From the New York Times:

New York City residents with disabilities say inaccessible housing presents overwhelming daily challenges to people with mobility impairments, even in buildings that comply with the city’s accessibility law. They say the city law doesn’t comply with the federal Fair Housing Act.

The status of these residents was spotlighted last week with the news that the United States attorney’s office is threatening to prosecute prominent New York City landlords and architects if they don’t bring buildings into compliance with federal standards. The cost of the renovations could run into the tens of millions of dollars.

“A legislative judgment has been made at the federal and local level that full access for people with disabilities is a fundamental civil right,” said Craig Gurian, the executive director of the Anti-Discrimination Center, a nonprofit organization that challenges housing discrimination. “But for far too long, enforcement has lagged. For anyone who can even imagine being a prisoner in one’s own apartment, that is just an intolerable situation.”

Advocates say some people with disabilities end up in nursing homes or shelters unnecessarily because they can’t find accessible housing.

(New York Times photo)

This entry was posted on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 7:10 am and is filed under accessibility, advocacy, housing, law, wheelchair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post