504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for City Council S.J. Jung's 2009 response)

Candidate Name: S.J. Jung

Council District: 20

Contact Person: Liz Rhee

If there is a Campaign office, is it wheelchair accessible? Yes.

Campaign Address: 163-10 Northern Blvd., Flushing, NY 11358
Phone: 718-353-0304
Fax: 718-353-1226
Address:
Email: sjjung4citycouncil @ gmail.com
Website: www.sjjung.com

Endorsements: Working Families Party; UAW Region 9A; UFCW Local 1500; SEIU Local 32BJ; CWA District 1 ; 100 top Korean American community leaders

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?
  
  In 1996, many elderly immigrants who are green card holders lost their SSI because Congress passed a law denying cash assistance for low-income and disabled seniors for the first five years after becoming a permanent resident. As a leader of Flushing-based community organization called the Young Korean American Service and Education Center (YKASEC), I fought to successfully restore this basic benefit to needy elderly and disabled persons in New York City, enabling hundreds of senior citizens to pay their rent and buy food. Separately, for many years, I have also worked to help persons with disabilities access different channels of government benefits.
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)?
  
  I will be a strong advocate for providing broad access to people with disabilities. I will do my best to meet the highest standards of the disability rights community.
General Questions
1. What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities in your personal life and in the workplace?
  
  For many years, I have worked with a member of my community organization that had lost both legs and was a wheel chair user. My organization has worked for many years to help persons with disabilities such as him to access different channels of government benefits available to him.
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?
  
  I am willing to hire and provide reasonable accommodation for staff members with disabilities, including flex and part time.
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?
  
  I will be an ally for the disability rights community. I will use my existing political capital to win concrete victories on vitally needed legislation.
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?
  
  I support this wholeheartedly.
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?)
  
  There is no reason for the difference between the DRIE and the SCRIE. I support expanding DRIE.
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?
  
  I will work with the Department of Buildings and the disability rights community to incorporate visitability in the Building Code.
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.
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 will work with disability rights advocates to formulate policy prescriptions to ensure that the taxi fleet is accessible.
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?
  
  As a community organizer, I would be very comfortable working with disability rights advocates on bringing accountability to the Access-A-Ride program. I'll use my position to use public hearings, press conferences, and community outreach to provide oversight of the New York City Transit.
Civil Rights

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

As a community organizer, I believe that a key mission of public servants should be to protect the civil rights of all people. I will work with the disability rights community to strengthen civil rights protections for persons with disabilities.
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?
  
  I will be a strong advocate for providing broad access to Community Board meetings for people with disabilities. I will do my best to meet the highest standards of the disability rights community.
2. How many people with disabilities have/will you appoint to your local Community Board(s)?
  
  I'll use my position to appoint people with disabilities to the Community Board.
3. Will you support the "requirement" and implement, a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?
  
  The needs of PWDs should be addressed at the Community Board level by a separate committee.
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?
  
  I'll use my position to bring attention from the relevant city departments to provide and repair pedestrian ramps.
2. What steps do you think NYC should take to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible?
  
  I will work with disability rights community to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible.
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?
  
  I will work with the disability rights community to ensure that emergency services are trained handle situations with PWDs to ensure increased survival rates during emergency situations.
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?
  
  I support giving the Director of the MOPD the necessary authority and budget to meet the demands of the position.
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?
  
  I will use my office to provide oversight of the MOPD to ensure that its meeting its mission effectively.

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