
Please return via fax to 212-684-6287 or via e-mail
You can also mail the questionnaire and any campaign literature or supporting documentation to
504 Democratic Club, c/o Marty Sesmer, 332 E. 29th St., #5A, NY, NY 10016.
I. Candidate Information:
Candidate Name:
Candidate for: City Council, _____ District, Borough _______________
Campaign Name:
Campaign Address:
Is your campaign office wheelchair accessible?
Phone:
Fax:
Email:
Website:
Campaign Manager:
Phone:
E-mail:
Previous elected offices held:
Previous appointed offices held:
Key endorsements to date:
Community organizations:
Political leaders:
Local community leaders:
Labor:
II. 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?
What oversight have you performed regarding implementation of programs/legislation you have passed (in first term or in previous offices)?
What implementation/strategy do you have for your future programs and legislation to help constituents with disabilities?
Will you commit to only attend or sponsor events that are accessible to people with disabilities? NOTE: This includes providing written materials in alternate formats for people with low vision, providing assistive listening systems for people who are hard-of-hearing, and sign language interpreters for people who are deaf, as well as ensuring that locations are accessible to people who use mobility aids, like wheelchairs and walkers.
III. General Questions:
What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities?
...in your personal life?
...in the workplace?
What special accommodations do you believe/think are in use in the workplace?
How do you propose to implement your active involvement and/or availability to the disability community?
Will there be a specific person in your office responsible to this community?
Will have regular office agenda items and meetings on disabled community issues?
Do you/or will you, have an active Disability Advisory Committee? Explain its duties, responsibilities and powers.
How will you work closely with the disability community to assure passage of vitally needed legislation through the City Council? What is your strategy during your first term?
IV. Housing:
What is your position on the development of supported apartments/homes and retirement homes for the mentally disabled in your borough? Please also explain same for physically disabled. What strategies will you utilize?
What is your position on extending the Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) to low-income, eligible persons with disabilities under the age of 62 on the same basis and income level (currently the income cap for seniors is $24,000, but for persons with disabilities it has been set at $17,000)?
How will you develop realistic income levels for individuals and couples with disabilities to avail themselves of the SCRIE provisions?
What alternative programs will you propose to allow persons with disabilities to stay in their own homes/apartments? (i.e. protection from rent increases or undue eviction (harassment) and make funds available to make appropriate accommodations in present living environment). Another example: perhaps a dedicated housing trust fund should be established for making those housing accommodations. If so, how would you fund same?
New York City is in the process of adopting a new building code. How would you advocate for the strongest possible access provisions?
Emergency evacuation for people with disabilities: what would you do to ensure that provisions are put in place to improve survival rates of people with disabilities in the event of fire, attack, blackout, or other emergency situation?
What would you do to ensure that "Visitability"
is enacted in New York City? Visitability is the movement towards establishing guidelines providing that newly constructed multi-family dwellings have basic accessible/adaptable features that permit friends and family with disabilities to visit, and for residents to "age in place,"
without having to move out when age and/or disability set in.
V. Transportation:
Will you support, and what strategy will you utilize, to implement an expansion of affordable wheelchair accessible transportation in NYC, including taxis, livery service, express buses, airport shuttle service, 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. Wheelchair accessible taxis are present in many cities as a result of strong support from local Mayors and City Councils. What would you do to assure that all New York City residents, commuters and tourists have access to an important form of public transportation, our medallion taxis and community car services?
Access-A-Ride has denied rides to many eligible consumers; cause unnecessarily long trips, causing workers to be late for work and consequently be docked pay and even lose their jobs; routinely leave many consumers stranded at the curb, lying to their clients that a bus is coming and calling consumer a "no-show"
when the bus has not shown. Consumers who complain are often subject to retaliation. What would you do to improve the quality of service for those who must use Access-A-Ride?
Do you favor the construction of the Second Avenue Subway? If so, is this a priority?
VI. Civil Rights:
The Local Civil Rights Restoration Act (Intro 22) seeks to protect the vigor and independence of the City’s Human Rights Law against the attacks of an increasingly conservative State and Federal Judiciary. Although there are 38 Council sponsors, 32 civil rights and allied organizations, in favor of this legislation, and three hearings have been held, Mayor Bloomberg continues to oppose the most central aspect of the bill, the need for City Human Rights Law not to be restricted as federal and state civil rights law gets cut back. Would you work to assure its passage? Please describe your strategy.
Under the Bloomberg Administration, the Corporation Council intervened on the side of the city of Sacramento when it sought to challenge the Americans with Disabilities Act regarding the requirement to maintain accessible sidewalks. Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections for persons with disabilities?
VII. Community Board:
Do you support making sign language interpreters available for Community Board meetings? If so, how would you fund this?
Will you appoint disabled persons to local Community Boards?
How many have you/ or will you appoint to Community Board?
Will you support the "requirement"
and implement, a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?
VIII. Discretionary Funds:
Please Specify: Have you used (or will you use) your discretionary funds to support organizations serving persons with disabilities or service organizations seeking to make their programs accessible to persons with disabilities? If so, what percentage of your discretionary funds went to such organizations?
IX. Accessibility:
Under Mayor Bloomberg, the City settled with the United Spinal Association and agreed to install curb cuts -- Pedestrian ramps, on all corners which presently don’t have one. However, no provision has been made to repair or replace those current ones which are unsafe. How would you ensure that curb cuts—pedestrian ramps—are provided on or repaired on streets that need them? 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?
Do you believe that landmark buildings can be made accessible without losing their historical integrity?
X. Organization:
What is your position on efforts to elevate the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) to a commissioner level agency or Commission on Disabilities to enable coordination of efforts of agencies? (A one stop shop for information and assistance.) How would you ensure that city departments/agencies coordinate through MOPD?
What implementation/authority should MOPD have, and/or how would you ensure that MOPD have?
Since presumably "this"
office is a Mayoral Office, how would you enforce and do oversight regarding the work of the office and be certain of the implementation and its efforts?
Candidate Signature: ______________________ Date: ____________