Equality is Only Achieved if Government’s Follow Their Own Laws!
November 21, 2010 by zachary.triano
My name is Zachary Triano and I am a freshman at Baruch College in New York, NY and I am in a wheelchair. It states in the Declaration of Independence that all men are created equal. I wanted to bring up a point to you today that I believe makes people in wheelchairs less equal in society than the others. This point, although it is taken for granted by many, is an important right/ability that should be shared by all; the ability to take a train. This ability is not shared by me or any other person in a wheelchair, as elected political officials in the New York State fail to address and fix these important sociological issues. They feel that because they have addressed the concerns of the majority of the population, that they should temporarily push away the wishes and concerns of those in wheelchairs; however, it is clearly stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act that
“The transportation provisions of title II cover public transportation services, such as city buses and public rail transit (e.g. subways, commuter rails, Amtrak). Public transportation authorities may not discriminate against people with disabilities in the provision of their services. They must comply with requirements for accessibility in newly purchased vehicles, make good faith efforts to purchase or lease accessible used buses, remanufacture buses in an accessible manner, and, unless it would result in an undue burden, provide paratransit where they operate fixed-route bus or rail systems. Paratransit is a service where individuals who are unable to use the regular transit system independently (because of a physical or mental impairment) are picked up and dropped off at their destinations.”
I understand the access-a-ride is the alternative to the train for people with disabilities, but it is not always easy to know the exact time of pick-up and drop-off and to know for sure that you want to go somewhere twenty-four hours ahead of time. I understand that it may not be possible to redo all of the train stations in all five boros, but a temporary and acceptable compromise would be to make a train station in every neighborhood or group of neighborhoods accessible, so there would be an accessible station within a reasonable distance. I live in Boro Park on 58th and 12th ave in Brooklyn, NY and there is no accessible station near my house. In order to get to an accessible station, I have to take one or two busses to the train, which could take up to an hour and a half to two hours. I am very tired of writing to many different politicians who read my letter, say that there is nothing they could do and ignore it. I want someone to be caring enough to read my letter, feel my concerns and fight as hard as you could to get this to happen; besides, it is my right to be able to take a train. I am not the only one who feels this way, as you could see by reading the attached petition, there are many who share my opinions living throughout different neighborhoods within the five boros.
Sincerely,
Zachary Triano
What do you think about this letter? Do you think it is convincing? Would it convince you to make the traincs handicapped accessible if you were in charge? If not, why not?
