<div dir='auto'><div data-smartmail="gmail_signature" dir="auto"><br></div><div class="gmail_quote" dir="auto"><blockquote class="quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div dir="auto">Announcement from PASS Coalition <br><br><div dir="ltr">Arthur Jacobs, President<div>NYC Chapter, NFB of NYS</div><div>347-395-2203</div><div><br></div><div>——————————</div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;text-align:center;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri';font-weight:bold"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">PASS Coalition Applauds New Level of Pedestrian Access for Blind and Deaf-Blind New Yorkers</span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;text-align:center;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">The Pedestrians for Accessible and Safe Streets (PASS) Coalition was founded by eleven organizations that represent people from across the disability spectrum - most of which focus on the needs of blind and visually impaired people in New York City (NYC). Specifically, PASS has advocated for the expanded and proper installation of accessible pedestrian signals (APS) devices, which communicate critical information about walk signals through sounds and vibrations. </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:21.600000381469727px"> </span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">After two decades of gradual APS installation, at the end of 2020 (the latest data available) there were 749 locations with APS. That equals 5.6% of NYC’s 13,430 signalized intersections. Previous city proposals would have only achieved complete APS coverage by mid-century. The PASS Coalition congratulates the American Council of the Blind of New York State (ACBNY, a PASS member) and Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), who went to court to seek a more equitable and accelerated plan for installation of these critical devices. U.S. District Judge Paul A. </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">Engelmayer</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> ruled that the city must install APS at a minimum of 9,000 of its signalized intersections by 2031, which, in addition to the</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> approximately</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> 1,000 already in place, will achieve 70% coverage over the coming decade. Furthermore, the court has directed the city to have installed APS at all signalized intersections by 2036. </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:21.600000381469727px"> </span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">The </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">PASS</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> Coalition</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> has </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">always</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> advocated </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">for </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">an </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">accelerated</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">timetable</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> and t</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">his ruling roughly doubles the rate of APS deployment relative to city proposals. We especially appreciate Judge </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">Engelmayer’s</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> recognizing the importance of prioritizing APS at intersections with Lead Pedestrian Intervals (LPIs) and other design features that present heightened hazards to people who are blind. The ruling lays out procedures for oversight and community input to make sure APS targets are being met. </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:21.600000381469727px"> </span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">PASS looks forward to continuing to offer its support and assistance to the Department of Transportation. With such a significant increase in annual APS installations, it is especially important to ensure that these installations are happening in a consistent way that serves the needs of the blind community. </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:21.600000381469727px"> </span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">PASS Chair, Dr. Karen Gourgey: “PASS is proud to have partnered in this effort by documenting the problem and its dangers through letters from individual members, and by suggesting solutions through witness testimony.” </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">Member Hayden Dahmm: “When I moved to NYC in 2018, I was overwhelmed by the number of </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">complex</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">, inaccessible intersections in my neighborhood. As a blind person, I felt deeply unsafe and restricted. When a single nearby intersection was then equipped with APS, it dramatically expanded my independence and sense of security. I’m excited to think what thousands of added APS installations will mean for the mobility and basic dignity of blind New Yorkers.” </span></span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:21.600000381469727px"> </span></p><p style="margin-top:0px;margin-bottom:0px;line-height:21.600000381469727px;font-size:18px"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">For additional information</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> and inquir</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">ies</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">, </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">or </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">to </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">speak to </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">a </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">blind </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">and/or</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> low vision </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">individual </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">impacted by the </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">court </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">decision,</span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em"> </span></span><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">contact PASS Chair Dr. Karen Gourgey (</span></span><a href="mailto:kgourgey@verizon.net"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri';color:rgb( 5 , 99 , 193 )"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">kgourgey@verizon.net</span></span></a><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">) or PASS Co-Chair Raymond Wayne (</span></span><a href="mailto:raywayne1959@gmail.com"><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri';color:rgb( 5 , 99 , 193 )"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">raywayne1959@gmail.com</span></span></a><span style="line-height:19.200000762939453px;font-size:16px;font-family:'calibri'"><span style="line-height:28.799999237060547px;font-size:1.5em">).</span></span></p></div></div></div>
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