504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for State Committee of Assembly District 72 Joan Serrano Laufer's response)

Candidate Name: Joan Serrano Laufer

Address: 45 Fairview Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10040

Candidate for A.D. 72, Borough: Manhattan

Phone: 718-368-8025

Email: Jslcsw@aol.com

Candidate for party office
72 A.D.
Democratic State Committee Candidate for reelection

Please describe any experience with disability you have had in your life or career.

In my family life, I have had a variety of experience with disabilities. I have diabetes, and am a fifteen year survivor of breast cancer having had surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation.

I count a number of people active in the disabilities movement as my personal friends. This includes Emily and Kipp Watson (Emily and I grew up together, helped raise each others children, and were Co-presidents of their religious school Parent Association.), Michael Anapol (His wife Vivian and I have been very close friends since high school), Susan Lauer, and Janet Weinstein, among others. I have worked closely with Sylvia Friedman on the State Committee.

Professionally, I have worked with people with developmental and psychiatric disabilities and their families for my entire career either as paid staff, or as a volunteer. Early in my career, I worked at the Shield Institute for the Developmentally Disabled, where I worked, for part of seventeen years there, with pre-school children. I am proud to say that I am still in contact with two families, the Evangelistas and the Velezes. Isabel Evangelista, the Mom, is currently President of my political club and credits me with helping her get political in the US and I will be attending a wedding in the Velez family in September. (Maria Velez, the Mom, was a staff member of Ann Emerman when she was the Director of the Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities.)
Does the club to which you are affiliated have a headquarters that is accessible to persons with motor and sensory disabilities?

While, on paper, our club, The Concerned Democrats of Northern Manhattan, has a headquarters, we have not used it for two years because it is not accessible. Our meetings are held in accessible neighborhood sites, or in each others homes. An example is that our Campaign Kickoff and petition Distribution Party, held in June was held in a ground floor, fully accessible restaurant on Broadway.
When choosing locations for meetings and fundraisers for your club, is physical accessibility a deciding factor?

Yes.
Many local clubs and several Democratic County organizations (including Queens) have their headquarters in inaccessible locations. Do you believe that local clubs are required under the Americans with Disabilities Act and National and State Party Rules to hold meetings and other public events that are accessible to persons with disabilities?

Yes.
Are there any persons with disabilities active in your club? Do you have any officers or Executive Board members with disabilities?
Have you run candidates with disabilities for Party office such as County Committee and Judicial Convention Delegates?
Has your club made efforts to attract new members with disabilities?
Have you sought to replace inaccessible polling places in your area with accessible ones?
Have you appointed persons with disabilities as election workers?

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