NYC: ATWORK IN THIS ISSEIN THIS ISSE

The U.S. Department ofTransportation(DOT)recently announced thatit has revised its Air CarrierAccess Act (ACAA) regulationon the transportation of serviceanimals, which they claim ismeant to ensure accommodations for people with disabilities as well as the safety of allpassengers and airline staff.Only certified service dogsare to be considered service animals. Therefore, airline carriers should now consider emotional support animals as petsthat would travel in the cargoarea of airplanes instead of inthe cabin alongside passengers.This move from the DOTcomes after several years ofcomplaints about the proliferation of pets of various speciestraveling in the cabin of airplanes with their owners whoclaimed they were necessaryemotional support animals.Since most of these animalsare not professionally trained,there have been many instances where they caused disruption or harm to genuine sup-port dogs or other passengers.Furthermore, the DOT statesthat too many passengers werefraudulently representing theirpets as service animals. Theyallege that some of these animals are not actually for support, but rather just pets thattheir owners would like to havein the cabin for convenienceand/or to avoid the cargo areaboarding fee.“People abused it, and itgot out of hand,” said MarilynTucci, advocacy and outreachcoordinator of Suffolk Independent Living Organization(SILO). “People have tried tobring a peacock, a snake andother animals. Why would theydo that?”However, some disabilityadvocates claim that the newrules are too rigid, includingNational Disability RightsNetwork Exec. Dir. Curt Decker. “There’s a large number ofpeople with intellectual andemotional disabilities that benefit from having that kind ofsupport on a trip,” said Deckerin a New York Times article.“There’s no one in the disability community that thinks aturkey is a service animal.”The DOT received more than15,000 comments on the noticeof proposed rulemaking. Thedepartment said that their final rule addresses concernsraised by individuals with disabilities, airlines, flight attendants, airports, other aviationstakeholders and members ofthe public.The rule will go into effect 30days after publication in the Federal Register. The DOT definesa service animal as a dog of anybreed that is individually trainedto perform tasks for the benefitof a qualified individual with adisability, including a physical,sensory, psychiatric, intellectualor other mental disability.It also allows airlines to require the passengers to fill outa DOT form attesting to theservice animal’s health, behavior and training. The formalso asks for an attestationwhen taking a long flight thatthe service animal can eitherrefrain from relieving itself orcan do so in a sanitary manner. Carriers are also allowedto require that service animalsare harnessed or leashed.The final rule prohibits airlines from requiring passengers with a service animal tophysically check-in at the airport instead of using the onlinecheck-in process.Airlines can require that aservice animal fit within itshandler’s foot space on the aircraft and gives them the rightto refuse to transport serviceanimals that exhibit aggressive behavior.“Most of the blind community is very happy about this, because it’s going to be better forpeople with legitimate serviceanimals. We ask to be seatedby the bulkhead, which has themost room for our dogs,” saidTucci. “When an animal isn’twell-behaved, it can become abig problem. I am blind, andmy dog is a guide dog, whichperforms specific tasks. Mydog is my eyes. People who areblind have been asking for thisfor years.”Boro Pres Names Disability Activist to Advisory PostDonovan Richards, who recently won the Queens Borough President race, has puttogether his transition team,a group of more than 100 leaders — to help him form newpolicies. Previously he was amember of the City Council.Among those chosen isMike Schweinsburg, president of the 504 DemocraticClub, who will serve as disability advisor. A longtimedisability activist, he organized the first DisabilityPride Parade in New YorkCity and is Disability Liaisonfrom Assembly Member Harvey Epstein’s office.“At long last, the disabilitycommunity has a seat at thetable,” Schweinsburg said.“There is a strong indicationthat Borough Pres. Richardswill for first time give thedisabled community morethan a glance.“We are the largest minority and the second largest voting bloc,” Schweinsburg said.Richards has chosen threeco-chairs to lead his transition team — Jackson HeightsAssembly Member Catalina Cruz; former ManhattanBorough Pres. Ruth Messinger and Queens Public LibraryPresident and CEO Dennis Walcott, who previouslyserved as NYC Schools chancellor and deputy mayor.Rhonda Bindawill servesas the executive directoroverseeing the transition.Astoria Council MemberCosta Constantinides, whoran against Richards, willserve as chair of the planningcommittee that oversees landuse and development.Southeast Queens councilmember I. Daneek Miller willserve as co-chair of the transportation committee alongsideJuan Restrepo.Newly elected AssemblyMember Khaleel Anderson wasnamed to Richards’ youth committee and his personnel committee.ThePersonnel/Appointments Committee will be co-Mike Schweinsburgchaired by Franck Joseph,the deputy commissioner ofthe New York City Commission on Human Rights andIbrahim Khan, the chief ofstaff to the New York Attorney General.The Youth Committee willbe chaired by political strategist Martha Ayon, the headof Azul Public Solutions.Other appointees includeJo-Ann Yoo as chair of the Immigration Committee; MichaelPAGE 3 JANUARY 2021 - NEW YORK ABLE NEWSPAPERDOT Restricts Animals On PlanesMallon as chair of the Community Boards Committee; pastorand community leader BishopTaylor as chair of CommunityAffairs; Juana Ponce de Leonas chair of the Communications Committee and BerthaLewis as chair of the ExternalAffairs Committee.Richards has also namedVP for Communications andMarketing at Queens College Jay Hershenson as theEducation Committee chair;Executive Director at Community Voices Heard AfuaAtta-Mensah as chair of thePolicy Committee; ExecutiveDirector of Chhaya AnnettaSeecharran as chair of theEconomic Development Committee; Executive Director atthe Jamaica Center for Artsand Learning Cathy Hung aschair of the Tourism, Arts,Parks, Entertainment andSports (TAPES) Committeeand Major Sharon Sweeting-Lindsey, of VETS, Inc, aschair of the Seniors and Veterans Affairs Committee.

