopher Reeve Foundation. Photos and video of the event will be available by request. Please contact the event coordinator, Sarah Galli (sgalli@mmm.edu, 401.864.8962) for more information about the event. For more information on the Christopher Reeve Foundation, visit www.ChristopherReeve.org.
Read the rest of "Marymount Manhattan College Hosts Fourth Annual "Bound for Broadway" to Benefit Christopher Reeve Foundation".Posted by Michelle at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)
Group home accidents leave many questions
The slaying is among the most recent of several deaths and violent incidents at group homes for the mentally ill and developmentally disabled on Long Island and in New York City. While advocates for the population cringe at potential stereotyping of the residents stemming from these occurrences, others wonder if more effective supervision--higher numbers of better trained staffers--is needed.
Read the rest of "Group home accidents leave many questions".Posted by Michelle at 02:41 AM | Comments (0)
February 24, 2006
Kushner, Eustis, Shinn to Speak at Feb. 28 John Belluso Memorial
There will also be a presentation of scenes from Belluso's past work including The Body of Bourne featuring Clark Middleton; Pyretown, which was seen Off-Broadway in 2005; and Gretty Good Time featuring Anita Hollander. All three will be directed by Lisa Peterson.
The memorial will be held at 7 PM Feb. 27 at the Public Theater. It will be open to the general public.
Read the rest of "Kushner, Eustis, Shinn to Speak at Feb. 28 John Belluso Memorial".Posted by Michelle at 01:29 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2006
Big Queasy in Coney: Pols seek aid to shore up coastal areas
They also said the city's Office of Emergency Management needs to work harder to warn New Yorkers of hurricane dangers, keep track of the elderly and disabled and help them evacuate from low-lying areas if a hurricane is poised to strike.
Read the rest of "Big Queasy in Coney: Pols seek aid to shore up coastal areas".Posted by Michelle at 02:42 AM | Comments (0)
February 21, 2006
Disabled preschoolers will now be bused by city's Ed. Dept.
A year after eight developmentally disabled children were pulled out of a burning bus on their way to school, the city announced its Department of Education would assume the job of busing children in pre-kindergarten and early intervention programs.
Read the rest of "Disabled preschoolers will now be bused by city's Ed. Dept.".Posted by Michelle at 03:04 AM | Comments (0)
City thwarts high-rise escape device
The team came up with a potentially lifesaving solution: a $1 million escape device with expandable cabins that could be lowered like lifeboats outside a high-rise in distress. A prototype tested in Tel Aviv won praise from politicians, public safety experts and the landlord of a midtown Manhattan skyscraper who offered his property for a pilot program.
That was before Shimshoni received a discouraging letter dated Feb. 6 from the city's Office of Emergency Management. In short, he was told the project was unworthy of the necessary building permits.
The decision was a blow to Shimshoni's company, Escape Rescue Systems. But the CEO--a 55-year-old former Israeli military officer with a public policy doctorate from Princeton University--insists it wasn't fatal.
...Shimshoni also has the backing of handicapped advocacy groups which believe his system would improve the chances of survival for disabled people. And he's received letters of endorsement from city council members, including Yvette Clarke, who chairs the council committee on fire services and checked out the prototype on a trip to Israel.
Read the rest of "City thwarts high-rise escape device".Posted by Michelle at 01:02 AM | Comments (0)
Manhattan Borough President Proposes 311 Medicare Help Plan
In an effort to help seniors better understand the new Medicare prescription plan Manhattan's Borough President wants the city to create a special 311 response team.
Many seniors and disabled people who use the plan - which took effect last month - say it's too complicated. Scott Stringer says the city can fix that, and he's taking a cue from Maryland.
Read the rest of "Manhattan Borough President Proposes 311 Medicare Help Plan".Posted by Michelle at 12:52 AM | Comments (0)
February 17, 2006
Cabby bias is flagging
New York cabbies are increasingly color-blind, new city statistics show.
Just 3% of hacks failed to stop last year for a person of color or a disabled passenger, or rejected a passenger based on destination, according to results from hundreds of undercover tests carried out by officers from the Taxi and Limousine Commission.
Read the rest of "Cabby bias is flagging".Posted by Michelle at 01:40 AM | Comments (0)
February 16, 2006
Bush Proposes Housing Cuts: 2007 Budget to Reduce Funding For Homes of Disabled, Seniors
President George W. Bush issued his budget for the 2007 fiscal year last week, prompting angry reactions from New York politicians who say it cuts too heavily into vital housing services.
Under the president's proposal, Community Development Block Grants, a federal program which provides housing funds for state governments, entitlement communities, and loan guarantees, would be cut by $736 million, or 20 percent. Funding for housing for the elderly would drop $189 million, or 26 percent, while funding for housing for persons with disabilities would be cut in half. Public housing would be slashed overall by eight percent, a total of $459 million.
Read the rest of "Bush Proposes Housing Cuts: 2007 Budget to Reduce Funding For Homes of Disabled, Seniors".Posted by Michelle at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
February 14, 2006
Rising Playwright John Belluso Is Dead at 36
John Belluso, a rising playwright whose works were staged with increasing frequency in recent seasons, died Feb. 10, his agent Patrick Herold said. He was found in his hotel room in New York City. The cause of death was not immediately known. He was 36.
