Candidate Name:
     District _____, Borough _______________

Campaign Name: _________________________________________

Campaign Address: ________________________________________

Do you have a campaign office? ____ If so, is it wheelchair accessible? ____

If you are an incumbent, is your district office accessible to persons with disabilities? _______

Campaign Manager: ______________________________________

Phone: __________________ Fax: _________________________

Email: ___________________ Website: _____________________

Previous elected offices held: ______________________________________

Previous appointed offices held: ______________________________________

Key endorsements:

Community organizations: __________________________________________________

Political leaders: __________________________________________________________

Local community leaders: ___________________________________________________

Labor: __________________________________________________________________

1. Action Shows Commitment!

    

   • While in public office/prior to this campaign, what have you accomplished in regard to advancing disability rights? This can include work towards accessible housing, transportation, employment, health care, education, and including people with disabilities in the political process?

      

      

   • Will you commit to only attend and/or sponsor events that are accessible to people with disabilities (PWDs) including providing written materials in alternate formats, providing assistive listening systems, and sign language interpreters as well as ensuring that locations are physically accessible?

      

      

2. General Questions:

    

   • What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities in your personal life and in the workplace?

      

      

   • What type of jobs would you be willing to hire and to provide reasonable accommodation (e.g. flex or part time) for staff members with disabilities?

      

      

   • How will you work closely with the disability community to assure passage of vitally needed legislation through the City Council? What will be your strategy?

      

      

3. Housing

    

   • What is your position on the development of supported apartments/homes and retirement homes for the mentally disabled and the physically disabled in your borough?

      

      

   • 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 SCRIE's income cap is $27,000, while DRIE's is $18,600)?

      

      

   • Visitability sets guidelines to ensure newly constructed multi-family dwellings have basic accessible/adaptable features to permit people with disabilities can visit, and for residents to "age in place," without having to move out when age and/or disability set in. Do you support incorporating the concept of "visitability" in the New York State Building Code?

      

      

4. Transportation

    

   • Will you support an expansion of affordable wheelchair accessible transportation in NYC, including taxis, livery service, express buses, and shuttles, more accessible subway stations, etc.?

      

      

   • Efforts to secure a 100% accessible fleet of medallion taxis have been hampered by opposition from Mayor Bloomberg and the taxi industry. The current emphasis is on creating a 100% "green" fleet. What would you do to assure that taxis and community car service vehicles are both "green" and universally designed for wheelchair access?

      

      

   • Access-A-Ride (AAR) users experience unnecessarily long trips, causing workers to be late for work, have their pay docked and possibly losing their jobs. AAR leaves consumers stranded, lies that a vehicle is coming and penalized riders as a "no-show" when the vehicle never arrived. Riders who complain report they are subject to retaliation. What would you do to improve the quality of service for those who must use AAR?

      

      

5. Civil Rights

   Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections for persons with disabilities?

    

6. Community Board

    

   • Do you support requiring all Community Board meeting and function to be accessible, including requiring sign language interpreters and large print format material?

      

      

   • How many people with disabilities have/will you appoint to your local Community Board?

      

      

   • Will you support the "requirement" and implement, of a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?

      

      

7. Discretionary Funds

   Will you use your discretionary funds to support organizations serving PWDs or service organizations seeking to make their programs accessible to PWDs?

    

8. Accessibility

    

   • Under Mayor Bloomberg, the City settled with the United Spinal Association and agreed to install Pedestrian ramps, on all corners which presently don't have one. However, no provision was made to repair and/or replace the current ones which are unsafe. How would you ensure that pedestrian ramps are provided or repaired? What would you establish as a timetable?

      

      

   • What steps do you think NYC should take to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible?

      

      

   • How would you ensure that emergency evacuation for PWDs provisions are put in place to improve survival rates of PWDs in the event of fire, attack, blackout, or other emergency situation?

      

      

9. Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD)

    

   • Mayor Bloomberg elevated the Director of the MOPD to a Commissioner without any increase in budget or responsibilities. How would you ensure that city departments/agencies coordinate through MOPD?

      

      

   • How do you believe the City Council should enforce and do oversight regarding the work of the office and be certain of the implementation and its efforts?

      

      

Date: ______________________