Our Mission

1. The Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York’s (CIDNY) goal is to ensure full integration, independence and equal opportunity for all people with disabilities by removing barriers to the social, economic, cultural and civic life of the community. Our Mission

2. Does Emergency Planning Matter for People with Disabilities? “Disaster preparedness and emergency response systems are typically designed for people without disabilities, for whom escape or rescue involves walking, running, driving, seeing, hearing, and quickly responding to instructions, alerts, and evacuation announcements.” (i) “Disasters are always inclusive. Response and recovery are not, unless we plan for it.”(ii) “When local governments fail to meaningfully and programmatically plan for people with disabilities in their programs and services for emergencies and disasters, people with disabilities are disproportionately and negatively affected. This failure results in ongoing and heightened risks for people with disabilities in this context.” (iii) National Council on Disability; (ii) June Isaacson Kailes, MSW, Harris Family Center for Disability and Health Policy at Western University of the Health Sciences; Peter Blanck, Ph.D., JD, Burton Blatt Institute, Syracuse University .

3. People with disabilities in New York City In New York City, there are 806,030 non-institutionalized people with disabilities.166,347 with a hearing difficulty;156,118 with a vision difficulty;296,391 with a cognitive difficulty;499,870 with an ambulatory difficulty;192,532 with a self-care difficulty;328,979 with an independent living difficulty.116,000 people with disabilities live in Hurricane “Zone A.” 13.7 % Bronx 10.4 % Manhattan 10.0 % Queens *According to the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) 10.8 % Brooklyn 10.1 % Staten Island

4. September 11th 2001 was the start of 12 years of advocacy for inclusion of people with disabilities in disaster planning. • On September 11, 2001, CIDNY became the lead agency serving people with disabilities affected by 9/11. During the recovery, we delivered: case management; education and disability literacy and benefits training for disaster response agencies; information about disaster resources to the community or people with disabilities; technical assistance on disability-related resources to agency workers. • In 2003, we experienced a massive power failure that showed us that the City did not include people with disabilities in its planning for such events. • In 2004, we wrote Lessons Learned from the World Trade Center Disaster: Emergency Preparedness for People with Disabilities in New York to bear witness and explain the lessons of the disaster to policymakers. • In 2010, we were hit by a blizzard that again demonstrated lack of planning for people with disabilities. • Throughout a10 year period, we worked with FEMA and a coalition of disaster relief and service-providing agencies. We delivered emergency preparedness messages to the disability community. We recruited people with disabilities as part of the City’s volunteer corps responding to disasters. We helped individuals with disabilities prepare “go-bags.” We chaired the City Office of Emergency Management’s Special Needs Advisory Group . We argued for inclusion of people with disabilities in planning and creation of a disability inclusive plan. • In 2011, we experienced a tropical storm that ratified our view that New York City is not ready. That year, we sued the New York City Office of Emergency Management for violating federal civil rights law. Hurricane Sandy confirmed our judgment.

5. High Rise and Homebound Evacuation NYC has more multi-story buildings than anywhere in the country. Melba Torres, who uses a power wheelchair, was trapped in her 8th floor apartment in public housing for 7 days with no power, water or heat. There is no way to know how many people were stranded when the power went out in their buildings because there is no process for systematically following up to determine if people were left behind. There is a system to recover stranded pets. People who use wheelchairs, walkers or are unable to climb stairs due to arthritis, respiratory, or cardiac conditions, emotional or cognitive disabilities need help evacuating. According to the FDNY testimony, there is no plan for high rise evacuation of people with disabilities. There are no protocols, no devices, for people who cannot use the stairs. Evacuation chairs are not carried on fire trucks. There is a very limited homebound evacuation plan serving 100 people during Hurricane Sandy. • No notice is given to the public about this program before or during a disaster. • Public information line used as intake system is overwhelmed and unreliable. • Evacuation shuts down 6-8 hours before “zero hour.” • No inventory of accessible vehicles for evacuation. City high rise evacuation Local law 26 and Code 404 are limited to a small category of high rise commercial buildings and only require “procedures.”

6. Evacuation and Transportation • New York City’s Emergency Plan relies on mass transportation for evacuations. There is no plan to provide transportation to evacuate people with disabilities. There is no inventory of accessible transportation stock. • New York City has admitted that mass transit is largely inaccessible: • Most “intermodal hubs” for bus, train, ferry, etc. are not accessible. • 80% of subways are inaccessible. • 98% of taxis are inaccessible. • Most school buses do not have wheelchair lifts. • There is no inventory of paratransit vehicles or plan to use them for evacuation. • City buses can carry two passengers using wheelchairs. • Since the trial in our lawsuit began, the City has made marginal changes to its Area Evacuation Plan—however the special needs strategy it proposes is not initiated until hours after an incident—after the response for people without disabilities is underway. It does not contain any clear directives or specify which agencies will play what role. • Inaccessible buses used for evacuation during Hurricane Irene In New York City, which has a large carless population, public transportation is critical when disaster strikes. Sixty percent of New York City households do not have private vehicle access. It has a huge role to play for non-wheelchair users. Jean Ryan uses a power wheelchair. She relies on paratransit. This means she has to give 24 hour notice. As Hurricane Sandy approached an evacuation order was issued at 11:30 and paratransit was shut down at 12:00. Kenneth Martinez tried to evacuate by bus—it was too crowded for him to get on.