Mr. Belluso was confined to a wheelchair, and many of his plays featured a disabled character. In Henry Flamethrowa, seen Off-Broadway at Studio Dante in May 2005, a teenager reveals his plans to disconnect his comatose younger sister Lilja from her breathing ventilator and allow her to die. Pyretown, staged by the Keen Company Off-Broadway in January 2005, concerned an unlikely love affair between a young man in a wheelchair and a middle-aged single mom.
Read the rest of "Rising Playwright John Belluso Is Dead at 36".Posted by Michelle at 01:18 PM | Comments (0)
Getting a break on cost of home: Affordable housing demand skyrocketing
So, how will the winners in the affordable housing sweepstakes at 521 W. 42nd St. be chosen? The same way they're picked for housing financed through city programs: through a lottery process, in this case run by Atlantic Development Group and overseen by the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.
As part of that process, 50% of units are awarded to applicants from within the area covered by the building's community board--which is Manhattan's Community Board 4. An additional 5% preference goes to municipal workers and another 5% preference is given to the disabled, Coleman reported.
[Editor's note: For more information on affordable housing, see our Housing and Independent Living section.)
Read the rest of "Getting a break on cost of home: Affordable housing demand skyrocketing".Posted by Michelle at 12:47 PM | Comments (0)
Some mentally disabled learn dating skills
Zachary Lewis is looking for a date with a "positive attitude." Josh Wolf would like to spend time with someone "polite and friendly." Zaheer Malik wants a girlfriend who is "not too serious and not too silly, but in between."
All three are learning about dating and relationships as part of "You and I," a program for young adults who are retarded or autistic or have other mental disabilities.
..."You and I" is aimed at twenty-somethings who live with their parents in New York City and "are falling through the cracks. ... There's just no social outlet for them at all," says Fyne, who started her first group in 1999.
..."You and I" is run by the YAI/National Institute for People with Disabilities Network, which serves more than 20,000 people. The free program is funded by a state grant.
Read the rest of "Some mentally disabled learn dating skills".Posted by Michelle at 12:40 PM | Comments (0)
February 12, 2006
Tutor Program Offered by Law Is Going Unused
Some of the latest available data gives a clear picture that some of the country's vulnerable students are among those not being served: in New York City, for instance, about 9,000 of approximately 22,000 children with disabilities who were eligible for tutoring enrolled for help last year. Among students with limited English, about half the 40,000 eligible were being tutored.
Read the rest of "Tutor Program Offered by Law Is Going Unused".Posted by Michelle at 06:36 PM | Comments (0)
February 11, 2006
Change in attitudes toward disabled people called for
Heumann began taking major steps toward rights for people with disabilities in college; she organized rallies and protests with other students with disabilities. When Heumann got out of school and was denied her New York teaching license because the board did not believe she could get herself or her students out of the building in case of a fire, she took the case to court.
After the judge suggested that New York City’s Board of Education rethink its decision, Heumann became the first person in a wheelchair to teach in New York City.
Read the rest of "Change in attitudes toward disabled people called for".Posted by Michelle at 12:44 AM | Comments (0)
February 09, 2006
Disabled, and Shut Out at the Gym
Getting fit might soon become easier for the 49.7 million Americans who a 2000 Census Bureau estimate said are blind, in wheelchairs or otherwise physically or mentally impaired. New equipment is being designed for them. A handful of new gyms are going out of their way to assist them with wheelchair-accessible equipment.
...No chain of gyms does a lot to accommodate the disabled, said Amy E. Rauworth, an associate director of the Center on Physical Activity and Disability, adding that it is not because of discrimination but because the gyms are unaware of the issues. Still, some gyms are making small efforts. Chains like Crunch, New York Sports Club and 24 Hour Fitness say they welcome guide dogs and allow aides in for free. Many branches of Bally Total Fitness have arm cycles, which let members break a sweat without using their legs, and machines with removable seats.
...A few gyms try to attract disabled members. Asphalt Green has a 50-meter pool with wheelchair lifts, and a seven-foot-deep exercise pool with a floor that rises to ground level and then lowers the user into water. Twice a week, Kenny Diaz, 39, who has cerebral palsy, lifts weights on his own and swims with an aide's help in the pool. People think the "disabled can't do anything," he said. "They're wrong."
Read the rest of "Disabled, and Shut Out at the Gym".Posted by Michelle at 04:41 PM | Comments (0)
February 08, 2006
Budget cuts outdo adds for NY
President George W. Bush's $2.77 trillion budget proposal ups overall spending slightly to account for the war on terror, while an array of programs used by scores of middle- and working-class New Yorkers suffers significant cuts.
The president's spending plan, which projects a record $423 billion deficit, was roundly criticized by local lawmakers and social service providers because the proposed cuts would cripple a wide swath of programs from student loans to law enforcement efforts to health care services for the elderly and disabled.
