Heartless Proposal by MTA to Double Access-A-Ride Fares is Discrimination, Plain and Simple.
November 24, 2008
I am thoroughly disgusted with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s proposal to double fares for Access-A-Ride users. While the MTA is considering raising fares for able-bodied straphangers by as much as 50% (from $2 to $3); they are asking riders with disabilities to absorb an unprecedented 100% fare increase from $2 to $4.
This past weekend, I joined Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, State Senator Eric Schneiderman, Assembly Member Jonathan Bing, and Councilmember Gale Brewer at a press conference along with advocates representing Disabilities Network of NYC, Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State, Center for Independence of the Disabled NY, Disabled in Action, and the 504 Democratic Club. At the press conference we collectively denounced the proposed fare hike. Access-A-Ride is critical to those who need it, and the revenue that doubling this fare will bring is comparatively unimpressive.
The current standard of fare equity is the minimum a just society should expect. Like a good old fashioned train robbery, the MTA is ambushing paratransit riders because they know that people with disabilities have no other transportation options. This is the most regressive fare hike the MTA has ever proposed because those who can least afford to pay are being asked to shoulder the greatest burden.
I am also not convinced that this is a legal proposal. The transportation provisions of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act cover public transportation services, like the MTA system. Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. So if a local authority like the MTA chooses not to adequately serve clients with disabilities in its regular system, it is instead required by federal law to create a parallel paratransit system. Decades ago when the ADA was passed, the MTA chose not to make the regular transit system accessible (today there are just over 50 subway stations of 468 that have elevators), so it was required to create the Access-A-Ride service. It goes against the spirit of the ADA to charge people with disabilities more to use a system designed to compensate them for not having access to the regular mass transit system.
I will be doing everything I can to oppose this proposal and I will continue to keep you updated. My press release on this topic can be found in the Publications area of this website.
The ABCs of A Better Capital Plan for Our Schools
September 23, 2008
Councilmember Jessica Lappin and I spoke to PS 158 PTA President Erinn Deri this morning before class started to distribute postcards as part of a campaign to encourage Mayor Bloomberg and Education Chancellor Klein to give schools more capital support.
For the next few weeks I will be visiting schools throughout our communities asking parents, teachers, and concerned residents to sign postcards to Mayor Bloomberg and Chancellor Klein asking them to give students the small classes they need to learn and grow.
It clear that school overcrowding is a growing problem throughout New York City and especially on the Upper East Side—and it is a problem that will not go away until the Department of Education and the Mayor take action to make a proactive change. I am a member of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s Task Force on School Overcrowding. Since January, we have been working to create a comprehensive plan to submit to the City which we believe would help solve the overcrowding dilemma. This November, it is critical that the City’s new five-year capital plan for school construction take into account the projected growth in population and residential construction, especially on the Upper East Side.
To that end I am working with the Borough President to promote “The ABCs of A Better Capital Plan”. The ABCs would:
Address overcrowding and implement the city’s state-mandated class-size reduction plan: 20 students per class in K-3 and 23 in all other grades.
Be proactive and plan ahead to add school seats as neighborhoods grow.
Correct the way school capacity is calculated so the loss of art rooms and other critical spaces to overcrowding is acknowledged.
If you are interested in signing a postcard please stop by my office. Together we can ensure that the next generation of New York leaders receives the education that they deserve in schools that we can be proud of.
Pride 2008 - A Photojournal
July 1, 2008
As a member of the LGBT community myself, I’ve always loved marching in the Heritage of Pride Parade and this year - despite the rain - was no exception. Part of what made last Sunday’s celebration so special was that Governor David Paterson marched with us. No sitting Governor in New York State’s history has ever marched in the Pride Parade.
Here’s a short photo diary of the day.
Gay and Lesbian Independent Democrats (GLID) President Colin Casey and I pose next to the rockin’ GLID float during our multiple-hour line-up on West 54th Street.
