504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for City Council Doug Biviano's 2009 response)

Candidate Name: Doug Biviano

Council District: 33

Contact Person: Doug Biviano, after June 15: Henry McClaslin

If there is a Campaign office, is it wheelchair accessible? Not yet. Promise my Council Office will be and will also have ADA accessible bathroom. During Campaign, I will make myself to available meet constituent voters at accessible locations.

Campaign Address: 1 Grace Court, Apt. 1C, Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718-855-1999
Email: doug @ bivforbrooklyn.com
Website: www.bivforbrooklyn.com

Action Shows Commitment!
1. 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?
  
  As a building superintendent, I understand the need and challenges to make it happen as we are in a prewar building with five steps to the elevator. Although we do not have any disabled individuals in a wheelchair, a senior tenant in the building who was hit by a truck and suffered a broken leg. We acquired a removable ramp but I offered to build a permanent one that was ADA compliant (the board of the building did not go forward). The building did not want to leave the ramp there because it was too steep to meet code so I made myself available to place the ramp whenever she needed it and assist her up or down the ramp. Thus, my relationship is literally hands on (and back too) with the matter. I get it.
  
  As for health care, I'm the only candidate in the 33rd district race calling for single-payer 'Medicare for All' as a core platform of my candidacy. I have been advocating this for a long time going back to my support of Dennis Kucinich in 2004 and being his New York State Campaign Coordinator in 2008. I go further. If it does not happen on the federal level, I will advocate and push hard for it on the State and City level. If all else fails, I believe we can do it on the city level (I will attach two of my recent emails expressing this).
  
  My advocacy of "Medicare for All," and anti-war platform, stems from my core value and focus on living and the bigger issues of life. Life is hard enough without war. I expressed during your endorsement meeting my practical and fully fact based understanding that war robs a trillion dollars per year from investment in communities all over this nation, including in NYC, that would make life easier and accessible to all, including disabled citizens and mommies with strollers. Imagine the accessible infrastructure and housing if we had local leaders who could connect the lost local opportunity and forcefully create the political space to take care of each and every one of us here at home instead of the destruction and death that war brings. I believe I have a strong and bold voice and will make this an effective message both a national and local one.
  
  Thus, I have been a committed activist against war since 9-11 and have also submitted to NYC in 2007 a proposal called PeaceNYC expressing this sentiment and benefits to NYC:
  
  http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/peacenyc/project-home
  
  I also understand the fine line between health care, disability and homelessness, even if you have a home. I spoke at your endorsement meeting on May 27 of my experience with Interfaith Assembly on Homelessness and Housing (http://iahh.org/) where those injured in walk ups became effectively and, in many cases, ultimately homeless. Therefore, we must build stock of accessible apartments in all neighborhoods as part of any new development and rezoning negotiations.
2. Will you commit to only attend / 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)?
  
  While I cannot commit only to attending events of such nature, I can and do commit to sponsoring events that are fully inclusive.
General Questions
1. What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities in your personal life and in the workplace?
  
  I have psoriatic arthritis. My right hip routinely hurts and clicks. I was also an asthma child and still get it from time to time. I am on course for major hip problems and, therefore, have personal stake in responsible disability policy, legislation and action in terms of providing infrastructure, services and housing that are inclusive to all members of our City. We need to improve service and provide elevators for our subways. We need to make sure Access-A-Ride has the capacity and shows up on time. We need to provide for all of us in the community. See above story about the access ramp.
  
  Also, I was a building manager in a building that had a Physical Therapy center as a tenant. I had a relationship with the owner so I would visit and talk. I was amazed at how many people.
2. 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?
  
  A part-time disability policy analyst (otherwise like having a Board of Education without any educators on it) and administrative staff.
3. 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?
  
  First and foremost, I would work with your 504 Committee to assure that any development and rezoning proposals include provisions that satisfy the needs of the disability community.
  
  Second, I would work with your committee to make sure the needed legislation is introduced in the Council. I would be pride to sponsor this type of legislation and it is in line with needs of all of us. I mentioned my only personal frustrations of not being able to take a train to the airport until the recent advent of the AirTrain. I could only imagine the frustration of the disability community's frustration with needed legislation so that each and every one of us could live happy and productive lives. Frankly, it's unacceptable in a city that boasts its status of a financial market capital of the world.
  