Read the rest of "Budget cuts outdo adds for NY".Posted by Michelle at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)
Achilles helps athletes stay active
The Achilles Track Club was founded in New York City in 1983 by Dick Traum, an above-the-knee amputee. On his board of directors is Trisha Meili, the Central Park jogger who was attacked, beaten and left for dead in 1989.
She survived and as part of her rehab got involved with the Achilles Track Club.
Meili wrote a book, "I am the Central Park Jogger: A Story of Hope and Possibility".
Posted by Michelle at 05:57 PM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2006
Five First Steps At The City Council
Advocates for the disabled are outraged that a bill to make New York City's taxi fleet accessible to those who use wheelchairs--currently, less than one percent of the taxis are--has not even made it to the floor for a vote.
Read the rest of "Five First Steps At The City Council".Posted by Michelle at 12:54 PM | Comments (0)
January 30, 2006
Weiner: Congress Shortchanged Schools by More Than $2B
In the four years since the federal No Child Left Behind Act was signed, President Bush and Congress have sent New York City schools about $2 billion less than they promised, Rep. Anthony Weiner charged yesterday.
Read the rest of "Weiner: Congress Shortchanged Schools by More Than $2B".Posted by Michelle at 04:18 PM | Comments (0)
January 29, 2006
Three Who Work Tirelessly to Help Poorest New Yorkers
When Jackie Ebron, Lynette Loadholt and Denise Eugene go to work in the morning, their paths never cross. But their paths do run parallel in many respects. All three women, dedicated to social work, are employed by social service agencies that are among the seven beneficiaries of The New York Times Neediest Cases Fund. In their different roles, they all spend many hours assisting the city's poorest residents: recent immigrants, newly unemployed or working poor people and medically fragile, physically or mentally disabled children and adults.
Read the rest of "Three Who Work Tirelessly to Help Poorest New Yorkers".Posted by Michelle at 05:27 PM | Comments (0)
Food for Thought: New study looks at why New Yorkers aren't getting the food stamps they deserve.
Working New Yorkers eligible for food stamps are often deterred from the program by bureaucratic hurdles, according to a new report from the Urban Justice Center. Researchers examined 1,500 enrollment records from the Human Resources Administration (HRA), the city's welfare agency, and interviewed a random sample of these clients to investigate why they weren't accessing the support. They found that working families often fail to sign up for the program because they can't take time off to apply for benefits, a process that requires one or more in-person office visits. The resulting report, "A Better Recipe for New York City: Less Red Tape, More Food on the Table," urges greater flexibility. HRA could, for example, greatly increase access by extending office hours and allowing more people to conduct eligibility interviews over the phone, an option that's now available only to the elderly and disabled.
Read the rest of "Food for Thought: New study looks at why New Yorkers aren't getting the food stamps they deserve.".Posted by Michelle at 05:22 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2006
Skiing program for disabled children a hit at Camelback
Thursday saw the skiers racing slalom style before an awards banquet that evening. Many of the campers came through The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, said Bohn. Others came from hospitals in New York City or through the Amputee Coalition of America.
Read the rest of "Skiing program for disabled children a hit at Camelback".Posted by Michelle at 05:35 PM | Comments (0)
January 26, 2006
Homelessness on the rise in New York - report
Overcrowded service shelters, exorbitant cost of housing and cutbacks in government housing assistance are being blamed for the rise of homelessness.
The group's report outlines several suggestions for fixing the problem including a suspension of a reduction in the rent supplement for formerly homeless families. They also recommend making it easier for the working poor and disabled to work while still receiving aid.
Read the rest of "Homelessness on the rise in New York - report".Posted by Michelle at 12:42 AM | Comments (0)
Housing Court: Should Tenants Have A Guaranteed Right To Counsel?
Lawyer-less litigants are generally intimidated by the maze of housing court, a court that even many lawyers have difficulty figuring out. Some conference participants urged Housing Courts judges to be more protective of tenants, especially the most vulnerable, the disabled, the impaired, the aged.
Read the rest of "Housing Court: Should Tenants Have A Guaranteed Right To Counsel?".Posted by Michelle at 12:34 AM | Comments (0)
January 22, 2006
Donations sought to aid wounded
The Intrepid Fallen Heroes Fund, a nonprofit organization based in New York City, hopes to raise $35 million to build a physical rehabilitation and burn treatment facility for wounded veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.
The organization needs roughly $10 million to get the job done. Construction began Sept. 22, 2005, and is under way still.
Read the rest of "Donations sought to aid wounded".Posted by Michelle at 12:10 AM | Comments (0)
January 15, 2006
Healthcare Workers Protest
1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will hold a march and rally for home health aides. Demands include: a living wage, health insurance and access to education for the aides.
Begins at West 110th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.; ends at State Office Building on 125th Street at Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.