NEW YORK ABLE NEWSPAPER - JANUARY 2021 PAGE 4Advocates for Children File Lawsuit Against DOESome parents have received a notice in connection with a lawsuit thatis now in federal court, J.L.,et al. v. New York City Department of Education (Case No.17-cv-7150 S.D.N.Y.).This is an ongoing lawsuitwhere Advocates for Childrenand Greenberg Traurig represent the plaintiffs.The letter was sent in connection with a lawsuit thatAdvocates for Children filedfor three parents because theirchildren did not receive properin-school nursing, porter and/or transportation services andaccommodations.Anyone who has requestedany these services or accommodations for their child might re-ceive a letter. Disclosing thesedocuments will not change inany way the rights that thechild has in receiving servicesfrom the DOE, and the DOEcannot use the parents’ decision here in any way to impactthe child’s rights.Parents do not have to produce any documents thatthey may have related to thecase. This only relates to thestudent’s records kept by theDOE.If parents opt out, their child’spersonal information will not beproduced. Although the child’srecords may be produced, anypersonal information will be removed from the documents sothe information is not seen bythe plaintiffs’ attorneys.Burke Rehabilitation Hospital and Montefiore Departmentof Rehabilitation Medicinehave launched a new outpatient physician practice, a comprehensive health resource forthe community.Housed in a classic building with artwork that providestherapeutic benefits, the multidisciplinary practice synthesizes the latest treatment technologies in a healing environment,to optimize the patient experience.There are 11 practice rooms,with onsite capability for procedures such as epidurals andjoint injections, ultrasoundand EMG diagnosis and ad-vanced medical and therapeutic treatments. The physiciansspecialize in a wide variety ofconditions, including stroke,spinal cord injury, brain injury/concussion, cardiac disease,pulmonary disease, orthopedicsurgery, amputations, muscu-loskeletal disorders, chronicpain, dementia and arthritis.Collaborating in multidisciplinary teams, the practiceoversees individualized careplans to help patients maximize their recovery and achievewellness goals.The outpatient facility is at785 Mamaroneck Ave., WhitePlains, in Burke’s BillingsBuilding.Angel Herrera is director ofthe practice. Appointments areavailable by calling 1-833-REHAB-0-1.Burke Unveils Outpatient Physician PracticeNew York Medicaid Changes in 2021By Carrie HolgersonHistoric changes to NewYork’s Medicaid Program wererecently implemented with theadoption of the State’s fiscalbudget.The most severe cutbackstake aim at long-term community home care Medicaid ser-vices including Personal CareServices, the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), home healthcare services, private dutynursing, and the Assisted Living Program. The new rulesimpose a 2.5-year “look back”period or period of ineligibilitydue to a transfer of assets.This differs from the previous rule, which did not requirea lookback period for community-based care. The changesinitially intended to take effectOct. 1, 2020, have since beendelayed until April 1, 2021, asa result of the Public HealthEmergency stemming fromthe spread of the coronavirus.Therefore, beginning April1, 2021, any resident filing anew application for community-based Medicaid benefits willbe subject to the new rules.Effective April 1, 2021, NewYork residents filing a new application for Community Medicaid services will be requiredto provide 30 months of financial records for themselvesand their spouses prior to thedate that Medicaid coverage issought to begin. The 2.5-yearlook back period will apply tooutright transfers as well astransfers to a trust. The local Department of Social Services or Medicaid agency willperform a forensic accountingof these records, looking forany transfers of assets or giftsmade during the lookback forless than fair market value.The look back period willretroact to Oct. 1, 2020, [theeffective date of the rule] whilethe 30-month period is beingphased in. A penalty period willbe imposed for any non-exempttransfers of assets, duringwhich time, the applicant willbe considered ineligible forMedicaid long-term communityhome care coverage.The period of ineligibilitywould begin the first day theapproved applicant is due toreceive home care services. According to the Department ofHealth, transfers made prior tothe Oct. 1 retroactive date areexempt from scrutiny.Persons submitting new applications for Community Medicaid services prior to April 1,2021, will not be subjected topenalties for transfers of assets under the Medicaid homecare system. It has also beendecided that those individualsalready receiving long-termcommunity Medicaid services,are grandfathered in, and willnot be affected by the newrules.Other changes that were setto begin Oct. 1, 2020, imposingheightened standards for eligibility for the Community Medicaid Program are currentlyunderway.Carrie Helgerson is a staffmember at Brandow Law.

The Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA)has been left in severefinancial straits during theCOVID-19 economic crisis,but that won’t stop advocates for transit riders withdisabilities from advocatingfor key accessibility commitments that so far remain unmade.Assemblymember JeffreyDinowitz, State Sen. AndrewGounardes, Center for Independence of the Disabled –New York (CIDNY), Brooklyn Center for Independenceof the Disabled (BCID),Bronx Independent LivingServices (BILS), Disability Rights Advocates (DRA),NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Riders Alliance allgathered virtually to discusskey accessibility elements ofthe Fast Forward plan proposed by former New YorkCity Transit (NYCT) Pres.Andy Byford as well as othersought-after improvements.“Funding capital improvements to bring our subwaysystem into compliance withfederal disability requirements is something the federal government should havebeen doing regardless ofpandemic, but right now it iseven more critical that Congress include the fu

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