My friend John Reddy, who is running for Manhattan Surrogate and some of his supporters and family.
My Chief of Staff, Eliyanna Kaiser, and her wife, Danielle DeCerbo who works for the New York City Council, hold up their Marriage Equality New York (MENY) t-shirt. They’ve actually been together 4 years, but Eliyanna got confused by the fill-in-the-blanks on the shirt and wrote in how many years they’ve been married. Aren’t they cute?
I spent most of the march with the Stonewall Democrats of New York City, a club I’ve been a member of for many years. Here I am with some of our fabulous Board Members.
Here I am with my friend and colleague, and one of New York City’s greatest LGBT heroes, State Senator Tom Duane, and a phalanx of his New York City staff.
My good friends, Maureen Bobrovnicky and Randi Anderson.
National Stonewall member and GLID member, Jon Winkleman is one of the hardest-working LGBT activists in New York City. He told me he has a big box of the amazing Hillary/Pride shirts like the one he’s wearing, so if you are interested let him know!
Stonewall board member, Aubrey Lees and I actually get along very well. But we put on a show for the camera after Eliyanna demanded that we not just pose and smile.
The moment - and I do mean the moment- that it was our turn to start marching down Fifth Avenue one of the most angry-sounding thunderstorms, complete with lightening and booming thunder came pouring down on us. But LGBT pride will not be rained on and we marched on!
GENDA activist extraordinaire, Melissa Sklarz, and Manhattan Community Board 2 Chair, Brad Holyman, try to keep dry under an umbrella.
The Stonewall Democrats marching down Fifth Avenue.
Then the sun came out and rain went away! Here is Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and I, now almost dry, somewhere in the West 30s on Fifth Avenue.
Finally, I don’t know this mother or her son, but they told me I could take their photo for the blog and I really wanted others to see it. This is what the Pride march is all about - family.
Latest Crane Accident Reveals Need for Buildings Reforms
June 12, 2008
I am pictured attending a press conference organized by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer in response to the most recent crane collapse at 333 East 91st Street in my district on May 31.
This tragedy and the subsequent arrest of the city’s head crane inspector on bribery charges reveals that the City has yet to address the ongoing construction safety crisis. I have reviewed the Department of Building’s public records for 333 East 91st Street and I am angry to discover that 23 complaints were made by New Yorkers who called 311 to express their concern about safety at this worksite in the last year. New Yorkers are always being told, “If you see something, say something.” These 23 New Yorkers did their civic duty, but their government failed them.
The change in leadership at the New York City Department of Buildings was a good first step, but it’s not enough. In April, the Assembly Committee on Cities, of which I am a member, held a joint hearing with the Committees on Codes and Housing, to examine the power, duties, and accountability of New York’s construction authorities. At that hearing, I questioned Acting Commissioner Robert LiMandri about the events surrounding the tragic crane collapse at 400 East 67th Street, as well as the Department’s processes and procedures for enforcing safety violations in general.
It is all too clear that serious reforms are necessary and overdue. Assembly Member Joe Lentol, introduced a bill (A.11074) that I am a sponsor of that would split the Department of Buildings into two separate departments – so that the people that approve a project and those that are responsible for issuing buildings violations are not the same. Particulary after these last few months, New Yorkers are rightfully suspicious of Buildings Inspectors. For too long, the proverbial fox has been guarding the chicken coop. It’s far past time to change the way the City does business so that safety and enforcement become higher priorities.
Kellner Legislation to Create MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities Passes Assembly!
May 13, 2008
I am very proud to announce that my bill to create an MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities passed the Assembly today. Below is the press release from just two days ago announcing this bill (and another related bill’s) introduction. Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal was quick with the cellphone camera and snapped me some photographic evidence of the bill’s debut to the big board in Assembly Chambers moments before its passage (Thanks, Linda!)