10:00AM-12:00AM
Posted by Michelle at 11:01 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2006
Claire Danes Gets Her So-Called Shot
This fall, Ms. Danes was able to revisit her early love of dance when she appeared at Performance Space 122 in a solo piece choreographed by Tamar Rogoff. The performance, titled "Christina Olson: American Model," was inspired by Andrew Wyeth's painting "Christina's World," in which a young disabled girl, lying on her side in a desolate field, turns toward a house in the distance. Ms. Danes laughingly described filming a video segment used in the piece, in which she dragged herself across East 10th Street on one hip, in the famous posture captured in that painting: "Nobody looked. It's kind of an incredible piece of footage, because everybody was entirely unfazed at some scrawny white girl, you know, dragging herself across the street. And I thought, O.K., I'm playing it way too safe. So I'm getting a lot less squeamish."
Read the rest of "Claire Danes Gets Her So-Called Shot".Posted by Michelle at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)
January 03, 2006
Success, struggle mark beginning of Medicare drug plan
In Brooklyn, N.Y., Seth Kaplan, a 36-year-old disabled Medicare recipient, reported a different experience. He said he had struggled unsuccessfully to get his drug plan to pay for his asthma medication. He said that he and his pharmacist had spent two hours on the phone with the insurer, WellCare, and that he eventually had to pay for the drug with his credit card, at a cost of $191.
Read the rest of "Success, struggle mark beginning of Medicare drug plan".Posted by Michelle at 05:40 PM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2006
Theater sessions
Based in New York City, NTWH [National Theatre Workshop of the Handicapped] purchased Belfast's [Maine] former Crosby High School in 1997 and spent more than $1 million renovating the building to house students and create several theaters, classrooms and lounges.
Each summer, disabled adults have been a part of the downtown scene in Belfast, but the school was virtually empty and quiet through the summers of 2004 and 2005 as NTWH grappled with a financial crisis. A bank foreclosed on the Crosby building and other NTWH properties in Belfast, but the organization was able to raise funds to save the school.
Read the rest of "Theater sessions".Posted by Michelle at 04:14 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "NYC Schools Chancellor Accepting E-mails".Posted by Michelle at 01:24 AM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "Housing That Has a Profit and a Social Motive".Posted by Michelle at 07:07 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "Gifts For The Disabled: Accessibility To The Arts".Posted by Michelle at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2005
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.
Read the rest of "Health Officials Worry of Diminishing Quality of Care if Transit Strike Persists".Posted by Michelle at 12:30 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "Stakes Rise In NYC Transit Strike".Posted by Michelle at 12:28 PM | Comments (0)
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?]
Read the rest of "City Council Stated Meeting - December 21, 2005".Posted by Michelle at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
December 19, 2005
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.
Read the rest of "Hard news, easy listening".Posted by Michelle at 10:17 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "With Help, Disabled Student Stays Independent and on Track for a Degree".Posted by Michelle at 11:11 PM | Comments (0)
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."
Read the rest of "A Dream Is Dashed, but the Signs Are Positive".Posted by Michelle at 11:02 PM | Comments (0)
December 14, 2005
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.
Read the rest of "Transit Strike Contingency Plans".Posted by Michelle at 11:51 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "The Big Chill".Posted by Michelle at 06:03 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "On-air exploits create a buzz".Posted by Michelle at 05:31 PM | Comments (0)
December 09, 2005
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.
Read the rest of "Transit Authority".Posted by Michelle at 05:00 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "Ex-cop with AIDS sues city".Posted by Michelle at 04:38 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
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.
Read the rest of "Jen Chapin headlines 25th annual Lennon Tribute".Posted by Michelle at 06:04 PM | Comments (0)
December 07, 2005
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.
Posted by Michelle at 07:43 PM | Comments (0)
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.
Read the rest of "City Probes $20 Million Deal on Shelter".Posted by Michelle at 07:18 PM | Comments (0)
November 30, 2005
Learning-Disabled Students Blossom in Blended Classes
This collaborative team teaching model--pairing a general ed and special ed teacher in a classroom that is up to 40 percent special ed children--is considered one of the best hopes for mainstreaming more handicapped children. In New York City, about 12,500 special ed students--nearly 10 per cent of the special ed population--now attend these classes.
Read the rest of "Learning-Disabled Students Blossom in Blended Classes".Posted by Michelle at 08:18 PM | Comments (0)
November 25, 2005
Ride Half-Price Into The New Year With MTA Holiday Bonus
The Metropolitan Transit Authority wants to bring a little holiday cheer to its seven million daily riders, with half fares, bonus days, and other specials from Thanksgiving Day through New Year's Day.
Starting with the four-day Thanksgiving weekend and for every weekend through the new year, riders will pay half fare on the subway and buses. This $1 per ride rate will also extend the entire week of Christmas, December 24th to January 1st.
All senior citizens and disabled citizens who already qualify for reduced rates will get an additional rate decrease. Reduced fares will be slashed to 50 cents per ride during the holiday weekends. Half rates also apply on Access-A-Ride.
Read the rest of "Ride Half-Price Into The New Year With MTA Holiday Bonus".Posted by Michelle at 01:40 AM | Comments (0)
November 24, 2005
PJC Student Competes in New York City Marathon
On July 13, 2000, PJC student Chris Lynch fell 2 ½ stories during a combat training exercise in France with the U.S. 82nd Airborne division and suffered a massive brain injury. He lay in a coma for 45 days and doctors believed he would never talk or move again. Five years later, his impenetrable determination, contagious positive attitude and optimistic spirit led him to the finish line of the New York City Marathon.
