Housing and Transportation Setbacks 

The New York State Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code Council on Nov. 8 voted, with 11 in favor and four against, to require that just 10 percent of dwelling units in newly constructed multi-family housing buildings be fully usable for persons with disabilities. The remaining 90 percent of covered dwelling units in new housing buildings would be "visitable," (i.e., persons with disabilities could reach such dwelling units and enter them along an accessible route of travel, but they would be unable to live in them without undertaking costly renovations, at least in EPVA's opinion).
In the view of the Department of State's Codes Division, which administers the state code and is in the process of adopting a new model code, the 10 percent figure was recommended, and obviously adopted, in response to the more than 80 comments received from individuals and groups of the disabled during a summer-long public comment period. 
The original proposal, which is included in the model code, is just two percent usable units. On the other hand, EPVA maintains that the 10 percent figure is a reduction of 90 percent when compared to the current building code, which calls for 100 percent accessible and adaptable dwelling units in new buildings with elevators, and accessible and adaptable ground floor units in buildings without elevators.
Prior to the vote on the 10 percent usable units, as a member of the Council, I offered a substitute motion to improve the design specifications in two areas of the 90 percent visitable units: require at least one usable bathroom in such dwelling units, and sufficient maneuvering clearance at interior doors to rooms. I believe that this motion would remove the need for persons with disabilities to make expensive structural changes such as reconfiguring a bathroom and widening doorways. It would transform visitable units to usable units, at little cost to builders. While only two council members spoke against my motion, it was defeated by a vote of seven to eight.
These new provisions are scheduled to become effective in late Spring or early Summer of 2002. EPVA will continue the struggle on many fronts to achieve multi-family housing in the future which can be used by all persons.
On another similarly frustrating front, Oct. 31, 2001 has come and gone, and there is no enforcement yet of a New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission (TLC) regulation, supposedly effective after that date, which requires for-hire vehicle companies (car services and black cars) to provide comparable wheelchair accessible service upon request. The TLC has decided to "delay enforcement" of this regulation while it surveys companies in this business to determine how they plan to comply with these requirements.
Why? At the same time this rule was unveiled in February of this year, the TLC also announced a "conversion reimbursement fund" of $1 million -- $750,000 of which was earmarked for the car service/black car industry. Without boring New York Able readers with too many details about this fund, let's just state that companies that elected to buy a van or minivan, and then convert it to a wheelchair accessible van or minivan, could be reimbursed up to $7,500 per vehicle of the cost to make the conversion. Sounds like a pretty good deal, no?
Apparently not. TLC sources informed us that "just a few" conversion reimbursement fund applications have been submitted to them. This industry had eight and one-half months to comply with this regulation, plus a pot of money to recover some of their costs, and still they did nothing. By delaying enforcement, the TLC tacitly approves their unacceptable behavior. Once again, we witness a government agency that does not take the needs of New York City's disability community seriously. The TLC needs to begin enforcing this regulation now, perhaps through a monthly system of fines which gradually increase until compliance is demonstrated.