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?

I have been pro bono attorney for the Eastwood Tenants’ Association on Roosevelt Island. In that capacity I have represented several people with disabilities on housing protection issues.
 

What oversight have you performed regarding implementation of programs/legislation you have passed (in first term or in previous offices)?

N/A
 

What implementation/strategy do you have for your future programs and legislation to help constituents with disabilities?

I want to work closely with the disability community and Council colleagues to craft a long-term strategy for full accessibility and acceptance in residences, workplaces, and public spaces for the disabled of New York City.
 

Will you commit to only attend or sponsor events that are accessible to people with disabilities? NOTE: This includes providing written materials in alternate formats for people with low vision, providing assistive listening systems for people who are hard-of-hearing, and sign language interpreters for people who are deaf, as well as ensuring that locations are accessible to people who use mobility aids, like wheelchairs and walkers.

Yes.
 

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What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities?

1. ...in your personal life?

   
    
   

2. ...in the workplace?

   See response to Question 1.
    
   

What special accommodations do you believe/think are in use in the workplace?

It is a necessity for workplaces to provide full physical accessibility, proper lighting, and the necessary Braille and sign language assistance.
 

How do you propose to implement your active involvement and/or availability to the disability community?

1. Will there be a specific person in your office responsible to this community?

   I will be personally responsible as a liaison to the disability community.
    
   

2. Will have regular office agenda items and meetings on disabled community issues?

   Yes.
    
   

Do you/or will you, have an active Disability Advisory Committee? Explain its duties, responsibilities and powers.

I plan to consult with disability advocates and disabled constituents to research problems facing the disabled community and craft long-term solutions.
 

How will you work closely with the disability community to assure passage of vitally needed legislation through the City Council? What is your strategy during your first term?

I will be in regular consultation with the disability community on issues to place before the Council, and I will appeal personally to Council colleagues to ensure bills’ passage.
 

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What is your position on the development of supported apartments/homes and retirement homes for the mentally disabled in your borough? Please also explain same for physically disabled. What strategies will you utilize?

I support the development of supported apartments for the mentally and physically disabled in my district.
 

What is your position on extending the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) to low-income, eligible persons with disabilities under the age of 62 on the same basis and income level (currently the income cap for seniors is $24,000, but for persons with disabilities it has been set at $17,000)?

I support such an extension.
 

How will you develop realistic income levels for individuals and couples with disabilities to avail themselves of the SCRIE provisions?

The median income level of residents in the 5th Council District is approximately $55,000. I think a fair ceiling on benefits would be half of that amount, under which benefits would be guaranteed.
 

What alternative programs will you propose to allow persons with disabilities to stay in their own homes/apartments? (i.e. protection from rent increases or undue eviction (harassment) and make funds available to make appropriate accommodations in present living environment). Another example: perhaps a dedicated housing trust fund should be established for making those housing accommodations. If so, how would you fund same?

I would support such a fund, and I would also work with the disability community in my district to increase awareness of and access to state and federal housing programs available to them.

New York City is in the process of adopting a new building code. How would you advocate for the strongest possible access provisions?

From the Council I will advocate strongly for the provisions described in a. and b.
 

1. Emergency evacuation for people with disabilities: what would you do to ensure that provisions are put in place to improve survival rates of people with disabilities in the event of fire, attack, blackout, or other emergency situation?

2. What would you do to ensure that "Visitability" is enacted in New York City? Visitability is the movement towards establishing guidelines providing that newly constructed multi-family dwellings have basic accessible/adaptable features that permit friends and family with disabilities to visit, and for residents to "age in place," without having to move out when age and/or disability set in.

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Will you support, and what strategy will you utilize, to implement an expansion of affordable wheelchair accessible transportation in NYC, including taxis, livery service, express buses, airport shuttle service, more accessible subway stations, etc.?

I will advocate for the Council to use its contracting power to demand that all newly implemented transportation services are completely wheelchair accessible. Also, I will advocate for transportation in place to be renovated to provide wheelchair accessibility. In particular, I will make wheelchair accessibility to the 59th Street Tram station a top priority.
 

1. Efforts to secure a 100% accessible fleet of medallion taxis have been hampered by opposition from Mayor Bloomberg and the taxi industry. Wheelchair accessible taxis are present in many cities as a result of strong support from local Mayors and City Councils. What would you do to assure that all New York City residents, commuters and tourists have access to an important form of public transportation, our medallion taxis and community car services?

   Lack of accessibility to medallion taxis is totally unacceptable, and from the Council, I will fight to make inaccessible taxis are phased out in favor of taxis that can properly serve the disability community.
    
