Wednesday, April 11, 2007 |
 PDF printer-friendly version of this letter(Link opens in a new browser window; make sure you have the Adobe Reader in order to view, print and/or save the PDF document) Taxis For All Campaign | National Multiple Sclerosis Society, New York City Chapter | 344 East 28th Street Tenant Association | 504 Democratic Club | 504 Democratic Club-North Star | Action Toward Independence | Alzheimer's Association, NYC Chapter | Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York | Association of Travel Instruction | Barrier Free Living | Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled | Center for Disability Rights | Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY | Center for Independent Living of South Jersey, Inc. | Chippewa Democratic Club | City Access New York | Student Disability Services, City University of New York | Community Access | CWA Local 1180 Committee on Members with Disabilities | Deafness Research Foundation | Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York | Disabilities Network | Disabilities Network of NYC | Friends of Seravalli | Gray Panthers NYC | Handicapped Adult Association of Co-Op City | Harlem Independent Living Center | Helen Keller Services for the Blind | Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Inc. | JPAC | Lamba of Bronx County | Largest Minority | Long Term Care Community Coalition | Mobility Impaired Artists Westbeth | National Federation of the Blind of NY Staten | New York Lawyers for the Public Interest | NY Metro Gallaudet University Alumni Association | New York State Independent Living Council | Regional Center for Independent Living | Roosevelt Island Disabled Association | Salvation Baptist Church | Self-Advocacy Association of New York State | Staten Island Center For Independent | Staten Island Amputee Club | Synergia | Taxi & Limousine Advisory Committee | United Spinal Association | Urban Justice Center | Hermina Jackson & Virtus Haynes Acting Group | Westchester Disabled On the Move Inc. April 11, 2007 Matthew Daus Commissioner/Chair, New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission 40 Rector Street New York, NY 10006 Dear TLC Chair Daus: Our groups write to urge you to abandon any proposal for a central dispatch system-an "Access-A-Ride Jr."-and to support legislation that would, gradually, lead to full conversion of the yellow cab fleet so that all New Yorkers can use our city's taxis. We also urge you to advance the date of the long-overdue sale of 150 new accessible yellow taxis and get them onto New York City's streets for regular hail service as soon as possible. These vehicles have been authorized for sale for more than a year. 40 minutes or more for a cab A dispatch system would create a separate and unequal system in which only wheelchair and electric scooter users would have to phone in for a yellow cab – a vehicle that may never show up if it gets stuck in traffic or picks up a street hail. (The Access-A-Ride users in our groups know all too well the delays that are inherent in a call-in system.) The TLC's own description of the dispatch system shows a "passenger service level"in which 50% of wheelchair users who call for a cab would wait more than 40 minutes for a pick-up. Why should any New Yorker put up with such a substandard system? And this is no "stop-gap"measure, since with no TLC and legislative commitment to a phased-in transition to accessible and green vehicles, the "gap"goes on forever. Lack of political will The lack of wheelchair service in New York City is not a lack of available technology but a lack of political will. Until legislation passes that mandates a conversion to accessible and green cabs over a reasonable period, the taxi industry will resist the change, just as the auto industry resisted seat belts, air bags, and fuel economy requirements. Taxis in London have been accessible for years, with a transition starting in 1989. Nearly two decades later, it's long past due for the City of New York to afford wheelchair users the same basic opportunity to get around our city. Yours truly, Anne Davis Taxis For All Campaign Hon. Scott M. Stringer Manhattan Borough President Craig Gurian Anti-Discrimination Center of Metro New York Patricia Walls 504 Democratic Club - North Star Edith Prentiss 504 Democratic Club Rhonda Longstreet-Lawlor Action Toward Independence Ann Berson Alzheimer's Association, NYC Chapter Margaret M. Groce Association of Travel Instruction Paul Feurstein Barrier Free Living Joan Serrano Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled Chris Hilderbrant Center for Disability Rights Susan Dooha Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York Hazel Lee-Briggs Center for Independent Living of South Jersey, Inc. Frank Randazzo Chippewa Democratic Club Ken Struve City Access New York Chris Rosa Student Disability Services, City University New York Vuka Stricevic Community Access Alan Goldblatt CWA Local 1180 Committee on Members with Disabilities Janice L. Schacter Deafness Research Foundation Carr Massi Disabled In Action of Metropolitan New York Sandy Hecker Disabilities Network Alexander Wood Disabilities Network of New York City James Brennan Friends of Seravalli Judy Lear Gray Panthers NYC Anna Capell Handicapped Adult Association of Co-Op City Christina Curry Harlem Independent Living Center Jane Thompson Helen Keller Services for the Blind Cliff Perez Independent Living Center of the Hudson Valley Inc. Molly Krakowski JPAC Lewis Goldstein Lamba of Bronx County TK Small Largest Minority Long Term Care Community Coalition Margie Rubin Mobility Impaired Artists Westbeth Mindy Jacobsen National Federation of the Blind of New York State New York Lawyers for the Public Interest Renate K. Alpert New York Metro Gallaudet University Alumni Association Joseph M. Jabaley National Multiple Sclerosis Society, New York City Chapter Brad Williams New York State Independent Living Council Bruce Darling Regional Center for Independent Living Virginia Granato Roosevelt Island Disabled Association Rev. Lucius Walker, Jr. Salvation Baptist Church Ramon Aldecoa & Michelle Teusch Self-Advocacy Association of New York State Dorothy Doran Staten Island Center For Independent Living Bernie Abramowitz Staten Island Amputee Club Mary Somoza Synergia Pam Bates TLC Advisory Committee Terry Moakley United Spinal Association Urban Justice Center Hermina Jackson & Virtus Haynes Acting Group Melvyn Tanzman Westchester Disabled On the Move Inc. Rafaela Puerto 344 East 28th Street Tenant Association Address return mail c/o: Terry Moakley
Taxis For All Campaign United Spinal Association 75-20 Astoria Boulevard, Jackson Heights, NY 11370 |
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