FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM APRIL 8, 2022 • THE QUEENS COURIER 18
Forest Hills native challenges Hevesi in Democratic primary
Meng bill aims to improve interactions between fi rst responders and people with disabilities
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
CMOHAMED@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
Queens Congresswoman Grace Meng on
Tuesday, March 29, introduced new legislation
that would improve interactions between fi rst
responders and people with disabilities.
Th e Disability ID Act of 2022 would establish
a new grant program for states to facilitate the
placement of a discrete and voluntary disability
identifi er symbol on driver’s licenses and other
forms of state-issued identifi cation, in order to
improve interactions between fi rst responders
and people with disabilities.
Th e legislation would also provide funding
for training fi rst responders to recognize the
disability identifi ers and interact appropriately
with such individuals.
According to Meng, people with disabilities
should not be subjected to unfair and sometimes
violent treatment because of circumstances
out of their control.
“Situations where first responders are
needed oft en cause severe anxiety and fear,
but by providing identifi er symbols on different
forms of ID, fi rst responders will be
better suited to use the training this bill also
provides to handle complex situations with
people who have disabilities. I look forward
to my bill moving through the House,” Meng
said.
Some states, like Alaska and Colorado, have
already pioneered state laws that provide an
option for a person with a disability to request
a discreet disability identifi er symbol on their
form of identifi cation. Meng’s bill would help
provide these same choices to people with disabilities
and provide training for fi rst responders
across the country.
Jess Stainbrook, executive director of the
Invisible Disabilities Association, is partnering
with Meng to help states provide a designated
disability ID symbol on government IDs and
driver’s licenses.
“We are seeing this important initiative
protect and support people living with invisible
disabilities and the interactions with law
enforcement, fi rst responders, educators and
businesses all over the globe. Th e new ID
symbol helps specify that an invisible disability
is present and may need some type of accommodations,”
Stainbrook said.
Rachel Morgan, founder and president of
the Adam Morgan Foundation, said Meng’s
bill will “facilitate a proactive program for
fi rst responders that will allow them to build
trusting relationships with the disabled community
in order to be more eff ective in their
future interactions.”
Photo courtesy of Rep. Meng’s offi ce
BY JULIA MORO
EDITORIAL@QNS.COM
@QNS
Assembly member Andrew Hevesi of District
28 — representing Forest Hills, Rego
Park, Richmond Hill, Glendale, Kew Gardens,
Ridgewood and Middle Village — has a new
challenger in the Democratic primary taking
place in late June.
Ethan Felder, a lifelong resident of Forest
Hills, has been a labor lawyer for the past six
years, representing groups like transit workers,
fi refi ghters and healthcare workers — what he
likes to call “our essential union families.”
Felder launched his campaign just four
weeks ago and has made public safety the
forefront of his platform. He plans to focus on
confronting mental health to prevent crime and
support law enforcement. He also mentioned
he wants to put a stop to the Kew Gardens jail,
which would be 19 stories high and hold 886
inmates on Union Turnpike.
“A whole lot of people don’t feel safe riding
our subway right now or walking outside at
night across this Assembly district,” Felder said.
“It’s the number one issue I hear at doorsteps
and it’s one I share riding the subway myself.”
Hevesi has held his seat in the Assembly for
17 years, recently serving as the Chair of the
Assembly Standing Committee on Children
and Families. Hevesi has been focusing on
mitigating childhood trauma in this new position
he was appointed to in January of 2021.
Felder said that though Hevesi is the incumbent,
he feels the district needs a change
in leadership.
“I’m closer to the everyday lives of the
citizens of this district and I think my views
moreso than Hevesi’s refl ect the viewpoint of
this district,” Felder said. “I’ve been representing
people and families and understanding
their everyday stresses in a far deeper way than
someone who has been up in Albany for the
last 17 years.”
Felder is a trial attorney at 32BJ SEIU, where
he advocates on behalf of working families,
fi ghting for their dignity and livelihoods. He
has also been a part of Community Board 6,
and a community activist organizing rallies
against hate and racism.
“I’m trying to give voice to communities that
have not always had a seat at the table,” Felder
said.
Felder attended Townsend Harris High
School in Flushing, where he credits learning
the responsibility of one’s civic duty. He
went on to study at Cornell University and
earned his law degree from Washington
University in St. Louis. He then worked
on Wall Street for some time, which then
launched the next phase of his career as
an attorney fighting for underrepresented
communities.
“When I was in corporate America, I saw the
insecurity in people’s lives in terms of being
subject to layoff s and not having much control
over their futures,” Felder said. “Th ere came
a certain point where I thought: what was my
purpose and what did I get all this education
for? I came to the conclusion that I wanted to
be an advocate for others and fi ght for other
people’s dignity.”
Felder’s pro bono work led him to win a case
protecting the voting rights of 6,000 people in
Lefrak City aft er the Board of Elections tried
to move a polling site that had been in place
for 50 years.
Photo courtesy of Felder’s campaign
Forest Hills resident and labor lawyer Ethan Felder is challenging Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi for his seat in
the Assembly.
/WWW.QNS.COM
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