   

Access-A-Ride has denied rides to many eligible consumers; cause unnecessarily long trips, causing workers to be late for work and consequently be docked pay and even lose their jobs; routinely leave many consumers stranded at the curb, lying to their clients that a bus is coming and calling consumer a "no-show" when the bus has not shown. Consumers who complain are often subject to retaliation. What would you do to improve the quality of service for those who must use Access-A-Ride?

Access-A-Ride is a good program in principle but suffers from horrible mismanagement, inefficiency, and lapsing safety standards. In the Council, I would pressure the MTA to centralize Access-A-Ride dispatch, bring all Access-A-Ride vans up to inspection, and modify their record-keeping so that a "no-show" really does mean a "no-show."
 

Do you favor the construction of the Second Avenue Subway? If so, is this a priority?

I favor the construction of a full-length Second Avenue Subway to relieve the systemic overcrowding of the 4, 5, 6 line. I served as Transportation Committee Co-Chair for Community Board 8, as well as Chair of Community Board 8’s Second Avenue Subway Task Force. In this position, I pressured the MTA to change its review process to accommodate community demands concerning the placement of subway stops, so that residential and commercial life on the East Side will not be disrupted by the project. Building the Second Avenue Subway is a priority, and in the Council I will advocate for wheelchair accessibility at every stop.
 

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The Local Civil Rights Restoration Act (Intro 22) seeks to protect the vigor and independence of the City’s Human Rights Law against the attacks of an increasingly conservative State and Federal Judiciary. Although there are 38 Council sponsors, 32 civil rights and allied organizations, in favor of this legislation, and three hearings have been held, Mayor Bloomberg continues to oppose the most central aspect of the bill, the need for City Human Rights Law not to be restricted as federal and state civil rights law gets cut back. Would you work to assure its passage? Please describe your strategy.

I would work to pass this bill. New York City has earned the right to maintain its Human Rights Law despite state and federal changes.
 

Under the Bloomberg Administration, the Corporation Council intervened on the side of the city of Sacramento when it sought to challenge the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding the requirement to maintain accessible sidewalks. Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections for persons with disabilities?

I do.
 

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Do you support making sign language interpreters available for Community Board meetings? If so, how would you fund this?

Yes. I will advocate that funding for sign language interpreters be a built-in expense in community boards’ budgets.
 

Will you appoint disabled persons to local Community Boards?

N/A
 

How many have you/ or will you appoint to Community Board?

N/A
 

Will you support the "requirement" and implement, a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?

Yes.
 

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Please Specify: Have you used (or will you use) your discretionary funds to support organizations serving persons with disabilities or service organizations seeking to make their programs accessible to persons with disabilities? If so, what percentage of your discretionary funds went to such organizations?

I will set earmark a portion of discretionary funds to directly aid persons with disabilities. Also, part of my discretionary funds for groups such as youth or seniors will be directed to the disabled persons within those groups.
 

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Under Mayor Bloomberg, the City settled with the United Spinal Association and agreed to install curb cuts -- Pedestrian ramps, on all corners which presently don’t have one. However, no provision has been made to repair or replace those current ones which are unsafe. How would you ensure that curb cuts—pedestrian ramps—are provided on or repaired on streets that need them? What would you establish as a timetable?

In the Council, I will demand that curb cuts be repaired immediately.
 

What steps do you think NYC should take to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible?

Through tax incentives, business owners can be encouraged to implement wheelchair accessibility.
 

Do you believe that landmark buildings can be made accessible without losing their historical integrity?

Absolutely. Landmarks belong to the public, disabled persons included, so it is a necessity for them to be accessible. This public responsibility far outweighs any minor aesthetic changes brought by conversion to accessibility, and these same minor changes pose no threat to historical integrity.
 

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What is your position on efforts to elevate the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) to a commissioner level agency or Commission on Disabilities to enable coordination of efforts of agencies? (A one stop shop for information and assistance.) How would you ensure that city departments/agencies coordinate through MOPD?

I support efforts to centralize and elevate coordination of information and assistance for disabled persons. Since so many different city departments and agencies deal with these issues, it is important to have one body overseeing them.
 

What implementation/authority should MOPD have, and/or how would you ensure that MOPD?

The MOPD should be strong enough to coordinate the efforts of other city agencies as they pertain to the disability community.
 

Since presumably "this" office is a Mayoral Office, how would you enforce and do oversight regarding the work of the office and be certain of the implementation and its efforts?

I would consult with the disability community to assess the efficacy of the MOPD, and if it is not living up to its duties, I would use my position in the Council to hold it accountable to the disability community.
 

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