504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for State Assembly Linda B. Rosenthal's response)

Candidate Name: Linda B. Rosenthal

Campaign Manager: Martha Norrick

Phone: 212-729-4944

Campaign Name: Rosenthal for Assembly

Campaign Address: 49 West 72nd Street, New York, N.Y. 10023

Contact Person: Martha Norrick

Phone: 212-729-4944

Email: martha@rosenthalforassembly.com

Website: www.rosenthalforassembly.com

Assembly District: 67

Please describe any experience with disability you have had in your life or career.

In my position as Congressman Jerrold Nadler's Manhattan Director, I worked on improving the number of accessible subway stations, including helping to secure the funding for the revamp of the 72nd Street and Broadway station, which is now fully accessible. I have worked to assist people with disabilities, physical or psychiatric, and I have always fought against discrimination, including that against PWDs. I know first hand from friends who are PWDs how hard life can be when barriers exist, and when government needs to be forced to do its job to eliminate them.
Is your campaign headquarters accessible to persons with disabilities? If you are an incumbent, is your district office accessible to persons with disabilities?

I do not have a campaign office, but my district office is accessible to persons with disabilities.
How will you incorporate people with disabilities into your campaign?

There are no campaign activities that are not accessible, and everyone is welcomed.
Are you willing to hire and use flex-time and job-sharing if necessary?

Yes, I am willing to use both those methods.
Seventy (70%) percent of people with disabilities of working age are unemployed at any given time, no matter how well or poorly the economy is doing. How will you use your office to advance employment opportunities for people with disabilities?

As a member of the Assembly, I have opportunities to meet with business and labor leaders and would use those to promote understanding of how people with disabilities must be included in the pool of qualified, capable employees. We must all work harder to more fully integrate PWDs into the workforce.
What will you do to reverse the negative impact of recent decisions in Federal Courts which are undercutting the powers of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 to protect the civil rights of people with disabilities in New York State? How would you change the laws of New York State to protect the rights of its citizens with disabilities?

I fully support legislation to strengthen the Americans with Disabilities Act, especially in regard to enforcement. Right now, there are very few consequences for people who violate the ADA and few means of compelling businesses or agencies to become compliant. I would support changing the law to create definite timetables for how long businesses have to become compliant with the ADA and then increasing penalties for those who continue to flout the law.
Currently, over 130,000 people reside in nursing homes and other care facilities in New York State. In 1999, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) found in L.C. v Olmstead that individuals with disabilities have a right to live in the most integrated setting. What will you do to encourage Olmstead implementation in New York?

I will advocate that new affordable housing be built with supportive units that can accommodate residents with special needs. The Assembly should make funds available to developers who pledge to build housing that is both affordable and supportive to special needs residents.
We are in the midst of a housing crisis. Accessible, affordable housing is in short supply. People with disabilities are being priced out of the market. What would you do to develop a housing policy that would lead to the development and maintenance of accessible, affordable and integrated housing stock?

First and foremost, I strongly support repeal of the Urstadt law to return control over rent regulations to New York City. We are losing affordable housing stock at an alarming rate. Soon the middle class will be completely priced out of New York. We need to reinvigorate rent stabilization programs, be more aggressive in punishing landlords who harass tenants and build more affordable housing. We need to make New York pro-tenant again.
Timothy's Law was designed to end health insurance discrimination by enacting parity in coverage for people with biologically-based psychiatric disabilities. To address cost concerns raised by small businesses, the agreement directs the state Superintendent of Insurance to develop a methodology that would hold businesses with 50 or fewer employees harmless from any increase in insurance premiums that result from this measure. It also requires the state Insurance Department and the Office of Mental Health to conduct a two year study to determine the effectiveness and impact of mental health parity legislation in New York and other states. What would you do to help small business?

