[nfbmi-talk] united front against state discrimination

[joe harcz Comcast]

Are people who are blind “chopped liver”.

 

All, note the following story of hideous civil rights violations of the ADA, let alone common decency against a State Employee who uses a mobility device by another, non-disabled State Employee.

 

 

But also note the fact that the Cadillac Place which is basically our state of Michigan “central for Detroit also violates the program access requirements of the ADA which just turned 22 Thursday for all people who are blind or visually impaired as it does not have required raised character and Braille signs on EVERY permanent room including room numbers!

 

The offices of the Governor are in this building. So are offices of the Michigan commission for the Blind. So are Michigan Rehabilitation Services. And so is the Michigan Civil Rights Commission against whom I’ve already filed complaints.

 

By the way Michigan Commission for the Blind held its so-called State Plan Hearing in this same facility two days after the suit was filed violating the accessible hearings requirements of the ADA and Section 504.

 

The ADA and 504 are civil rights laws! Access for all is a civil right.

 

As one who has advocated for people with mobility impairments I also wish for the rights of the blind to be considered as well and for blatant, and malicious and intentional discrimination by state actors to be addressed and remedied for myself and the entire class.

 

People with mobility impairments need to join with the organized blind on these issues and visa versa.

 

This has been done on several occasions between NFB and ADAPT in Philadelphia.

 

It is time to do similar here in Michigan.

 

It is time for people with mobility impairments and people who are blind to join together in a common front to provide access for all to the programs, benefits, services and activities of the State of Michigan and to end the hideous discrimination by state officials against us all like the documented violations and abuse in the attached article.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

Paul Joseph Harcz, Jr.

 

Member: National Federation of the Blind of Michigan

Member: ADAPT MI

Cc: Richard Bernstein, Esq.

Cc: Mark Cody, MPAS

Cc: NFB MI

Cc: ADAPT MI

Cc: J. Michael Zelley, Chair Michigan Civil Rights Commission

Cc: US DOJ, Civil Rights Division Disabilities Rights Section

Cc: Michigan Paralized Veterans

 

 

 

Attachment:

 

 

An official’s e-mail sets off a furor | Michigan news | Detroit Free Press | freep.com

 

July 29, 2012

 

 

 

 

Beth Colosimo, budget director for the Michigan Economic Development Corp., recently told colleagues to use handicap parking if their spots in the state

agency's lot in Lansing were taken.

 

"It was a mistake on my part," Colosimo told the Free Press, adding that she was "absolutely" sorry and had no explanation for her suggestion, made in a

June 8 e-mail to MEDC employees.

 

Colosimo pointed out in the e-mail that a black truck was in the wrong parking space and had to be moved.

 

"This would be a good time to remind people that the parking spaces are assigned and paid for by specific individuals," she wrote. "If there are situations

of someone parking in your spot, please park in a handicapped spot until your space is cleared."

 

When MEDC employee Jill Babcock saw the e-mail, she said she was "utterly disgusted."

 

"The blatant discrimination, the blatant treatment, the poor treatment, the unequal treatment of people who are handicapped just surprised me," said Babcock,

who has a progressive neurological disorder and uses a wheelchair.

 

At the time Colosimo sent her e-mail, Babcock and her lawyer, Richard Bernstein, were negotiating with the State of Michigan to make its Cadillac Place

office building in Detroit more accessible to people with disabilities, Bernstein said.

 

Bernstein said the e-mail was the final straw.

 

This month, Babcock sued the state in U.S. District Court in Detroit, alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at Cadillac Place, the

state office building in New Center, including a failure to provide adequate handicap parking.

 

Bernstein, who is blind, said the e-mail "showed a complete disregard for the challenges that people with disabilities face on a daily basis. What really

is upsetting is when government participates in this kind of behavior."

 

Colosimo said a subsequent e-mail was sent and "I do not believe anyone did follow that