Read the rest of "PJC Student Competes in New York City Marathon".Posted by Michelle at 02:03 PM | Comments (0)
November 22, 2005
A Warning to Applicants for Social Security Disability Benefits
The Social Security Administration has adopted a policy of taking unnecessary SSI Disability applications from every applicant for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits -- despite the fact that many applicants are clearly ineligible.
Read the rest of "A Warning to Applicants for Social Security Disability Benefits".Posted by Michelle at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2005
UCP of New York City presents TechWorksExpo 2005
The goal is to provide a forum for participants to learn about the latest technology, practical applications, services and funding available to individuals with disabilities. To register, call 212-683-6700 ext. 226. Further information can be obtained at www.ucpnyc.org.
November 29-30, 2005
NY Marriott at the Brooklyn Bridge
333 Adams St.
Brooklyn, NY
Posted by Michelle at 07:19 PM | Comments (0)
November 18, 2005
The Yellow Taxi Goes Green
As an integral part of the public transportation system, taxis provide limited travel for both the disabled and those with children. With more than 12,000 cabs in New York only twelve are wheelchair-accessible. CityStreets, an advocacy group that fights for pedestrians' rights, developed the CABsule, which features sliding doors and a curbside ramp, facilitating entry and exit for the disabled, strollers, and anyone carrying large items.
Posted by Michelle at 11:59 PM | Comments (0)
November 17, 2005
Remain Calm
New York Magazine has an interesting article on New York City's emergency plans; no specific mention of what people with disabilities should do in an emergency, but important nonetheless. Everybody go find your reception center or evacuation route now.
Hospitals and nursing homes are not part of OEM's plan--they fall under state jurisdiction--and are essentially left to their own devices for evacuation. No one currently knows which facilities actually have plans or if they'd work. One city insider told me that after Katrina, Mayor Bloomberg put the state on notice about this, and the State Department of Health has now begun to step up to the plate.Read the rest of "Remain Calm".
Posted by Michelle at 12:36 AM | Comments (0)
November 11, 2005
City Announces Creation of 9,000 Housing Units for Homeless
The City and State of New York have come up with a $1 billion plan to finance and develop 9,000 new units of supportive housing in New York City. Supportive housing is subsidized permanent housing with social services for the homeless. The plan was announced by Governor George Pataki and Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Nov. 7.
...Whereas the first two agreements produced units solely for single adults with mental illness and some history of homelessness, the new pact targets a broader range of clients to better reflect the population of chronically homeless people on city streets and in shelters today. New York/New York III includes units for clients with substance abuse disorders, HIV/AIDS, and mental illness. Also included for the first time are families with disabled heads of households and young people aging out of foster care and residential treatment.
Read the rest of "City Announces Creation of 9,000 Housing Units for Homeless".Posted by Michelle at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)
November 10, 2005
Wheelchair-Bound Pakistani Participates in New York City Marathon: Sarmad el Tariq makes history and raises awareness of earthquake victims
Even as countless spectators at the New York City Marathon November 6 shouted, "Go, Sarmad, go!" Sarmad el Tariq knew that it was not about him this time. When weary runners who already had finished the grueling 42-kilometer race came back down the course to call to him, "Go! You're my inspiration!" the 29-year-old athlete knew that he was battling for more than just himself.
At the moment he crossed the finish line in his specially made wheelchair after seven-and-a-half hours, he knew he had won a great victory by raising awareness for Pakistani victims of a massive earthquake that struck October 8.
Read the rest of "Wheelchair-Bound Pakistani Participates in New York City Marathon: Sarmad el Tariq makes history and raises awareness of earthquake victims".Posted by Michelle at 01:49 AM | Comments (0)
November 09, 2005
Disabled win hearts at NYC Marathon
The New York City Marathon on Sunday featured 37,516 starters of all speeds, ages, sizes and abilities. In particular, the physically challenged runners seemed to capture the hearts of onlookers at Mile 16.
...Screams at Mile 16 were heard all day. But the loudest roars weren't for the fastest and strongest, but for the disadvantaged. Men and women elites passed by in packs and some lingered a bit behind, but all talk about them fell mute among the presence of these amazing disadvantaged athletes. The wheelchair racers came streaming down the avenue with graceful spins of their wheels. Handcycles passed intermittently with powerful pushes of their front pedals. Some were paralyzed, others were amputees.
Members of various Achilles' track clubs, organizations for runners with disabilities, passed all day sporting red T-shirts reading, "Go Achilles'." Many were assisted by runners wearing similar red T-shirts reading, "Achilles' Guide."
Read the rest of "Disabled win hearts at NYC Marathon".Posted by Michelle at 09:43 PM | Comments (0)
November 08, 2005
"Tune-up" marathon becomes big moment for Shea
The last official finisher was 24-year-old Nihal Erkan of Turkey, one of the disabled athletes who started the race at 8 a.m. and finished 10 hours later.
