Most Dems do not stand with disabled New Yorkers
BROOKLYNPAPER.COM
COURIER L 38 IFE, JANUARY 24-30, 2020
OPINION
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LAST WEEK’S TOP STORY:
BY ADRIAN EDWARDS-SMITH
We take it for granted that
senior, student, and veteran
New Yorkers are entitled access
to most cultural establishments
— including cinemas,
museums, stage productions,
etc — either for free, or at signifi
cantly discounted rates.
The ability for any person,
regardless of fi nancial hardship,
or physical disability, to
enrich themselves intellectually
and culturally is a hallmark
of a progressive, civil
society, and we in the United
States naturally regard these
modest concessions, offered to
a select group of our most vulnerable
citizens, as a baseline
of common human decency.
With that in mind, we need to
ask ourselves why that short
list of vulnerable people omits
some of the city’s most fi nancially
and physically challenged
residents.
I created my group Advocacy
for the Disabled to support
New Yorkers living on
US Federal Disability in late
June, 2018. That month, I met
with Mayor Bill de Blasio and
Victor Calise, Commissioner
of the New York City Mayor’s
Offi ce for People with Disabilities,
and I asked them that
same question — why offer discounts
to seniors, students, and
veterans, but not the disabled?
The mayor and Calise, working
in partnership with City Parks
Commissioner Mitchell Silver,
had recently crafted new policies
that reduced municipal
gym and swimming pool memberships
for disabled patrons
from $150 to $25, and I believed
that the de Blasio administration
would serve disabled New
Yorker’s as a champion in their
mission to live full and joyful
lives.
So imagine my surprise
and disgust when the mayor
called the idea “silly,” and said
the city would never support
such an initiative.
I left the meeting feeling
outraged, and immediately set
to work on turning this “silly”
idea into a reality. I made appointments
with borough presidents
Gale Brewer, Melinda
Katz and Eric Adams, and I sat
with council members Corey
Johnson, Mark Levine, Jimmy
Van Bramer, Helen Rosenthal,
Laurie Cumbo, Robert Holden,
and Ydannis Rodriguez. I met
with Attorney General Leticia
James, and discussed the issue
with senators Chuck Schumer
and Kirsten Gillibrand. I broke
bread with congress members
Jerrold Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries,
Adriano Espaillat, Carolyn
Maloney, Sean Patrick Maloney,
and Yvette Clark, and I
spoke with various members
of the New York State Senate
and Assembly.
All these representatives
of the people — with the exception
of only a few elected
offi cials — told me that they
had no interest in supporting
this common sense proposal,
claiming disabled New Yorkers
should have no special privileges
or discounts, even when
it came to cultural institutions
specifi cally run by the city and
funded by the tax payers.
I plodded on, with no staff,
fi nancial aid, or support, this
time making appointments
with every museum director,
cinema owner, and Broadway
producer in New York
City, and asked them the same
question I asked de Blasio —
why not include the disabled
along with veterans, students,
and seniors?
Again I was surprised —
this time pleasantly. My proposal
was met with near universal
support, as businesses
and institutions embraced
this idea of inclusion. When I
explained to them that Bill de
Blasio and his inner circle opposed
this idea, many replied
to say that, thankfully, they
didn’t work for the mayor.
As of Jan 2020, I have personally
secured every Museum
in New York City to offer free,
or discounted entry to disabled
visitors, with the exception of
those institutions, such as the
Metropolitan Museum of Art,
the 911 Memorial Museum,
the Intrepid Museum, and the
New York Historical Society,
which are managed by the city.
These stand in stark contrast
to MOMA, the Whitney, the
Guggenheim, the Jewish Museum,
Asia Society, Cooper Hewitt,
and many others. I have
agreements with every cinema
in New York City except Regal,
AMC Cinemas, and Cinepolis,
along with all Broadway and
off-Broadway productions.
And as the public sector
ironically outpaces the government
of one of the country’s
self-proclaimed “progressive
enclaves” in protecting the
rights of disabled New Yorkers,
only one brave, bold, and
honest city Democrat stood
with the disabled — State Sen.
Robert Jackson.
Jackson has introduced
two bills into the state legislature
that would radically
enhance the lives of disabled
New Yorkers. The fi rst, S.6447,
would include a discrete disability
designation on state-issued
ID cars, ensuring people
who suffer from inconspicuous
disabilities can access services.
The other, S.7097, would
require any business or establishment
that offers discounts
to students, seniors, and veterans
to extend those savings on
to disabled patrons.
Now as the upcoming federal
elections loom in 2020,
and with city elections on the
horizon in 2021, disabled voters
will remember the elected
offi cials who stood with de
Blasio against them:
• Congresswoman Carolyn
Maloney - aligned with Bill de
Blasio (re-election)
• Congressman Jerrold Nadler
- aligned with Bill de Blasio
(re-election)
• Congressman Adriano
Espaillat - aligned with Bill de
Blasio (re-election)
• Councilman Corey Johnson
- aligned with Bill de Blasio,
and wishes to be Mayor of
NYC
• Councilman Jimmy Van
Bramer - aligned with Bill
de Blasio, and wishes to be
Queens BP
• Councilman Mark Levine
- aligned with Bill de Blasio,
and wishes to be Manhattan
BP
• Councilwoman Helen
Rosenthal - aligned with Bill
de Blasio, and wishes to be
Comptroller
Adrian Edwards-Smith is
the Director of Advocacy for
the Disabled NYC. He can be
reached at adrianedwardsnyc@
gmail.com
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