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For Immediate Release: May 10, 2008
IMPROVING MTA ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
New York City — Assembly Member Micah Z. Kellner, State Senator Thomas K. Duane, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Assembly Member Michele Titus, Chair of the Assembly Taskforce on People with Disabilities, and Assembly Member Linda B. Rosenthal, were joined today by advocates representing thousands of New Yorkers with disabilities to announce a package of bills that have been introduced in the New York State legislature to reform the way that the MTA responds to the needs of transit riders with disabilities.
The first bill (A.10734-A/S.7817) creates the MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities, a 15-member appointed council will be geographically diverse representing riders who use NYC Transit, the Long Island Rail Road, and Metro North systems. The Council will have a non-voting seat on the MTA Board and will monitor all aspects of the MTA and make recommendations as to how to improve services. The Assembly is expected to take up this bill on Monday. The second bill (A.10420/S.7348) requires daily inspections of elevators, escalators, bus lifts, and other accessibility features in MTA facilities and establishes documentation requirements and oversight for their repair.
“The MTA has been failing the disabled community when it comes to meeting our transportation needs,” said Assembly Member Micah Kellner, who has cerebral palsy. “In 2007, I requested documents for eight elevators in ADA-compliant passenger stations to better understand how the MTA maintains features like elevators. What I found was an unacceptable number of outages, repeated breakdowns in the same station for the same problem, a disturbing lack of paper record-keeping, and a poor track record of fixing problems quickly. This is no small matter. When an escalator, elevator, or wheelchair lift is inoperable it means that a person with a disability is stranded.”
“The list of reasons why these changes are necessary is endless. For example, even the new, improved subway announcements – let alone the old garbled ones – are hard for the hearing impaired to understand,” said Senator Tom Duane. “Platform gaps on the LIRR threaten the safety of the visually impaired and wheelchair users. The recent closure of station agent booths in the subways has only worsened the situation for disabled riders who are able to overcome other obstacles to access that system, and these are only a few of the problems. The MTA needs to hear from people with disabilities and learn from their experiences. The best way to do this is to correct the lack of representation of people with disabilities on the board of the MTA itself.”
“For years, the MTA’s failure to carry out mandated inspections, as required by the building code, left frail and disabled riders in a situation resembling Russian Roulette,” said Borough President Scott Stringer. I believe the agency’s new leadership wants to make the system safe and reliable for people with disabilities – and this legislation will provide a framework for doing that. I urge the swift passage of both bills.” In 2006, Borough President Stringer released his report, The State of Repairs, which found that 74% of all elevators in ADA-compliant stations did not receive their mandated annual inspection and that the average elevator in an ADA-compliant station was out for 11 days.
“Seldom a day goes by where we do not receive a phone call or email message from someone who has had a negative experience with the MTA.,” says Lawrence Carter-Long, the Director of Advocacy of Disabilities Network of NYC. ” A breakdown in, or lack of transportation options for people with disabilities affects every other area of our lives – if you can’t get to or from your residence, place of business, or health care provider, your quality of life is diminished. Rather than solve the transportation problems faced by New Yorkers with disabilities, the MTA seems more inclined to add to them. These bills provide a necessary and overdue remedy the MTA has been unwilling to provide on its own.”
“We believe holding the MTA to greater accountability on elevator and escalator repairs as well as the creation of a MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities can only improve the accessibility of NYC Transit and assure riders with disabilities that it is safe to ride the subways,” said Carr Massi, President of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York.
“BCID has been requesting a seat at the MTA table as a representative of the community of people with disabilities for many years,” said Marvin Wasserman, Executive Director of Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID). “The passage of this legislation will guarantee full representation from the whole community of people with disabilities, not just a select few working within the community.”
“Appropriate access for people with disabilities is a civil right and a human right. It is time the ADA [Americans with Disabilities Act] applied to mass transit,” said Janice Schacter, Chair of the Hearing Access Program (a consortium of the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, the League for the Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Loss Association of America).