Read the rest of ""Tune-up" marathon becomes big moment for Shea".Posted by Michelle at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)
November 07, 2005
After a Bumpy Challenge, a Road Record and Sore Arms
[Ernst] Van Dyk, a 32-year-old South African, won the men's wheelchair race in 1 hour 31 minutes 11 seconds, a course record. He set the world record of 1:18:27 last year over the Boston Marathon's largely downhill course. He has won in Boston the last five years; this year he raced in five marathons and won them all.
This was his second marathon victory in eight days. Last Sunday he won in a field of 300 in Oita, Japan, then flew to South Africa to pick up his wife, then flew here Wednesday.
[Edith] Hunkeler, a 33-year-old Swiss, won the women's race in 1:54:52. Last year she set the course record of 1:53:27.
Read the rest of "After a Bumpy Challenge, a Road Record and Sore Arms".Posted by Michelle at 10:22 PM | Comments (0)
Polls Show NYC Mayor Crushing Underdog
"I'm feeling good," Bloomberg said, "it's been a long campaign and I'm looking forward to tomorrow."[Am I the only person who feels slightly dismayed at the thought of special shuttle services just for voting? If New York City's transit system worked for people with disabilities--if cabs and subways were accessible, buses all had working lifts, and Access-a-Ride worked properly--perhaps shuttles wouldn't be necessary. -Editor] Read the rest of "Polls Show NYC Mayor Crushing Underdog".His resource-rich campaign has even set up a hot line and shuttle service to cart voters to their polling places if they are elderly or disabled and need transportation. The shuttle service is just one part of his campaign's relentless get-out-the-vote machine, which has already reached millions of people by knocking on doors and writing letters.
Posted by Michelle at 10:10 PM | Comments (0)
November 05, 2005
'Your leg or your life', so Todd gives life his best shot
The surgeon had other news for Philpott. His right leg, jammed between the bike and bus, would have to come off. There was no debate; the choice was simple--life or leg. The surgeon went to work. For many people, the story might end there and it would still be an epic tale. But for Todd Philpott, the journey had not reached the starting line. Philpott celebrates his 48th birthday in Manhattan today defending his New York Marathon title. It's the fifth year he has taken part in the world's most prestigious road race outside the Olympics.
Read the rest of "'Your leg or your life', so Todd gives life his best shot".Posted by Michelle at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)
November 03, 2005
Disability doesn't deter local athlete
After all, to say Chris Lynch "overcame the odds" doesn't do justice to what he has accomplished since his injury. His success is one of the reasons Cheryl--5 years later--still was swollen with emotion, most of it pride-filled, as she watched her son train for, of all things, a marathon.
And not just any marathon: He's going to the famed New York City Marathon, which takes place Monday. He qualified for the event after completing the half-marathon portion of the Pensacola Marathon six months ago--his first major physical feat since his injury--in less than 1 hour and 15 minutes. He did so not by running but with a handcycle, a relatively new race division that requires the use of a bike propelled by one's arms rather than the legs.
Read the rest of "Disability doesn't deter local athlete".Posted by Michelle at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)
Disabled in New York City; Also: Is The City Still Booming?
It is the objective of those who provide services and aid to the disabled to make it easier for them to live a full life. For this reason, providing disabled New Yorkers with transportation becomes very important. Though bus-riders in wheelchairs have become a common sight, there is no other mode of transportation in the city that is as accommodating; as a result, too many disabled New Yorkers feel as if they are trapped in their homes.
Read the rest of "Disabled in New York City; Also: Is The City Still Booming?".Posted by Michelle at 06:30 PM | Comments (0)
November 02, 2005
Margaret ready to take on Big Apple
The Loftus Athletics Club athlete is travelling to America on Friday to take part in the New York City Marathon in aid of Get Kids Going, a charity that helps promote sports for disabled children by providing them with specially-built sports wheelchairs.
Read the rest of "Margaret ready to take on Big Apple".Posted by Michelle at 01:51 AM | Comments (0)
Making strides in running, and life
...And Bryant was calm on a recent evening, jogging around the Central Park reservoir, as he does every Tuesday, with about 25 other runners who participate in a program for recovering substance abusers called "Skills for Positive Change."
The concept behind the program is simple: Running becomes a metaphor for life.
"Skills for Positive Change" is run jointly by Odyssey House, a live-in drug rehab center with three main residences in New York City, and the Achilles Track Club, a nonprofit organization that creates programs for disabled runners.
Read the rest of "Making strides in running, and life".Posted by Michelle at 01:18 AM | Comments (0)
October 31, 2005
Marathoner wants to highlight plight of Pakistan's disabled
On Nov. 6, Tariq hopes to bring the world's attention to the plight of his country's disabled by participating in the ING New York City Marathon. The 29-year-old, a quadriplegic with limited movement in his arms, already planned to race for the same reason before the quake, but now the endeavor means much more.
"I'm here primarily to make a statement," said Tariq, who was left paralyzed in a diving accident at age 15. "Our developed cities are not wheelchair friendly. Now, after all this, the disability rate is going to increase so much."
Read the rest of "Marathoner wants to highlight plight of Pakistan's disabled".Posted by Michelle at 06:59 PM | Comments (0)
Upcoming Career Fairs in NYC
From Wall Street to the Beltway, job recruiters are fishing for talented people with disabilities.