The state's Medicaid program is facing significant financial pressures. The good news is that there are concrete steps we can take to help alleviate the pressure and ensure that Medicaid dollars are going to the people who really need them, like small businesses. There are three significant proposals I support to alleviate the financial pressure on the Medicaid program. First, "The Fair Share for Health Care Act" would mandate large employers provide health insurance to their employees so the burden is not shifted to the state. The second immediate proposal to address this issue is to implement a prescription drug assistance program (sometimes called "bulk purchasing") to use the state's bargaining leverage to win discounts from drug companies. The proposal will give Medicaid more bargaining power, and will also deliver substantial savings to the individual consumers who enroll in the plan and who now pay the highest retail drug prices. It would also deliver savings to taxpayers and employees who contribute to public employee health benefits. The third proposal I support is a state False Claims Act, which would make knowingly filing a false claim with the state punishable by a fine. Right now, there is nothing to deter unscrupulous people from filing false Medicaid claims, which clog up the system and decrease the amount of funds available for actual credible claims. We must not cut back on preventive services available to Medicaid recipients, however. Services including dental, vision and psychiatric are long-term solutions to reducing high Medicaid costs.
Under Kendra's Law, a state-funded Medicaid grants program has been established to provide medications for eligible individuals with a psychiatric disability upon release or discharge from institutions. This will help eliminate some of the problems associated with the Medicaid coverage gap. Do you support Medicaid Presumptive Eligibility legislation which would eliminate the standard 45 days without coverage, and thus without access to treatment?

Yes.
By passing the Help America Vote Act of 2002 the U.S. Congress has tried to ensure that people with disabilities will, by 2006, be able to cast an independent, private ballot for the first time. What will you do to ensure successful implementation HAVA?

The Board of Elections must choose new machines that are tamper-proof and provide paper verification of the votes, for example, some optical scanners. The ballot should be full face to ensure accessibility to all, and of course all polling sites must be accessible. Braille ballots should also be available.
Disabled children in grades K-12 are entitled to receive a "free and appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment," but there have been major problems. Most often, schools are not physically accessible and not accommodating their students' needs. What do you propose to correct this problem?

The three most important things the state legislature can do to ensure a sound, basic education for all New York City school children is to make sure they have high-quality teachers and professional aides, small class sizes, and adequate textbooks, supplies, libraries, and computers. These fundamentals all require sufficient funding for our public schools. Unfortunately, it has taken a lawsuit to finally wrangle the money for our schools out of Governor Pataki. The CFE decision mandates giving $5.63 billion in operating aid and $9.2 billion for facilities to New York City public schools. This past session in Albany, the capital money was delivered. This should help improve accessibility. Our schools desperately need the operating aid as well, and I will be working hard to help deliver that funding. In addition, we must ensure that children who need special education receive the education they deserve.
Despite Section 504 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, students with disabilities face problems when pursuing higher education. These statutes do not specify how students should request accommodations or assistance in asserting their rights under the law. Will you support a fully funded office of disability services on each SUNY and CUNY campus to assist students with disabilities in securing accommodations?

Yes.
What is your position on expanding DRIE (Disabled Rent Increase Exemption) to be the same as SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption) to low-income, eligible persons with disabilities under the age of 62 on the same basis and income level (currently the SCRIE's income cap is $25,000, while DRIE's is $17,000)?

I support raising the income cap for DRIE to the same level as SCRIE.
Do you support the extension of Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC) to low-income persons with disabilities regardless of age? What would you do to ensure this?

Yes. I would support the extension of EPIC and would sponsor any necessary legislation.
What would you do to expand accessible transportation options for people with disabilities in NYS?

New York City taxis must all be accessible. All new taxis must be accessible, and older ones should be modified to become accessible. This has long been a goal, but progress on this matter is too slow. The subway system must be brought into compliance with the ADA. Too few stations are accessible now, and the ones that are technically accessible are often plagued by broken elevators. The Access-A-Ride program is also in desperate need of reform. The MTA has contracted the program out to multiple companies that do not communicate with each other, creating unacceptable delays in service, occasions where the rider never gets picked up or is driven around for hours because of poor planning. This needs to be rectified.

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