“Hearing directly from people with disabilities through the proposed MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities is a needed reform. The MTA needs to address the problems of accessibility, signage, and staff training to make transportation in NYC truly available to all,” said Nancy D. Miller, Executive Director of VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired.
“Access to public transportation is critical for people with disabilities to live fruitful and productive lives and it is essential that public transportation is accessible, reliable, and safe all the time. We appreciate the efforts of Assemblyman Kellner and Senator Duane in support of the needs of NYC citizens with disabilities,” said Susan Constantino, President and CEO of Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State.
“Guide Dog Users of New York is primarily eager to have consistent tactile edge markings at all subway stations. These small raised domes warn blind and visually-impaired people when they are nearing the platform edge and can save lives,” said David De Porte, President of Guide Dog Users of New York.
“We strongly support the quick enactment of both bills. An MTA Riders Council for People with Disabilities will give our community direct and sustained input to the MTA Board of Directors about making its entire system more friendly to wheelchair users and other aging and disabled passengers. Making subway elevator and escalator maintenance a higher priority is essential and long overdue. There is zero access to the subway system for our wheelchair-using members if elevators are always broken,” said Terence J. Moakley, spokesperson for the United Spinal Association.
“The NYC Chapter of the National MS Society fully supports legislation to create the MTA Riders Council for people with disabilities. Our members experience a variety of challenges using mass transit, including inaccessible subway stations, non-working elevators, inadequate signage, and dangerously large gaps between platforms and trains. As a result of these problems, people living with MS often cannot get to work or visit their families. It is crucial that people with disabilities have a voice on the MTA,” said Robin Einbinder, Executive Vice president of Programs and Services at the NYC Chapter of the National MS Society.
“We have long called for the MTA to increase elevator/escalator inspection, repairs and maintenance, as well as requiring a higher degree of accountability. We believe they also need to improve their communication with riders. Many passengers with disabilities refuse to use the subways because they are fearful of being stuck when an elevator/escalator is out of service,” said Edith M. Prentiss of the 504 Democratic Club.
“When people with disabilities believe they are able to travel safely and expediently on the subways, this saves the City and the MTA money. Both of these initiatives will help to increase the number of wheelchair users who ride buses and trains with confidence, thereby decreasing reliance on Access-A-Ride,” said Joe Rapporport of the Taxis For All Campaign.
“Elevator and escalator outages rank near the top among the myriad of barriers faced by persons with disabilities when attempting to use our mass transit system,” said Michael Harris, Executive Director of the Disabled Riders Coalition. “Sadly, the MTA has historically failed to recognize that we are fare-paying customers and deserve the same consideration as our non-disabled peers. Not only will this legislation force the MTA to address the issues of elevator and escalator maintenance, more importantly it will finally give riders with disabilities a seat at the table. I look forward to being in Albany on Monday where I hope to watch the Assembly pass this important legislation.”
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An Outrageous Lack of Accountability: Taking Action to Improve Construction Safety
April 24, 2008
The horrifying death of a young construction worker at 400 East 67th Street comes at a time when problems with construction safety in New York have reached crisis proportions. The building site where the incident occurred had an astounding 38 open ECB violations, of which 36 were Class A – the most serious.
This building site should have been shut down long before the accident happened. No construction should have been allowed until all the serious violations were cured. The New York City Department of Buildings must answer for this appalling failure of oversight. I am outraged by the lack of accountability at this site and at construction sites citywide. The Department of Buildings needs more inspectors, but inspections alone are meaningless without vigorous enforcement. We should not have to wait for more tragedies to occur before this lesson is learned.
This accident, along with the recent crane collapse tragedy on 51st Street, has highlighted the urgent importance of ensuring better oversight of construction sites in New York City. I have joined with Borough President Scott Stringer to help implement Borough Construction Watch, which will work with community leaders around Manhattan to improve accountability from construction firms and city agencies, to help prevent such disasters from occurring again.
