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--></style></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>That’s great news! <o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Thank you for sharing!<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'>Best,<o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><img width=66 height=96 style='width:.6833in;height:1.0in' id="_x0000_i1025" src="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1ZgHpSssGZH8Ha8eT7TdSo82HZg3BXUnY&revid=0BzVxKaP_Tl4tWlF0ZEJKeDcvUWFtbkRlTFd0RkQxZEU0bDFrPQ"><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>Diana Oliveira<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>NFBV Potomac Chapter, member<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>NFBV Legislative Committee, member<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>NFB Employment Committee, member<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'>(305) 988-2713<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-family:"Comic Sans MS"'><a href="mailto:dianaoliveira58@gmail.com" target="_blank">dianaoliveira58@gmail.com</a></span><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><div style='mso-element:para-border-div;border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal style='border:none;padding:0in'><b>From: </b><a href="mailto:blindlaw@nfbnet.org">Vaughn Brown via BlindLaw</a><br><b>Sent: </b>Saturday, December 5, 2020 2:09 PM<br><b>To: </b><a href="mailto:blindlaw@nfbnet.org">Blind Law Mailing List</a><br><b>Cc: </b><a href="mailto:vaughnlbrown87@gmail.com">vaughnlbrown87@gmail.com</a><br><b>Subject: </b>[blindLaw] Federal Judge Rules that Crosswalk Signals Must be Accessible in NYC</p></div><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p><p class=MsoNormal>Recently, a Federal court judge ruled that New York City must make crosswalk</p><p class=MsoNormal>signals accessible to blind, low-vision and deaf-blind pedestrians. This is</p><p class=MsoNormal>a major victory for blind New Yorkers like me, but in reality, the changes</p><p class=MsoNormal>mandated by this ruling could take years to implement due to the growing</p><p class=MsoNormal>budget defecit caused by the pandemic. But it's at least a start:</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> </p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> </p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Federal Court Rules NYC Discriminates Against Blind and Low Vision</p><p class=MsoNormal>Pedestrians by Failing to Make Crosswalk Signals Accessible to Them</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Court Decision will Dramatically Remake NYC's Streetscape by Making</p><p class=MsoNormal>Pedestrian Safety Accessible to People with Disabilities</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>New York, NY - In a decision that will remake the streetscape of New York</p><p class=MsoNormal>City and improve safety and accessibility for all New Yorkers, a federal</p><p class=MsoNormal>court ruled today that New York City's failure to provide accessible</p><p class=MsoNormal>pedestrian signals (APS) at 96.6 % of its signalized intersections violates</p><p class=MsoNormal>the civil rights of people with disabilities. APS are push-button devices</p><p class=MsoNormal>attached to crosswalks that convey visual crossing information in audible</p><p class=MsoNormal>and vibro-tactile formats accessible to blind, low vision, and Deafblind</p><p class=MsoNormal>pedestrians.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>New York City has over 13,200 signalized intersections with signals for</p><p class=MsoNormal>sighted pedestrians that convey critical safety information: WALK or DON'T</p><p class=MsoNormal>WALK. Yet only 443 of those 13,200 intersections-less than 4%-have APS that</p><p class=MsoNormal>convey this information to blind people. Blind and low vision pedestrians</p><p class=MsoNormal>are put in danger every time they must cross a street without APS, because</p><p class=MsoNormal>they may cross against the light, in the path of cars. Additionally, the</p><p class=MsoNormal>lack of APS denies them their independence and dignity. Plaintiffs have been</p><p class=MsoNormal>grabbed by well-meaning strangers attempting to help them across the street,</p><p class=MsoNormal>and forced to cross only in crowds and wait several lights-sometimes as long</p><p class=MsoNormal>as twenty minutes-to make sure they are crossing with others. Some have</p><p class=MsoNormal>avoided walking altogether by taking buses and getting out a stop early or a</p><p class=MsoNormal>stop late in order to avoid particularly unsafe intersections, or taking</p><p class=MsoNormal>longer routes.