Candidate Name: Lynn Schulman
Council District: 29
Contact Person: John Gutierrez, Mirram Group, 212-505-6633
If there is a Campaign office, is it wheelchair accessible? In the process of negotiating for campaign space; it will be accessible.
Campaign Address: Schulman 2009, 72-11 Austin Street, #341, Forest Hills, NY 11375
Phone: 718-989-5745
Fax: 718-997-7419
Address:
Email: schulman2009 @ gmail.com
Website: www.schulman2009.com
Endorsements: State Senator Thomas Duane, Councilmember Rosie Mendez, Councilmember Julissa Ferreras. Councilmember Sara Gonzalez, Former Mayor Edward Koch, Former Public Advocate, Mark Green, Emanuel Gold, former Deputy Minority Leader -NYS Senate & and former representative of the State Senate from Forest Hills, Queens. Liz Abzug, Barbara Fife, former Deputy Mayor, Marsha Korotyk, co-founder and former President of the Parker Towers Tenants Association in Forest Hills, Gail Gordon, community activist and Chair of the Board of the AIDS Center of Queens County, Working Families Party & UAW Region 9A Additional endorsements are pending.
Action Shows Commitment!
While in public office/prior to this campaign, what have you accomplished in regard to advancing disability rights? This can include work towards accessible housing, transportation, employment, health care, education, and including people with disabilities in the political process?
While I have not held public office, I have advanced disability rights throughout my personal and professional life. My brother was born developmentally disabled and I spent much time working with my parents to find assistance for him within the NYC education system.
During my professional career, when I worked at the Emergency Medical Service, a member of my staff was in a wheel chair and often could not come to work because the office was not accessible, and in order to enter the building this person had to be carried up some steps through the garage. I advocated that a ramp be made for this individual and after 2 years of lobbying senior management and the Health & Hospitals Corporation (parent entity at the time for EMS), a ramp was built.
Subsequently, I have worked with other individuals in the workplace who have had various disabilities, and, on many occasions, served as their ombudsman to resolve various issues pertaining to accessibility and other concerns.
Will you commit to only attend / sponsor events that are accessible to people with disabilities (PWDs including providing written materials in alternate formats, providing assistive listening systems, and sign language interpreters as well as ensuring that locations are physically accessible)?
Yes.
General Questions
What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities in your personal life and in the workplace?
See response above.
What type of jobs would you be willing to hire and to provide reasonable accommodation (e.g. flex or part time) for staff members with disabilities?
I would be glad to hire a staff member with disabilities for any job for which they have qualifications. Having a disability is not a disqualification, and, I would make any accommodations that are necessary to ensure that a staff member is able to meet his/her job responsibilities.
How will you work closely with the disability community to assure passage of vitally needed legislation through the City Council? What will be your strategy?
I would meet with the disability community on a regular basis to discuss strategy to pass pending legislation and to develop new legislation. In addition, there are several open seats in the Council and it is likely that many of these seats will be filled by progressive individuals who will be able to form a coalition with current progressive members of the Council to push through the vital legislation that the disability community needs. Further, I would use my influence as a Council Member, along with my public relations skills, to promote these issues in my district, utilizing local and general media.
Housing
What is your position on the development of supported apartments/homes and retirement homes for the persons with mental and/or physical disabilities in your district?
As a member of my local Community Board (Board 6 in Queens), I have always supported these type of housing proposals - many of which faced fierce opposition from other Board members. I would also use my authority to appoint Community Board members to make the Board more diverse and responsive to the disability community.
What is your position on making DRIE (Disabled Rent Increase Exemption) and SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption) programs income eligibility comparable? (At present a individual senior or household income eligibility is $28,000. While the income for a younger disabled individual is capped at $19,284 and $27,780 for a household?)
I believe that DRIE eligibility criteria should be comparable with SCRIE eligibility. I would also work with State legislators to simplify the application procedures and administration of DRIE, in addition to making the program more equitable.
Visitability sets guidelines to ensure newly constructed multi-family dwellings have basic accessible/adaptable features to permit people with disabilities can visit, and for residents to "age in place,"
without having to move out when age and/or disability set in. Do you support incorporating the concept of "visitability"
in the Building Code?
Yes. Also, once made a part of the building code, I would use my Council oversight responsibilities to ensure that the building code is being enforced with regard to visitability.
Transportation
Will you support an expansion of affordable wheelchair accessible transportation in NYC, including taxis, livery service, express buses, and shuttles, more accessible subway stations, etc.?