  Third, any proposed legislation should include a high level post in New York City's Department of City Planning (DCP) of a member of the disability community. You have to ask what kind of planning is going on if there are no disability community members at the table doing the city planning. Again, I use the example of a Board of Ed without any educators on it.
Housing
1. What is your position on the development of supported apartments/homes and retirement homes for the persons with mental and/or physical disabilities in your district?
  
  As mentioned, all new development and rezoning proposals must include accommodations so that that every neighborhood has these needed homes because people need to live where they are or come from. Thus, I plan to not alone promote this inclusive development but to educate and explain how close we all are to these needs.
2. What is your position on making DRIE (Disabled Rent Increase Exemption) and SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption) programs income eligibility comparable? (At present a individual senior or household income eligibility is $28,000. While the income for a younger disabled individual is capped at $19,284 and $27,780 for a household?)
  
  I would argue and push for equal protection under the law and raise the DRIE limits to be in line with SCRIE but also make sure that both limits are in touch with reality such that both DRIE and SCRIE candidates can afford all other living expenses and can live dignified lives.
3. 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 Building Code?
  
  Absolutely. We have to be forward thinking. This makes so much sense. To not, simply destroys community like so many other policies.
Transportation
1. 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.?
  
  Yes and like I've said, the accessibility of subway stations already irritates me.
2. 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?
  
  I don't know enough about the vehicles but I very much want to learn. I would sit down with your committee to find out more about. It seems like a good niche for "GMC" doesn't it? Then it would be a matter of phasing in with replacement vehicles. Depending on costs, it might seem reasonable to look at public subsidies to minimize resistance.
3. 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 AAR? Would you support the issuance of a "smart card" so that Access-A-Ride users can use accessible cabs/livery service at a reduced cost and receive better service?
  
  First, we'd have to make sure that complaints are investigated and enforced so that retaliation never happens. Second, we have to increase capacity whether it's with more AAR or alternatives such as your proposed subsidized cabs/livery service.
Civil Rights
Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections for persons with disabilities?

I, Doug Biviano, hereby affirm to strengthen the civil rights protections for persons with disabilities. Again, I talk about war because it is the grossest human rights violation on earth that ironically increases the ranks of the disability community while at the same time diminishes our ability as a society to provide the services and accommodations of this community. It's horrible policy squared! Therefore, I connect the issue and cost of war to just about every local issue we have because it's so important and comes down to funding and priorities that play out on the local level on the order of a hidden crisis. Thus, like health care and affordable housing, I ascribe the term "hidden Katrina" to the neglect of the disability community in the way it plays out for individuals. I view these issues as "National Security" issues. But I'm optimistic that local leaders like me can make a difference.
Community Board
1. Do you support requiring all Community Board meeting and function be accessible, including requiring sign language interpreters and large print format material?
  
  Yes.
2. How many people with disabilities have/will you appoint to your local Community Board(s)?
  
  It should be in proportion to the percentage of disabled citizens in New York City, but at least one per Community Board.
3. Will you support the "requirement" and implement, a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?
  
  Yes.
Discretionary Funds

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

Yes.
Accessibility
1. 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 existing ones which are unsafe. How would you ensure that pedestrian ramps are provided or repaired? What would you establish as a timetable?
  
  Yes. I wonder what happens when a disabled individual "discovers" an unsafe one and either must turn back into traffic at a busy intersection or fall into it.
2. What steps do you think NYC should take to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible?
  
  At a minimum, incentives for ramps and accessible rest rooms.
3. 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?
  
  There should be voluntary provisions where PWDs can register with fire and police stations and 9-1-1 such that mandated visits and emergency response visits are made to the homes of the PWDs so that they are not stranded and endangered. This "database" should be programmed into the 9-1-1 response protocols so that no one slips through the cracks in an emergency. The database and response protocol should be vertically integrated into higher authority responses on the state and federal levels. I say voluntary simply for privacy concerns of individuals who chose not to be part of the program.
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD)
1. 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?
  
  There should be horizontal integration and like I said the DCP at a minimum should have a high-level PWDs on staff. Certainly, it would make sense for the MOPD to provide the services you ask of the City Council members (i.e. written materials in alternate formats, providing assistive listening systems, and sign language interpreters) to all NYC agencies, departments and branches.
2. 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?
  
  Not sure but open to suggestions.

Date: June 3, 2009

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