November 3, New York
The Veterans Job Fair & Career Expo will be held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Hosted by the New York Times Job Market, Hire Vets First and Hire Disability Solutions, the program will offer career seminars and job opportunities to former servicemen and women as well as their spouses. Pre-registration is required. Visit www.nytimes.com/saluteourheroes.
November 18, New York
The Wall Street Business & Disability Group and National Business & Disability Council are looking for college students and professionals interested in the financial services sector. This morning event is by invitation only, but there is no fee to apply. Submit your résumé to lipton@business-disability.com.
Posted by Michelle at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)
October 30, 2005
Amputee helps wounded Marines run marathons
In 1976, Richard Traum became the first amputee to run a marathon. Now he is helping wounded Marines cross the finish line.
Traum, who lost his leg in 1965 when he was struck by a car, is president of Achilles Track Club Inc., a New York City-based nonprofit that helps disabled people run with the general public.
Read the rest of "Amputee helps wounded Marines run marathons".Posted by Michelle at 05:15 PM | Comments (0)
October 29, 2005
New Elevators in Subways Are Delayed
...Right across the street, less than 30 feet away, was a new elevator shed, coated in fresh green paint, part of a three-year, $14.3 million project to make the Euclid Avenue station, on the A and C lines, easily accessible to disabled riders.
But the elevator, though complete, is not yet open. The project is $200,000 over budget and more than six months behind schedule, according to a new report from engineering consultants hired by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, who found similar delays, cost overruns and management problems in other elevator and escalator projects throughout the subway system.
The authority has promised to make 67 "key stations," as determined by ridership, accessible by 2010, and 100 by 2020. Currently, of the 468 subway stations, only 60 are accessible, including 45 key stations.
Read the rest of "New Elevators in Subways Are Delayed".Posted by Michelle at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
October 28, 2005
City Council Stated Meeting - October 27, 2005
The City Council passed two measures to expand the number of more low-income senior citizens and the disabled who can take advantage of rent increase exemptions and tax breaks.
Intro 722 applies to homeowners and Intro 726 applies to renters.
"These particular programs help people who are disabled and senior citizens to stay in their homes," said Speaker Miller.
The bills passed unanimously.
Read the rest of "City Council Stated Meeting - October 27, 2005".Posted by Michelle at 10:35 AM | Comments (0)
October 27, 2005
Harley-Davidson Hosts Drag Race for MDA in NYC
Bringing the Harley-Davidson racing heritage to the streets of the Big Apple, members of the company's Screamin' Eagle NHRA Race Team went head-to-head in a series of simulated drag races to benefit charity on Wednesday, October 12 in the heart of the city. At a special event in Pershing Square, the NHRA's two top ranked drag racers, Andrew Hines and GT Tonglet, squared off in more than 20 simulated races in all while not moving an inch. The simulated races took place on a dyno-drag machine, which measures elapsed time, speed and horsepower to determine a winner. Overall, the Screamin' Eagle NHRA Race Team helped to raise $1,000 for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (MDA).
Read the rest of "Harley-Davidson Hosts Drag Race for MDA in NYC".Posted by Michelle at 06:11 PM | Comments (0)
October 26, 2005
Satellite Locators on Vans for the Disabled
New York City Transit will be able to track vehicles that provide door-to-door rides for disabled people in the Access-a-Ride program under a $16.3 million contract announced yesterday. The contract, with INIT, a German firm with an office in Chesapeake, Va., received preliminary approval yesterday and will go before the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board tomorrow. The system will rely on global-positioning satellites to track 1,329 vehicles to improve coordination of trips and the response to breakdowns and delays. The work is for two and a half years and allows for an expansion to another 428 vehicles starting in 2008.
Read the rest of "Satellite Locators on Vans for the Disabled".Posted by Michelle at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)
October 25, 2005
Local Human Rights Bill Held Up In City Council
Gurian explained, "segregation [in the city] began with a combination of private acts of discrimination and public policies that fostered and condoned such behavior. Today, the segregated patterns that were created continue, in part, because the city does not engage in the kind of auditing and analysis that Intro 512A would require. That is, a look at whether planning, zoning, development, and tenant preference decisions work to perpetuate or reduce segregation."
He also pointed to the plight of the city's disabled. With so many new high rise apartments being built, very few contain a significant amount of handicapped accessible units. He argues that this is impractical on the part of the builders, who could avoid the costs of later retrofitting, by building with the disabled in mind in the first place.
And then there are taxis. According to Gurian, "The city has 100 percent control of the yellow taxi industry--yet more than 99 percent of those cabs remain inaccessible to people with disabilities."
Read the rest of "Local Human Rights Bill Held Up In City Council".Posted by Michelle at 07:35 PM | Comments (0)
October 24, 2005
Coastal Storms and Hurricanes: New York City Hurricane Evacuation Zones
New York City's hurricane contingency plans are based on three evacuation zones. These zones were designed using hurricane scenarios that posed the threat of significant coastal flooding resulting from storm surge. New York City residents should take the time to find out if their residence, office or school falls within the boundaries of a City evacuation zone. The best way to be prepared for the possibility of a hurricane evacuation is to know your evacuation zone--and plan your destination and travel routes--ahead of time.
