NEW YORK - Mayor Michael Bloomberg's poll numbers may have received a boost from Hurricane Irene, but the way the city handled evacuations for people with disabilities has provoked a lawsuit.

Susan Dooha, executive director of the Center for the Independence of the Disabled in New York (CIDNY), says the federal lawsuit charges the Mayor and the City with discriminating against people with disabilities by failing to include their unique needs in emergency planning.

"We want a plan that includes shelter, transportation, communication, training and assistance."

CIDNY filed the federal suit along with the Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled and Tania Morales, a wheelchair user living in Brooklyn. According to the suit, Morales was turned away from a city shelter in the hours before Irene.

Saying it hadn't seen the legal papers yet, a representative of the City Law Department said, "[T]he City aggressively communicated...the locations of the evacuation centers...and also specifically targeted service providers who work with people with special needs."

Dooha says more than half of the 900,000 people with disabilities in the city have mobility issues like Tania Morales. She says when Morales got to her assigned shelter for Hurricane Irene, the door to the wheelchair ramp was locked and nobody could find a key.

"Tania should have been able to enter the shelter in her neighborhood; instead, they sent her away with no idea of what to do."

Dooha says both Morales and the city dodged a bullet, and were lucky that Hurricane Irene did not hit the city with all the force that was anticipated. She says the city has exhibited a decade-long pattern of neglect that won't change without court action.

"Ten years after we showed the problems with emergency preparedness in the context of September 11th, it's time for a real plan that includes us."

The nonprofit legal group Disability Rights Advocates is representing the plaintiffs in the case, filed in the Southern District of New York.




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Connecticut disability rights advocates are concerned about state and federal barriers to employment.

At the state level, Medicaid is the only health care plan covering necessary care some people with disabilities might need. Beyond that, they could face high out-of-pocket costs.

Jonathan Sigworth, president and CEO of the nonprofit More Than Walking, feels states can reform their Medicaid buy-in programs. Connecticut's buy-in program has a $10,000 asset limit, which he said restricts a disabled person's ability to work.

"The system is currently set up so that if you have the health care you need, the policies prevent you from working," Sigworth pointed out. "You'd have to choose between the two, essentially, in some cases. Those policies are really detrimental."

Having a job could force someone over what advocates call the "benefits cliff," when a person gets a raise, has a kid with a part-time job, or some other income increase, which then makes them ineligible for certain benefits. Connecticut's General Assembly considered several bills during its last session to alter programs with benefits cliffs, though none were passed.

Beyond state policies, the upcoming election is also concerning for Sigworth. He's troubled by Project 2025, a policy outline for former President Donald Trump's possible second term. It calls for removing the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's consent decree power in instances of employment discrimination.

Sigworth noted it would terminate a key way for people with disabilities to fight workplace discrimination.

"There's one party, one argument in this country that talks about cutting regulations and in the same breath saying we should protect people with disabilities," Sigworth contended. "It's using the disabled community as a token audience."

Though Trump disavowed Project 2025, some disability rights advocates remain uncertain since he repeatedly tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Project 2025 also calls for federal spending cuts to programs like the Equity in IDEA program, which encompasses all policies ensuring fair treatment and access for students with disabilities.


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New York disability rights advocates are voicing concerns about changes to what's known as the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program.

On October 1, New York State will contract with a single provider for the program.

CDPAP provides services for people who are chronically ill or have physical limitations and who need help with daily life. Gov. Kathy Hochul says the reason for the change is to cut high Medicaid costs.

But Sharon McLennon-Wier, Ph.D - executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled New York - predicted the move will have resounding impacts.

"Anyone with a disability that has this program could lose their home healthcare assistance - either from maybe neighbors or friends, or even family members," said McLennon-Wier, "and we already know that there's a home health-aide shortage all over the country."

Gov. Hochul noted the program has been subject to mismanagement, but critics say she didn't consult its leaders.

Several agencies supporting the idea of keeping CDPAP local have been cited by the New York State Comptroller for wage theft. But the provider set to take it over isn't much better.

Public Partnerships LLC had contracts terminated in five other states, and was subject to class-action lawsuits over home-care workers' pay in Pennsylvania.

Feedback from New Yorkers with disabilities has mostly been questions about CDPAP's future.

McLennon-Wier said she is among those waiting to see what happens next - as she said they've received little guidance from the governor's office.

She added that it can be frightening to possibly lose much-needed care.

"I think anyone who has to depend on someone for that day-to-day care," said McLennon-Wier, "to have to worry - especially if they live alone - is really something that, mentally, that a person in this situation shouldn't have to deal with."

A bill has been introduced in the New York State Legislature to curb these changes. If it passes, it would require any CDPAP provider to be licensed by the State Department of Health starting in 2026.

Currently, providers can operate without formal licensure.

Big Tex is up and the Ferris wheel is spinning at the 138th State Fair of Texas. And again, this year the Fair is making special accommodations for anyone who might be sensitive to the bright lights and loud sounds.

For the sixth year, the Fair is offering Sensory Friendly Mornings every Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Taylor Pulfer, the fair's director of communications, said the program makes the event accessible for everyone.

"We turn down all of the flashy blinky lights, we turn down all of the sounds, you won't hear music throughout the grounds, even Big Tex's voice is lowered," Pulfer said, "and so it gives individuals who might struggle with sensory sensitivities an easier experience. "

The Fair has also created a special guided itinerary with a list of activities and exhibits that are easy on the eyes and ears. More information is available at BigTex.com/Sensory.

Around 2.3 million people attended the Fair during its 24-day run last year. The fairgrounds are open to the public on Sensory Friendly Mornings, but Pulfer said the Midway will be designated as a "quiet zone" during the special hours.

"We still can't take away all of the sounds that might be occurring out on the grounds, and we understand that there might be a situation where maybe you have a four-year-old child who has autism and he's just having a meltdown, and you need to step away," Pulfer said. "That's that place that we've created for you to take your child and be able to have a second to depressurize."

She said a restroom made specifically to accommodate people with disabilities will also be available on Wednesday mornings.

"That might need that extra changing space to assist, maybe, an adult with a disability," Pulfer said. "Think of all the sounds that come from a bathroom. You have your hand dryers, all of the flushing, all of the sinks, and so sometimes getting - like a child with autism - into a bathroom, that itself can cause the meltdown. "

The Fair runs through Oct. 20.


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