[NYAPRS Enews] NYT: Moves to Strengthen Disability Access Law

[Harvey Rosenthal]

ADA strengthening, Westchester/Lower Hudson Valley focused.

Moves to Strengthen Disabled Access Law 

By Juli S. Charkes New York Times    August 10, 2008

 

ON a Saturday afternoon here in her hometown, Lisa Tarricone wants a cup
of coffee from her local coffee shop. For Ms. Tarricone, a director at
Westchester Independent Living Center who uses a wheelchair, that
everyday wish brings a series of maneuvers.

 

First is a call to the shop to ask that a rudimentary wooden ramp be
positioned atop a deep step; then a request to an employee to prop open
the door so Ms. Tarricone can use both arms to wheel herself up the
nonregulation ramp (no handles; improper pitch); finally, the navigation
of a crowd of customers that is complicated on this day by a performer
stationed near the door. 

 

It is time-consuming and cumbersome "and all of it in front of an
audience of people who are staring while you're trying to get inside,
maybe annoyed that you're letting the air-conditioning out - just for
the sake of a latte," she said several days later.

 

Life in a wheelchair is a series of carefully calculated moves, Ms.
Tarricone said, and some of the obstacles are not merely inconvenient -
they are also a violation of the federal Americans With Disabilities
Act, enacted 18 years ago last month. 

 

Advocates for people with disabilities hope such incidents of
noncompliance will diminish with recent changes to state law that allow
for a new level of enforcement of existing A.D.A. law, said Michael
Hellmann, a Westchester lawyer specializing in disability law.
"Westchester businesses are filled with A.D.A. violations," he said.
"Now that it's part of New York law, they run a much greater risk of
having legal action taken against them."

 

Federal law prohibits discrimination against anyone with a disability,
which it defines as a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits a major life activity. There are 50 million Americans with a
disability, according to the United States Department of Justice based
on the 2000 census. About 147,000 live in Westchester, based on figures
compiled at the same time by the county.

 

Until now, legal recourse for anyone encountering a violation of the
Americans With Disabilities Act was limited to filing a complaint with
the federal Justice Department, which had a backlog of cases, or
pursuing a federal lawsuit, Mr. Hellmann said. 

 

In January, the New York State Division of Human Rights incorporated a
section of the federal A.D.A. covering businesses or places of public
accommodation. That allows state enforcement of the part of the A.D.A.
requiring "places of public accommodation to make reasonable
modifications in policies, practices and procedures when providing
access for a person with a disability," said John P. Herrion, director
of disability rights for the State Division of Human Rights.

 

The law not only provides an additional resource for bringing a
complaint, but also provides a broader definition of a disability,
protecting individuals who were previously excluded from the federal
definition, he said.

 

Mr. Herrion stressed that the division is sensitive to the costs to
businesses and pointed to considerations within the Americans With
Disabilities Act that are intended to prevent "undue burden" or
"fundamentally alter the nature of the public accommodation," he said.

 

But determining that discretion can be difficult, particularly as
misinformation and confusion over A.D.A. compliance are commonplace -
even among lawmakers and business advocates. 

 

James Lorr, a co-owner of the Peekskill Coffee House where Ms. Tarricone
occasionally ventures for coffee, said his operation complied with the
A.D.A, pointing to remodeling the bathroom as one change. He also
pointed to the wooden ramp that sits inside the cafe for use whenever
wheelchair accessibility is needed, calling it a reasonable
accommodation given the building's historic status. 

 

BUT Mr. Hellmann dismissed the use of a temporary ramp by any business,
pointing to requirements in the A.D.A. about the pitch and stability of
access ramps. He said that businesses often fail to go far enough in
adhering to A.D.A., part of what he described as the myths of complying
with the law. The biggest myth, by far, he said regards the so-called
grandfather clause.

 

"Unlike building codes, the A.D.A. does not have a grandfather clause,"
Mr. Hellmann said. "No matter how old a building, it is not totally
excused from complying with the A.D.A."

 

Some of the education for businesses is being provided on the county
level. Westchester's Office for the Disabled regularly dispatches staff
members to investigate businesses that may not be complying with the
A.D.A. The purpose, said Evan Latainer, the director of the office, is
to help businesses understand what they must do to avoid a next step of
possible litigation. 

 

On a recent weekday morning, Anna M. Masopust and Andrea Sadowski of the
county's Office for the Disabled spoke with staff members at a local gym
about the use of an elevator designated for people with a disability.

 

Frank Sessa, 84, a Yonkers retiree who frequents the club, paused from
exercising in the pool to describe his aggravation when gym employees
continuously misplaced the elevator key. He said he relies on the key
for access to the pool and locker room, adding, "The custodian finally
duplicated the key for me." 

 

Having his own key has brought only partial satisfaction, he said,
because the elevator is regularly used to transport freight. "It's
illegal to use this lift for anything other than a person with a
disability," Ms. Masopust said, pointing to a plaque on the adjoining
wall that states what she was saying. 

 

Besides changes in state law, changes by the county have added resources
for disability claims. Last month, the county Human Rights Commission
used county government support to achieve countywide jurisdiction over
its human rights law, said Delores Scott Brathwaite, director of the
division. Previously, the commission jurisdiction was excluded from
municipalities like White Plains, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Mamaroneck,
Larchmont, New Rochelle and Peekskill. 

 

Advocates for the disabled say the recent changes in state and county
law are important in educating the public on what is guaranteed under
the federal law. Ms. Tarricone and others stressed how changes in law
address not only the logistical rights of access, but also help
transform society's views about a segment of the population they say has
been historically overlooked. 

 

"There are millions of physically or mentally disabled people who
deserve something better," said Howard W. Rasher, a retired lawyer and
disability advocate from Briarcliff Manor. "Now, we can put meaningful
teeth into the existing laws."

 

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/10/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/10adawe.html
?_r=1&oref=slogin&ref=nyregionspecial2&pagewanted=print 

 

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