Yes.
Efforts to secure a 100% accessible fleet of medallion taxis have been hampered by opposition from Mayor Bloomberg and the taxi industry. The current emphasis is on creating a 100% "green"
fleet. What would you do to assure that taxis and community car service vehicles are both "green"
and universally designed for wheelchair access?
I would leverage the oversight authority of the Council to hold hearings (I believe this issue would benefit from a joint hearing of the Health and Transportation committees). I would also hold meetings with the Taxi & Limousine Commission and representatives of the disability community to develop a strategy to resolve this transportation accessibility issue.
Access-A-Ride (AAR) users experience unnecessarily long trips, causing workers to be late for work, have their pay docked and possibly losing their jobs. AAR leaves consumers stranded, lies that a vehicle is coming and penalized riders as a "no-show"
when the vehicle never arrived. Riders who complain report they are subject to retaliation. What would you do to improve the quality of AAR? Would you support the issuance of a "smart card"
so that Access-A-Ride users can use accessible cabs/livery service at a reduced cost and receive better service?
A "smart card"
would be an excellent solution to the unreliability of AAR. AAR is operated by the MTA which is overseen by the State Legislature. I would advocate with my colleagues in the Assembly and Senate to include accountability measures for AAR in any MTA legislation that is being considered.
Civil Rights
Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections for persons with disabilities?
Absolutely; I have always been an advocate of civil rights protections for persons with disabilities and I will continue that advocacy as a member of the Council.
Community Board
Do you support requiring all Community Board meeting and function be accessible, including requiring sign language interpreters and large print format material?
Yes. I would work with the disability community to develop a strategy to implement this type of policy for the Community Boards.
How many people with disabilities have/will you appoint to your local Community Board(s)?
I will make the disability community aware of open appointments on the Board, and work with the 504 Club to identify potential candidates to fill these appointments.
Will you support the "requirement"
and implement, a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?
Yes.
Discretionary Funds
Will you use your discretionary funds to support organizations serving people with disabilities or service organizations seeking to make their programs accessible to people with disabilities?
Yes. In addition, in the face of further projected budget deficits, I would also use my office to assist these organizations in identifying and applying for alternative funding streams (including grants) for programs to serve people with disabilities.
Accessibility
Under Mayor Bloomberg, the City settled with the United Spinal Association and agreed to install pedestrian ramps, on all corners which presently don't have one. However, no provision was made to repair and/or replace existing ones which are unsafe. How would you ensure that pedestrian ramps are provided or repaired? What would you establish as a timetable?
One of the first things I would do as a member of the Council is to partner with the disability community to conduct an "accessibility audit"
to identify areas within the district that are both inaccessible and unsafe for people with disabilities. I would then make these findings public and use the audit to hold hearings in the Council and negotiate a resolution with the pertinent city agencies - DOT and others.
What steps do you think NYC should take to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible?
Providing tax incentives might resolve this issue; it is certainly something I would explore as a member of the Council. In addition, I would work directly with local businesses and Chambers of Commerce in my district to identify and provide incentives that would encourage these businesses to make their establishments more accessible to the community.
How would you ensure that emergency evacuation for PWDs provisions are put in place to improve survival rates of PWDs in the event of fire, attack, blackout, or other emergency situation?
As a previous member of the Emergency Medical Service, I am generally familiar with emergency evacuation procedures and would work closely with the Office of Emergency Management to review current evacuation procedures and develop additional ones to ensure that people with disabilities receive the attention and assistance they require in the event of any kind of emergency.
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD)
Mayor Bloomberg elevated the Director of the (MOPD) to a Commissioner without any increase in budget or responsibilities. How would you ensure that city departments/agencies coordinate through MOPD?
First, I would explore the feasibility of increased funding for this office within the city budget. While the city faces projected budget deficits, I believe the funding issue should at least be reviewed. I would also seek to take advantage of the Council's oversight authority to ensure coordination of other agencies through MOPD and enforce implementation of the office's efforts. Moreover, as a member of the Council, I would leverage my relationship with my colleagues to ensure that MOPD has the authority it needs to advance efforts on behalf of the disability community. I would also work to promote the office within my district, in order to raise its profile and generate support among constituents. I believe this grass roots support could be leveraged to strengthen the powers of this important office.
How do you believe the City Council should enforce and do oversight regarding the work of the office and be certain of the implementation and its efforts?
See above.
Date: May 31, 2009