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed this class action lawsuit, American</p><p class=MsoNormal>Council of the Blind of New York, et al. v. New York City, in June 2018</p><p class=MsoNormal>because this unlawful system denies blind and low vision pedestrians their</p><p class=MsoNormal>independence to navigate city streets safely: to visit friends and family;</p><p class=MsoNormal>go to work, school, or home; or shop or do business. On July 22, 2019, the</p><p class=MsoNormal>Court certified a class of blind and low vision pedestrians harmed by these</p><p class=MsoNormal>practices.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"For decades New York City has ignored the needs of blind and low vision</p><p class=MsoNormal>pedestrians, while simultaneously touting its Vision Zero commitments to</p><p class=MsoNormal>pedestrian safety," said Torie Atkinson, Staff Attorney at Disability Rights</p><p class=MsoNormal>Advocates. "The city has spent millions on pedestrian safety improvements,</p><p class=MsoNormal>and now for the first time those improvements will be accessible to all New</p><p class=MsoNormal>Yorkers. With accessible pedestrian signals, blind and low vision</p><p class=MsoNormal>pedestrians can cross the street confidently, and we are thrilled with the</p><p class=MsoNormal>dramatic changes that this victory will mean not only for those who are</p><p class=MsoNormal>blind or low vision, but for all New Yorkers who want safer streets."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"ACBNY has tirelessly advocated for decades to fix New York City's</p><p class=MsoNormal>widespread inaccessibility to blind and Deafblind pedestrians," said Lori</p><p class=MsoNormal>Scharff of the American Council of the Blind of New York, plaintiff in this</p><p class=MsoNormal>case. "We are pleased that the Court's ruling will help ensure that our</p><p class=MsoNormal>blind and Deafblind constituents have equal access to the same information</p><p class=MsoNormal>available to sighted pedestrians."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>"As someone who is Deafblind and requires tactile information to cross</p><p class=MsoNormal>streets safely, I am thrilled by the Court's ruling," said plaintiff</p><p class=MsoNormal>Christina Curry. "Up until now, at least once a day I almost get hit by a</p><p class=MsoNormal>car because there is no APS telling me when it is safe to cross. This</p><p class=MsoNormal>victory means that finally the city will have to install APS so that I and</p><p class=MsoNormal>tens of thousands of Deafblind New Yorkers will have access to street</p><p class=MsoNormal>crossing information and be able to travel safely, freely, and independently</p><p class=MsoNormal>throughout the city."</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>Plaintiffs do not seek money damages. They seek only that New York City's</p><p class=MsoNormal>street crossings be accessible to and safer for blind and low vision</p><p class=MsoNormal>pedestrians.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>About Disability Rights Advocates: With offices in New York and California,</p><p class=MsoNormal>Disability Rights Advocates is the leading nonprofit disability rights legal</p><p class=MsoNormal>center in the nation. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity</p><p class=MsoNormal>for people with all types of disabilities nationwide. DRA represents people</p><p class=MsoNormal>with all types of disabilities in complex, system-changing, class action</p><p class=MsoNormal>cases. DRA is proud to have upheld the promise of the ADA since our</p><p class=MsoNormal>inception. Thanks to DRA's precedent-setting work, people with disabilities</p><p class=MsoNormal>across the country have dramatically improved access to education, health</p><p class=MsoNormal>care, employment, transportation, disaster preparedness planning, voting,</p><p class=MsoNormal>and housing. For more information, visit dralegal.org.</p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> </p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> </p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal> </p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal>_______________________________________________</p><p class=MsoNormal>BlindLaw mailing list</p><p class=MsoNormal>BlindLaw@nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/blindlaw_nfbnet.org</p><p class=MsoNormal>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for BlindLaw:</p><p class=MsoNormal>http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/blindlaw_nfbnet.org/dianaoliveira58%40gmail.com</p><p class=MsoNormal><span class=DefaultFontHxMailStyle><span style='font-size:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></span></p></div></body></html>