Candidate Name: Andrea Masley
Candidate for: Civil Court in the 2nd Municipal District, Borough of Manhattan
Campaign Manager: Karen Vinacour
Phone: 917-202-0740
How will you incorporate people with disabilities into your campaign?
I have been endorsed by and campaign with Assemblywoman Sylvia Friedman.
Are you willing to hire and use flex-time and job-sharing if necessary?
I am willing to hire and use flex-time and job sharing and I have been doing so since my campaign began. As Counsel at the City Bar Association from 1995 to 1998, I worked with the Association’s diversity committees to promote flex-time and job-sharing policies to large law firms.
Campaign Name: Friends of Andrea Masley
Campaign Address: 130 East 18th Street, New York, N.Y. 10003
Phone: 917-805-6267
Fax: 212-533-5664
Email: friendsofandrea@att.net
Website: andreamasley.com
Previous elected offices held:
I was elected as a member of the New York County Democratic Committee in 1999 and 2005 for a two-year term in the 54th Election District.
Key endorsements to date:
Community organizations: GSID
Political leaders:
Local community leaders:
Have you had personal experience with disability? If so, please describe.
Yes, I have had personal experience with disability. As a child, I was diagnosed with a 70% loss of hearing. This severe disability was discovered when I was in second grade at P.S. 2 in Clifton New Jersey and all students had their hearing tested. This disability had a serious effect on my education. I was slow to learn how to read. In first grade, I was stigmatized by being placed in the slowest reading group (The Ducks). Because of my own painful experience with hearing loss, I am sensitive to other people’s experiences with hearing loss and have on occasion had the opportunity to give advice to and counsel others who have experienced profound hearing loss.
Is the courthouse in which you work accessible to people with all kinds of disabilities? If not, what have you done to ensure access?
Unfortunately not. Too many rooms in the Court house at 60 Centre Street are not accessible to wheelchairs or to people with mobility challenges. Courtroom 300 was recently renovated to be accessible. If I had a case with a person in a wheelchair or with mobility challenges, I would move the trial to that room.
Has a person with a disability appeared before your court as a juror or litigant? If so, please indicate what, if any, challenges arose? And how were they handled?
An attorney with a hearing disability appeared in our courtroom. I called Honorable Roz Richter to inquire how the court would assist in future court appearances. She suggested having a court reporter present to provide simultaneous translation of future conferences or court proceedings. I advised the attorney of this option and he was enthusiastic about using it in the future. However, at his request, the next appearance was by phone after which the case settled.
Many attorneys and litigants appear in our courtroom with mobility disabilities. The bench in the courtroom blocks the way to my office which is where conferences are held. Using a different door is an option or I conduct conferences in the courtroom. I give the parties the option.
Do you believe that a deaf or a blind person can serve as a juror? Why or why not?
Of course a deaf or blind person can serve as a juror. Juries should represent the community and deaf and blind people are part of our community. There are accommodations that can be made and I would make them.
Have you sought any rulings that directly touch upon disability rulings?
Please see the attached decision in Howard v. NYCHA, which I drafted for Judge Gans for whom I worked and with whose permission I attach the decision. In re Howard, (New York County Index No. 102648/00, December 20, 2000), reversed, 294 A.D.2d 278, 742 N.Y.S.2d 283 (1st Dep’t 2002). In Page 3 2006 504 Dems Judical Q this Article 78 action, the Mother of a 49 year old man with autism challenged a certificate of eviction. NYCHA alleged that Mrs. Howard sublet the apartment without NYCHA's permission and failed to make the apartment her primary residence. Mrs. Howard objected explaining that she traveled from coast to coast supervising her son's placement in programs which were not then available in New York. She became an advocate for people with autism. New York finally funded a program for adults with autism in 1998 which would allow them to stay in their own homes with housekeeping and shopping support and a job in the community. Petitioner's son was to be the first participant in the program. Soon after bringing her son home, petitioner was served with an eviction notice. The Court held that the Mother's unapproved subletting should not be visited on her son. The Appellate Division, First Department reversed the decision and the Mother and son were evicted. I credit this case with inspiring me to begin my efforts to be a judge.
Are (should) mentally ill defendants be treated differently from others? If so, how?
Any mentally ill person, whether it is a defendant, other party, attorney, or juror, may require some accommodation. All parties should be treated fairly. I would inquire of the person, or their attorney if they are represented, whether some accommodation is requested.
Are you willing to hire on a job share/full time basis a qualified law clerk/secretary with a disability?
Yes, I am willing to hire on a job share/full time basis a qualified law clerk or assistant with a disability. I devoted almost four years of my career to improving diversity in the legal profession. One of the most effective strategies for keeping qualified attorneys in the profession is to offer flex-time and job sharing.
How will you work within the court structure to assure the accessibility of all facilities of the courts? Or will you participate in the Committee for People with Disabilities and/or training?
I will continue to call upon my good friend Honorable Roz Richter, the chair of the Committee for People with Disabilities, for advice when accessibility issues arise and I will participate in any training the Committee offers. As chair of the City Bar's Committee on State Courts of Superior Jurisdiction, I will continue to work with the City Bar's Special Committee on Women in the Courts which successfully influenced the Office of Court Administration to revise its policies and procedures for Court interpreters.