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?

I am proud to have been a sponsor of Int. No. 398-a which passed the City Council on June 30, 2005 A Local Law to amend the administrative code of the city of New York, in relation to standards and specifications for accessible water borne commuter services facilities for disabled persons in New York City. I was also proud to vote in favor of Int. No. 262-A-2002, which passed the Council in October of 2003 and requires air-conditioning on any bus or other motor vehicle transporting a child with a disability to and from school.
 

What oversight have you performed regarding implementation of programs/legislation you have passed (in first term or in previous offices)?

As Chair of the Land Use Committee, I have held oversight hearings on the three agencies of which my committee holds charter mandated oversight authority. The agencies include The Department of City Planning, Landmarks Presevation Commission and the Department of Information Technology and Telecommunicatons. In addition, the Land Use Committee has held hearings on issues concerning Coordinated Street Furniture, including questions of accessibility to newsstands. Also I have held hearings on the Olympics, numerous land use applications, affordable housing proposals, authorizing resolutions to continue the operations of the private bus lines.
 

What implementation/strategy do you have for your future programs and legislation to help constituents with disabilities?

I would be willing to work closely with groups like, the 504 Democratic Club, to identify areas that are lacking and come up with solutions.
 

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.

Yes.
 

What special accommodations do you believe/think are in use in the workplace?

City Hall has recently upgraded its accessibility in various ways.
 

How do you propose to implement your active involvement and/or availability to the disability community?

I would be willing to meet with any group who had concerns about an issue to find out the best way I could help to move their agenda forward.
 

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?

During my tenure in elected office, I have always had an open door policy for anyone who would like to meet with me to discuss any issue and that would continue when I am elected to another term.
 

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?

As Chair of the Land Use Committee I have worked closely with the Department of Housing Preservation and Development to maximize efforts to create accessible affordable housing units throughout the city.
 

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)?

I am very much in favor of extending Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption (SCRIE) to low-income, eligible persons with disabilities with this goal in mind I sponsored and that the Council passed Resolution No. 141 of 2003 which passed the Council on 11/10/04 and called upon the state to create a program as outlined in question eleven above.
 

What have you done/accomplished in regard to extension of SCRIE or similar programs?

I think we must look carefully at the real income levels of the community we propose to help so we can ascertain the appropriate range which will help the broadest spectrum of persons with disabilities by expanding the SCRIE program to them.
 

What alternative programs will you propose to allow persons with disabilities to stay in their own homes/apartments? Perhaps a dedicated housing trust fund should be established for persons with disabilities?

The Land Use Committee has afforded me the opportunity to work on many of the projects which will be part of our city’s future. During the negotiation for the rezoning of the Hudson Yards, Greenpoint Williamsburg and West Chelsea it was important to me that anti-harrassment and anti-eviciton provisions be put into the points of agreement to protect vulnerable tenants in these areas which were having their zoning density increased. We were also able, through negotiations with the administration, to attain agreements for the availability of a high percentage of affordable housing units in each one of these rezoning.
 

New York City is in the process of adopting a new building code. How would you advocate for the strongest possible access provisions?

During discussions of the administration’s plan to adopt the International Building Code with NYC amendments I have been a vocal member of the Housing and Buildings Committee on the issue of safety, access and emergency requirements. As we move forward, I will continue to be an active member of the committee on the topics outlined above.
 

1. 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.

   Legislation may be the answer to moving the issue of "visitability" forward.
    
   

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.?

I stood with Council Member Margarita Lopez and called on the administration to do more to make our taxis and ferries more accessible and I will continue to fight for what is right.
 

Access-A-Ride has denied rides to many eligible consumers,caused unnecessarily long trips, and has left many consumers stranded at the curb. 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?

I would enlist the help of the transportation Committee to do increased oversight investigations of Access-A-Ride to put pressure on them to crack down on know problem areas to make service better if not perfect. Making it more accountable to the people I serve would be my overall goal.
 

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.

Yes.
 

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?

Yes.
 

Do you support making sign language interpreters available for Community Board meetings? If so, how would you fund this?

Yes, I think this is something we should be making available, if requested at Community Board Meetings.
 

Will you appoint disabled persons to local Community Boards?

Yes.
 

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?

All of the programs and organizations I have funded with my discretionary funds are open to persons with disabilities. I would always be willing to entertain any request for funding which enables a group to expand or better provide services to all my constituents.
 

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?

I would once again work with the Transportation Committee, especially during the oversight on the budget to bring to light how much the Department of Transportation is or is not spending on court ordered upgrades.
 

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

Tax incentives have worked in the past for other upgrades and improvements and can be tried 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?

Yes.
 

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?

I think elevating the MOPD would an important step to ensure that city departments and agencies coordinate through MOPD.