ADA Celebration Talking Points

ADA Celebration Talking Points

The ADA's 23rd Anniversary is July 26th, 2013
Marc Dubin, Esq.



1. The ADA is a federal civil rights law, not a building code. It is the most comprehensive federal civil rights law ever enacted prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability.

2. It is designed to provide people with disabilities equal opportunities, not special privileges, and recognizes there are barriers faced by people with disabilities that need to be addressed.

3. In addition to architectural barriers, people with disabilities also face policy barriers and communication barriers.

4. It was passed 23 years ago, and covers employers, businesses, and programs, services and activities of state and local governments.

5. Federal funding is not required.

6. It protects people with physical, mental, and sensory disabilities.

7. It was passed with the support of Republicans and Democrats, and was signed into law in 1990 by President Bush.

8. It has brought people with disabilities into the mainstream of the community, and allowed them to be integrated into the fabric of American life.

9. Tax laws have been changed, to provide tax incentives to comply.

10. As a result of the ADA, people with disabilities have enhanced opportunities for meaningful employment, and employers have been able to tap into a well-qualified pool of applicants and employees.

11. Businesses are seeing the value of becoming accessible to customers with disabilities:

According to the Justice Department:



• The large and growing market of people with disabilities has $175 billion in discretionary spending, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. $175 billion is more than four times the spending power of tweens (8-14 year-olds), a demographic sought after by businesses



• The New York Times reported that spending by travelers with disabilities exceeds $13.6 billion annually



• AARP says that four million Americans turn 50 each year and that people age 50 and older spent nearly $400 billion in 2003



• There are 51.2 million people with disabilities in the United States. More than one in six people in this country are potential customers for businesses that are accessible to people with disabilities.



• The U.S. population’s percentage of people with disabilities is 18.1 percent. That is larger than the percentage of Hispanics in the U.S. population (13.3%), the country’s largest ethnic, racial, or cultural minority group.



• Black Americans reported 19.8%; Hispanics/Latinos reported 13.8%; Whites reported 19.0%; and, Asians or Pacific islanders reported 11.5%



• Millions of people with disabilities regularly travel, shop, and eat out with family and friends. According to Census 2000, approximately 20.9 million families in this country have at least one member with a disability.



• The 2000 Census reported that almost 42% of older adults (65+ years) have one or more disabilities. The Administration on Aging projects that by 2030 there will be more than 69 million people age 65 and older, making up approximately 20% of the total U.S. population.



Source: http://www.ada.gov/busstat.htm (Footnotes omitted).

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Proposed Zip Line in Florida Keys May Be Inaccessible to Guests with Disabilities

The City of Marathon, Florida, in the heart of the Florida keys, is planning to develop a zip line at Crane Point Hammock, a nature preserve that is one of the finest in the nation. The City Council has received a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for more than 3/4 of a million dollars. The grant will be used to build a zip line at Crane Point, over the trees and across the water. The project has been under development for several years, but until recently, neither the City Council nor the developers chose to address the need to ensure that the project will be useable by and accessible to people with disabilities.

Last month, I toured Crane Hammock, and identified a series of barriers to guests with disabilities, including, but not limited to:

• Restrooms that had signage placed in the wrong place;
• Ramps that were inaccessible, resulting in users in wheelchairs being dumped onto sand;
• Protruding objects in the museum on the site, posing a danger to guests with vision disabilities;
• Lack of Braille and other alternative formats of pronted materials;
• Uncaptioned films and closed loop TV programs;
• Inaccessible paths of travel throughout the property.

I informed the City of my concerns, and in response, the City has asked the developers to hire an ADA consultant to assess the situation and identify current ADA violations. In addition, the consultant has been asked to assess the ADA concerns involved in the proposed zip line project.

As it is presently proposed, the Crane Point Project will have 9 towers and 4 platforms, none of which are accessible to guests in wheelchairs.

Stay tuned for more information.

Marc

LEAP Meeting - Weds. March 20th, 2013 1 pm - 3pm

The next Law Enforcement Assistance Project (LEAP) meeting is scheduled for Weds., March 20th, 2013, from 1 pm - 3pm, at the CIL of South Florida. 6660 Biscayne Blvd., Miami, FL

Parking on premises, in back. 

 Join us in person, or by conference call. Call 800-204-5502. Code: 938460

Please try to RSVP, to Mary at 305-751-8025. For ADA accommodations, contact Mary no later than five days before the event.

Agenda:
Discussion of services by law enforcement to the deaf community.

Contact Marc Dubin, Esq., at 1-305-896-3000 or at mdubin@pobox.com for more information.

Disability Advocacy Council Meeting: Tuesday, 3/19/13

The CILSF's next Disability Advocacy Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, March 19th, 2013.       10 am-12 noon       Light refreshments will be served.

 Join us in person, or by conference call. Call 800-204-5502. Code: 938460

Please try to RSVP, to Mary at 305-751-8025. For ADA accommodations, contact Mary no later than five days before the event.


Agenda:
1. Introductions
2. Discussion of Experiences of Discrimination On the Basis of Disability, and What You Can Do About It
3. Discussion of White Cane Law
4. Discussion of Your Rights When Interviewing for a Job, and Your Rights as an Employee
5. ADA Updates
6. Open Discussion