To look up an exact New York City street address, enter the location in our Hurricane Evacuation Utility (EMOLS), or call 311. These sources can tell you whether an evacuation is in effect for your location, the best routes of travel, and the site of the nearest city-run Reception Center.
Read the rest of "Coastal Storms and Hurricanes: New York City Hurricane Evacuation Zones".Posted by Michelle at 06:28 PM | Comments (0)
In need, they'll feel the HEET
...Zelvin and other advocates for disabled riders said the subway's increasing reliability on High Entrance/Exit Turnstiles, or HEETS, is putting lives in danger. Also known as high-wheels, the turnstiles are impossible to crawl under or scramble over. They were designed to keep the transit agency from losing even a single fare as it permanently shuts down station booths throughout the city.
Read the rest of "In need, they'll feel the HEET".Posted by Michelle at 06:16 PM | Comments (0)
October 23, 2005
Report: NYC evacuation plan up to date
Jarod Bernstein, a spokesman for the Office of Emergency Management, told the New York Post the plan anticipates the possibility of problems with evacuating the disabled and others with special-needs. Bernstein said officials would evacuate special-needs residents 72 hours before a weather-related emergency strikes.
Read the rest of "Report: NYC evacuation plan up to date".Posted by Michelle at 06:01 PM | Comments (0)
October 20, 2005
Good News on Affordable Housing?
For society's most vulnerable, such as the elderly, the poor or disabled, New York's housing crunch has been a nightmare and that's why this speech by Mayor Bloomberg was so important, a plan to build or rehab thousands of new homes.
Read the rest of "Good News on Affordable Housing?".Posted by Michelle at 04:43 PM | Comments (0)
All the other Valerys: Almost 400 children await adoption in New York City
She fared better than the 350 children available for adoption in the city and 45 on the Island, many of whom are older, disabled kids who've been in foster care since infancy. Some of their stories will be on display in Huntington next month in a photo exhibit that's part of a national program to encourage adoptions, the Heart Gallery. As for Valery, the outpouring of support reminds us of the many potential adoptive homes. Yes, she's an adorable child of heart-breaking circumstances. But she isn't the only one.
Read the rest of "All the other Valerys: Almost 400 children await adoption in New York City".Posted by Michelle at 12:19 AM | Comments (0)
October 18, 2005
At Clinic, Hurdles to Clear Before Medicaid Care
New York runs the nation's most extravagant Medicaid program, paying $44.5 billion per year to care for 4.2 million people--roughly double, per patient, what the rest of the country spends--and state officials boast that it makes a higher percentage of people eligible, and for more services, than almost every other state. But if the program is huge and in many ways generous, those who work with it--doctors, patients, government officials, health care experts--say that the way the dollars are spent makes little sense.
Read the rest of "At Clinic, Hurdles to Clear Before Medicaid Care".Posted by Michelle at 05:05 PM | Comments (0)
October 06, 2005
City Strengthens Human Rights Law
Craig Gurian, executive director of the Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York, who was instrumental in the drafting of this bill and the 1991 reforms, said this measure "gets our Human Rights Law out from under the shadow of its federal and state counterparts.” He said that many areas of the law that have been restrictive will now have to be reexamined by judges, including "the doctrine that throws a woman out of court whenever a judge decides she hasn't been harassed enough." The city Human Rights Law may also help some persons with disabilities seeking to rent or buy an apartment, Gurian said. Some federal courts have resisted letting disabled persons use cosigners to guarantee their rent or mortgage. The new act, according to Gurian, will fill that gap.
Read the rest of "City Strengthens Human Rights Law".Posted by Michelle at 04:12 PM | Comments (0)
October 04, 2005
Federal Auditors Again Question City Schools' Medicaid Spending; Refund Is Sought
The New York City school system inappropriately billed Medicaid for nearly $200 million in transportation payments over an eight-year period, filing claims for tens of thousands of rides without proof that they were necessary or actually provided, according to a federal audit.
Read the rest of "Federal Auditors Again Question City Schools' Medicaid Spending; Refund Is Sought".Posted by Michelle at 05:46 PM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2005
Nearly $70 Million Awarded to Help Children and Adolescents Who Have Experienced Traumatic Events
Charles Curie, Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced almost $70 million in grant awards to provide help to children and adolescents who have experienced traumatic events. These grants will fund a network of community-based treatment and services centers that are supported by national expertise.
Read the rest of "Nearly $70 Million Awarded to Help Children and Adolescents Who Have Experienced Traumatic Events".Posted by Michelle at 05:56 PM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2005
DIVA TALK: Chatting with Scoundrels' Sara Gettelfinger Plus News of Mazzie, Skinner and Brightman
This week's column is dedicated to Michael Wittenberg, Bernadette Peters' husband who was tragically killed in a helicopter crash earlier this week. Donations can be made in Wittenberg's name to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Broadway Barks or Standing Tall. The latter was an organization that meant a great deal to the late investment adv