Emily F. Keller

Autism Organization Supports Parents and Care Givers

    Brooklyn parents of children with autism held a press conference with local representatives August 11 to extend their support for the organization My Time Inc.  

    The advocates gathered at Brooklyn Borough Hall to offer praise for the organization whose mission is to support, educate, empower, enlighten and uplift parents and caregivers of children with autism and developmental disabilities.

    The organization offers resources to parents and caregivers and also prides itself on providing parents with opportunities for stress relief from the difficulties of care taking. Programs include parent-to-parent mentoring, support groups, social events and activities for children. The services are free and donations are accepted.

Transit Advocates Announce Lawsuit Against MTA

    Transportation accessibility advocates have used public forums and rallies to protest t he Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) wide-ranging service cuts. Now they are taking legal action.

    Activists stood outside Brooklyn Borough Hall August 17 to announce that they are suing the MTA and its New York City Transit (NYCT) division for cutting and restructuring 33 Brooklyn bus routes, including the elimination of the B39 and B51 routes.

    The cuts took effect June 27 and include changes to subways and Access-A-Ride, which has implemented a reduced trip length for riders who are deemed able to walk from a subway or bus station to their destination.

    The plaintiffs in the case are RueZalia Watkins (pictured), Anthony Trocchia and Clara Reiss – who are unable to use subways due to mobility impairments – as well as Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York (DIA) and the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled.

    “Everyone in New York has to have access – not access by appointment,” Watkins said, referring to Access-A-Ride, which requires advance reservations to use. “As long as we sit and stay in our homes and we don’t stand up, they will continue to make cuts," she said about the protest.

    This article is published at Transportation Access and will be printed in the next issue of Able News. Click here to read the story.

MTA Protest: Advocates Demonstrate at Borough Hall

    The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) has made wide-ranging service cuts despite citywide community and political efforts to stop them, including an 11th hour protest at Brooklyn Borough Hall on behalf of people with disabilities and seniors.

    The MTA has cut the V and W subway lines, decreased train frequency, eliminated more than 30 bus routes and reduced service on others. The cuts are part of an effort to plug an $800 million budget gap and are expected to save the transit provider $93 million annually.

    The MTA backtracked on a plan to withdraw funding for student MetroCards.

Disabled Veteran Charges Discrimination in Brooklyn

    Luis Carlos Montalvan was looking for a meal when he visited a McDonald's restaurant in Sunset Park, Brooklyn in late 2008 with his service dog, Tuesday.

    Instead he became the plaintiff in a discrimination lawsuit against a multi-billion dollar fast-food chain, charging that the restaurant failed to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

    This article was published in Able News. Click here to read page one and here to read page two of the story.

Sheri Baker Levy Slideshow

    This audio slideshow is a profile of Sheri Baker Levy, a disability rights advocate in Brooklyn, New York, produced in the spring in 2007 and published on Transportation Access in April 2009.

Watch the audio slideshow.

Disabled's in-Accessible Ride

    This article is about the introduction of eligibility testing to New York City's paratransit service, Access-A-Ride. Published in the New York Daily News. Read the story.

Bedford-Stuyvesant Residents Discuss Violence Prevention

    Middle-aged women condemn it on the B52 bus.  Teenagers worry about it on their way home from school.  Posters at the entrance to a local high school offer rewards for information about it.

    In the school's auditorium, a forum of concerned community leaders has gathered to take another crack at eradicating youth violence - the age-old problem plaguing their community of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn.

    They walk past a poster bearing the face of Rashawn Brazell, a former student killed in a grisly attack two years ago that left the 19-year-old's dismembered body on the A-train tracks of a subway station seven blocks away.  The New York Police Department has offered $22,000 for information leading to an arrest and conviction but no one has come forward.

Dock Workers Respond to Economic Development Corporation

    Red Hook port workers held a press conference to demand an apology from the city’s Economic Development Corporation for calling their work “low-rung” earlier this year. Instead, the EDC reaffirmed its assessment. Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link for this article is currently unavailable.)

Home Scammers Set to Repay Victims: Attorney General

    A mortgage fraud ring in Brooklyn agreed to pay $1.8 million in restitution to victims, according to an agreement with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. This article was published in the New York Daily News. Click on the article to enlarge it.

A Half Century of Independent Living

    The Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled celebrated its 50th anniversary at Buckley’s Restaurant. The center is run by people with disabilities. It serves several thousand people annually.

    The center assists people with socialization, personal grooming, housing, employment, voter registration, job training and transportation. Tasks include helping people obtain adaptive equipment at work sites, instructing people with disabilities about where to buy specialized cars, and representing clients in court. Services are free although contributions are accepted. Annual membership costs $5 to $20 per person.

    Published in Courier-Life Publications. (Sorry - the link is unavailable.)