7. Evacuation Centers & Shelters As Hurricane Irene bore down on the City, Tania Morales was turned away from the shelter. The gate to the ramp was locked. Shelter staff did not know that they should have opened it. They could not find the key. During Hurricane Irene, Melba Torres, a power chair user, was forced to shelter at a school with no accessible toilet. A woman with dementia was at a shelter during Hurricane Sandy. When her aide left, shelter staff did not know what to do. • Shelters may be unusable for people with disabilities due to physical barriers, communication barriers, lack of accommodations and stigma. In New York City, shelters are most often located at public schools which are overwhelmingly inaccessible and do not meet the DOJ ADA Checklist for Emergency Shelters. • The Shelter locator web site is inaccessible to people who are Blind and use Jaws. • Shelter entrances are up flights of stairs. • Ramps—in the few cases they are available at alternate entrances—are dangerously steep, without sufficient landings, or made of flimsy unsecured plywood. • Doors are heavy and often locked at the accessible entrances. • Cots are not accessible and are up/down flights of stairs. • Bathrooms are inaccessible and there are no accessible port-a-potties. • No special diets are provided, refrigeration is not available for medications. • People who need to charge their chairs or equipment are not permitted to use outlets. • Shelter materials are not in accessible formats. • ASL interpreters are not available. • There is no provision for home health aides for people who need them. • There is no quiet space for people with cognitive or emotional disabilities. • Shelter staff are not trained to screen for disabilities in order to provide accommodations and do not know that they are obligated to do so. • Shelters are not required to have power backup—critical to equipment users.

8. Power Shut Downs • People with disabilities need electricity to operate wheelchairs, oxygen concentrators, keep medicines cool, prevent respiratory distress due to heat. • As Hurricane Sandy approached, the utility company turned off electricity for 700,000 people in New York City. • There was no warning for people with disabilities; there is no notification plan. • No assistance was made available except for a few on a utility list for narrowly defined “life-sustaining” equipment. • There is no plan to address getting resources to people forced to shelter in high rises without power. • There is no plan to evacuate people in high rises with no power who are unable to evacuate on their own. • There is no plan for people who rely on refrigeration of medications. • The City has no plan to supply generators to public housing, shelters or hospitals used for critical emergency functions in an emergency. • The City did not engage in canvassing for individuals needing assistance until 9 days after the Hurricane to check on people needing food, water, medical attention, medication, oxygen, etc. • There is no systematic plan for canvassing. Joyce Delarosa uses a power wheelchair. She notified the City and the utility company that she uses an oxygen machine and needs electricity to survive in an emergency. She was told that there is no plan for emergency generators, battery packs , or other supplies. During Hurricane Sandy, she called the City info line to get oxygen or a generator but got no response. She was trapped in a high rise with no oxygen for 3 days when she was finally found and evacuated for emergency medical attention.

9. Communication People with disabilities who are blind or deaf need accessible communications. People with all disabilities need messages communicated that are specific to their needs. • Lack of information about accommodations for disabilities may result in people preferring to shelter at home and take their chances. In New York City’s case—the City communicates that you cannot be accommodated if you need equipment, access to electricity, special diets, refrigeration for medication. • NO provisions in City plans for audio and captioning components for televised warnings. • Emergency plans do not require sign language interpreters or closed captioning during Mayoral press conferences or other announcements. • The City’s advance warning system omits critical information for people with disabilities to use in evacuation or sheltering in place—such as transportation or shelter information. • People with disabilities are directed to call the all-purpose information line that is overtaxed in emergencies. • There are no plans for use of ASL interpreters in emergencies for public announcements. • The web site identifying shelter locations is not accessible for people who are Blind. • Shelter rules are printed in small print and not available in alternate formats—such as large print--for evacuees. Mary Connor is blind and lives in an evacuation zone. She received a piece of paper instructing her to evacuate as Hurricane Irene hit. She couldn’t read the paper. She called the public information line, but couldn’t get through to an operator.

10. What does the law require? Emergency preparedness and disaster response planning is a public service or activity. It is subject to federal civil rights law. New York City provides an emergency preparedness and disaster response planning program for nondisabled individuals that does not address people with disabilities. It does not provide for equal participation in emergency preparedness and disaster response. It places people with disabilities at risk. The law requires: “No qualified individual with a disability shall, by reason of such disability, be excluded from participation in or be denied the benefits of the services, programs, or activities of a public entity, or be subjected to discrimination by any such entity.” People with disabilities have a right to meaningful access to government programs, activities. This means that reasonable accommodations must be added to ensure that seemingly neutral rules “do not in practice discriminate.” The Department of Justice concluded in its report to the Court: “Unfortunately, despite the obvious importance of accounting for the unique needs of individuals with disabilities in planning for emergencies, New York City’s emergency plans, like many state and local emergency plans throughout the nation, fail to do so.” Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. Section 794 et seq. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 42 U.S.C. Sections 12131, et seq. New York City Human Rights Law, NYC Admin Code Section 8-101 et seq,

11. Manhattan: Queens: 841 Broadway 80-20 Kew Gardens Road, 107 NY, NY 10003 Kew Gardens, NY 11415 Manhattan 212-674-2300 Queens 646-442-1520 Manhattan Video phone: 646-350-2681 (TTY) Queens Video phone: 866-948-1064 Manhattan’s TTY 212-674-5619 (Tel) Queens 718-886-0427 www.cidny.org