[Nyabs] Blind Man Hit By Central Park Cyclist Sues NYC For Violating Americans with Disabilities Act

[Justin Young]

Very interesting article!  Its ashame an event like this occured.
I've never been to Central Park, but it does sound like the individual
in question knows his rights & is willing to fight to ensure a change
is created.  I salute his efforts!

On 9/16/12, Kathryn Carroll <carroll.kathryn.e at gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi everyone,
>
> What do you think of the below? I believe this man competes with the
> Achilles Track Club; Nihal can verify?
>
> Kate
> Blind Man Hit By Central Park Cyclist Sues NYC For Violating Americans with
> Disabilities Act
>
>  [image: 091312bernstein.jpg]
> * Richard Bernstein and Central Park (Photo at right courtesy Kevin
> Farley<http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevfarley/5198356723/>
> )*
>
> A blind man who was seriously injured by a cyclist in Central
> Park<http://gothamist.com/2012/08/16/visually-impaired_runner_blindsided.php>has
> filed a
> federal lawsuit in
> Michigan<http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20120913/METRO/209130454/1409/METRO/Bernstein-sues-NYC-after-being-hit-by-bike-Central-Park>(his
> home state) accusing the city of violating the Americans with
> Disabilities Act. It's been exactly one month since Richard Bernstein was
> hit by the cyclist while jogging in the park, and he's still at Mt. Sinai
> Hospital—he filed the lawsuit from his hospital bed, where he's recovering
> from a broken hip and pelvis injury.
>
> Bernstein, an attorney and disabled rights activist, was wearing a
> fluorescent yellow shirt and bright blue sneakers, and carrying a
> reflective white cane, when he was struck by cyclist Omar Shakir, who says
> his gears jammed, causing him to lose control of his bike. (“I was coming
> around a hairpin turn, my gear caught and I accidently hit a walker,”
> Shakir
> recalled<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/daily-news-exposes-central-park-bike-chaos-blind-marathon-runner-richard-bernstein-struck-speeding-cyclist-article-1.1137413>after
> the accident. “I didn’t see him until the last minute.”) The
> collision messed Bernstein up good. “I got destroyed,” he told the News
> from the hospital.
>
> The lawsuit accuses the city and the DOT of discriminating against the
> disabled by failing to enforce rules requiring bicyclists stop at red
> lights, stop signs and crosswalks at Central Park. Bernstein also thinks
> the cyclist was speeding, something that the NYPD has also tried to control
> in the park, with mixed
> results<http://gothamist.com/2011/03/22/cops_ticketing_cyclists_in_central.php>.
> When told that police have been handing educational
> leaflets<http://gothamist.com/2012/09/11/heres_the_nypds_bicycle_safety_tips.php>to
> pedestrians in the wake of his accident, Bernstein scoffed.
>
> “If you know that people are not adhering to the rules and you don’t do
> anything about it, the park is not accessible,” Bernstein told the Daily
> News<http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/blind-marathoner-richard-bernstein-hit-cyclist-central-park-file-suit-new-york-article-1.1157949?localLinksEnabled=false>.
> "I want them to present an action plan on how they are going to make the
> park safer, with a timeline."
>
> The NYPD has been cracking down on cyclists in Central Park, but officially
> the department
> says<http://gothamist.com/2012/09/11/heres_the_nypds_bicycle_safety_tips.php>there
> has been no enhanced enforcement of traffic laws, just the usual
> level of enforcement. Cyclists aren't happy about it, and some say cops are
> abandoning common
> sense<http://gothamist.com/2012/09/10/central_park_cyclist_crackdown_cont.php>and
> issuing costly tickets in pedaling through empty intersections.
> Meanwhile, the Central Park Conservancy is considering turning over another
> lane of car traffic to bicycles, similar to Prospect
> Park<http://gothamist.com/2012/05/11/big_lane_changes_to_prospect_park_l.php>.
> It's worth noting that during Prospect Park's car-free hours, the lights
> are all green until a pedestrian pushes a button to cross the road, but the
> lights in Central Park are too antiquated for that to happen.
>
>
> --
> Kathryn Carroll
> St. John's University School of Law 2013
> (Ph.) 347-455-1521
>