504 Democratic Club: Questionnaires (Candidate for City Council Michael Cohen's 2009 response)

Candidate Name: Michael Cohen

Council District: 29

Contact Person: Michael Cohen

If there is a Campaign office, is it wheelchair accessible? There is no office at this time.

Campaign Address: 58-09 74th Street, Middle Village, NY 11379
Phone: 347-527-2318
Fax:
Address:
Email: michaelcohen2009 @ gmail.com
Website:

Endorsements: (Political, Community & Labor) Amalgamated Transit Union, TWU Local 106, Sheetmetal Workers, School Custodians

Action Shows Commitment!
1. While in public office/prior to this campaign, what have you accomplished in regard to advancing disability rights? This can include work towards accessible housing, transportation, employment, health care, education, and including people with disabilities in the political process?
  
  During my tenure as a state assemblyman, funding for V.E.S.I.D. was a personal top budgetary priority. I also gave the Lexington School some of my member item money. Legislatively, I was a sponsor of the bill to extend the SCRIE program to individuals with disabilities.
2. Will you commit to only attend / sponsor events that are accessible to people with disabilities (PWDs including providing written materials in alternate formats, providing assistive listening systems, and sign language interpreters as well as ensuring that locations are physically accessible)?
  
  I can commit to sponsoring events which are mindful of the needs of PWDs.
General Questions
1. What personal and professional experience have you had with people with disabilities in your personal life and in the workplace?
  
  As a youngster, I contracted polio; although I have had largely a complete recovery, the experience of being bed ridden for many months has left me with the awareness that there are many people not as fortunate as myself.
2. What type of jobs would you be willing to hire and to provide reasonable accommodation (e.g. flex or part time) for staff members with disabilities?
  
  Most of the positions involved in a legislative office are clerical so I would imagine these positions could be filled by people with disabilities. I certainly would expect and demand of the City Council to provide funds for any necessary physical accommodations for an employee with a physical disability.
3. How will you work closely with the disability community to assure passage of vitally needed legislation through the City Council? What will be your strategy?
  
  I will communicate to the Speaker that he/she cannot count on my support or cooperation unless there is significant movement on the disability agenda.
Housing
1. What is your position on the development of supported apartments/homes and retirement homes for the persons with mental and/or physical disabilities in your district?
  
  I would like to see the current "as of right" zoning model replaced with an "inclusionary" model which would incorporate in new developments a minimum number of units set aside for PWDs residents with the necessary accommodations.
2. What is your position on making DRIE (Disabled Rent Increase Exemption) and SCRIE (Senior Citizen Rent Increase Exemption) programs income eligibility comparable? (At present a individual senior or household income eligibility is $28,000. While the income for a younger disabled individual is capped at $19,284 and $27,780 for a household?)
  
  There needs to be income equality between the two programs.
3. Visitability sets guidelines to ensure newly constructed multi-family dwellings have basic accessible/adaptable features to permit people with disabilities can visit, and for residents to "age in place," without having to move out when age and/or disability set in. Do you support incorporating the concept of "visitability" in the Building Code?
  
  Yes.
Transportation
1. Will you support an expansion of affordable wheelchair accessible transportation in NYC, including taxis, livery service, express buses, and shuttles, more accessible subway stations, etc.?
  
  Yes.
2. Efforts to secure a 100% accessible fleet of medallion taxis have been hampered by opposition from Mayor Bloomberg and the taxi industry. The current emphasis is on creating a 100% "green" fleet. What would you do to assure that taxis and community car service vehicles are both "green" and universally designed for wheelchair access?
  
  I would sponsor/support legislation making wheelchair access a prerequisite for the licensing of taxis and car service vehicles.
3. Access-A-Ride (AAR) users experience unnecessarily long trips, causing workers to be late for work, have their pay docked and possibly losing their jobs. AAR leaves consumers stranded, lies that a vehicle is coming and penalized riders as a "no-show" when the vehicle never arrived. Riders who complain report they are subject to retaliation. What would you do to improve the quality of AAR? Would you support the issuance of a "smart card" so that Access-A-Ride users can use accessible cabs/livery service at a reduced cost and receive better service?
  
  Yes. AAR, among other things is not financially efficient.
Civil Rights

Do you pledge to use your office to affirm or strengthen, rather than weaken, civil rights protections for persons with disabilities?

Yes.
Community Board
1. Do you support requiring all Community Board meeting and function be accessible, including requiring sign language interpreters and large print format material?
  
  Yes.
2. How many people with disabilities have/will you appoint to your local Community Board(s)?
  
  It is certainly desirable to have a cross section of the population represented on the Board. I believe a minimum of four is reasonable and, of course, there is no maximum limit.
3. Will you support the "requirement" and implement, a Disabled Committee on every Community Board?
  
  Yes.
Discretionary Funds

Will you use your discretionary funds to support organizations serving people with disabilities or service organizations seeking to make their programs accessible to people with disabilities?

Yes.
Accessibility
1. Under Mayor Bloomberg, the City settled with the United Spinal Association and agreed to install pedestrian ramps, on all corners which presently don't have one. However, no provision was made to repair and/or replace existing ones which are unsafe. How would you ensure that pedestrian ramps are provided or repaired? What would you establish as a timetable?
  
  I would seek to mandate that there must be periodic inspections (once a year?) of all corners, any defects to be repaired within 90 days of discovery of a defect; and that the City Council receives a report on this matter every 90 days.
2. What steps do you think NYC should take to encourage business owners to make their establishments more accessible?
  
  Where owners are not compelled to make their businesses more accessible, I would provide a one time property tax credit to cover the construction costs.
3. How would you ensure that emergency evacuation for PWDs provisions are put in place to improve survival rates of PWDs in the event of fire, attack, blackout, or other emergency situation?
  
  NO ANSWER
Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD)
1. Mayor Bloomberg elevated the Director of the (MOPD) to a Commissioner without any increase in budget or responsibilities. How would you ensure that city departments/agencies coordinate through MOPD?
  
  All agencies in their annual reports to the Council would need to have a separate section to address PWDs concerns, both within their agency and outside factors relevant to that agency The agency would need to look back and review the experience of the past year and project future PWDs agency impact. This section of their report would need to be forwarded to the MOPD for comment, review and approval.
2. How do you believe the City Council should enforce and do oversight regarding the work of the office and be certain of the implementation and its efforts?
  
  By having the MOPD commissioner report to the Council every 90 days and seeking public comment at such hearings.

Date: May 27, 2009

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