NYAIL Newsletter, May 2022

NYAIL News 2022, Issue 5

Advocacy Updates, NY Human Rights Law, and Parks Access Forums

Advocacy Updates

Legislative Disability Awareness Day was held last week on Wednesday. The event started on the Assembly floor with remarks by Assemblymember Abinanti, Chair of the Committee on People with Disabilities. The day did not include the usual public events and was not publicized to the same extent as in prior years. The agenda did include a few NYAIL priorities in the Legislative Disability Priority Agenda.

NYAIL's 2022 Legislative Disability Priority Agenda (PDF) - Updated 5/2/2022

NYAIL 2022 Webinar Series

NY Human Rights Law & Public Accommodations

Join us on May 25th from 11 a.m. to Noon for our webinar on New York's Human Rights Law and public accommodations. Free advance registration is required for each of our webinars in the 2022 series. All webinars include ASL interpretation and captioning.

This month's webinar is an overview of New York State Human Rights Law and filing complaints related to public accommodation (disability access). Public accommodation includes privately owned businesses that serve the public, like restaurants. You aren't required to hire a lawyer to file a New York Human Rights Law complaint related to disability access.

Our presenter John Herrion of the New York State Divison of Human Rights will provide an overview of the law, your rights, the process of filing a complaint, investigations, and how issues are resolved to provide disability access. There will be time to answer your questions following the presentation.

Presented by John Herrion, Director of Disability Rights, New York State Division of Human Rights.

Thank you to our NYAIL 2022 Webinar Series sponsor Waymo!

Waymo is an autonomous driving technology company with a mission to make it safe and easy for people and things to get where they’re going. We believe that fully autonomous technology holds the promise to improve road safety and offer new mobility options to millions of people. This is why we're designing the Waymo Driver, our autonomous technology, to give people a new kind of freedom – to go where they want, when they want, while making the frustrations and concerns with driving a thing of the past.

1st Outdoor Recreation Forum is Tomorrow

Starting tomorrow, May 10th, at noon is the first public forum on integrating inclusivity, accessibility, and sustainability in providing access to State lands. These public forums are part of the State’s ongoing efforts to advance Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and increase opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to recreate together in the outdoors. The forum series is being hosted by NYS DEC and other state parks agencies. NYAIL is proud to be a partner in advancing outdoor recreation opportunities for people of all ages and abilities.

Mobility Devices on Public Lands: Is it a Wheelchair or Other Power-Driven Mobility Device?

Tuesday, May 10; Noon to 1:30 pm

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that any mobility device that meets the definition of a wheelchair must be allowed everywhere that the public can go. This session will include an overview of the required factors for public entities to consider in evaluating which mobility devices meet the definition of a wheelchair and which are considered Other Power-Driven Mobility Devices.

Presenter: Janet Zeller.

Discussion facilitator: Jason Thurston, Chair of the Accessibility Advisory Committee; Outreach Coordinator at John Dillon Park in the Adirondacks.

American Sign Language interpretation and closed captioning will be available.

Sustainable Trails and Accessibility: How to keep our wild lands wild while being more inclusive

Tuesday, May 17; Noon to 1:30 pm

This session will provide an overview of accessible and sustainable trail design and how to integrate sustainability and accessibility in keeping with the federal standards for accessible trails. Integration of these factors results in trails that reduce environmental impacts and open the outdoors to hikers of all abilities while maintaining the character of the trail and reducing trail maintenance.

Presenter: Janet Zeller.

Discussion facilitator: Lisa Tarricone, Member, Accessibility Advisory Committee; Executive Director, Taconic Resources for Independence, Poughkeepsie.

American Sign Language interpretation and closed captioning will be available.

Promoting Your ILC or Program - Recording Available

3 Free Ways to Advertise & Promote Your Independent Living Center

Michelle West, has served in marketing leadership roles in the Independent Living movement since January 2015. When she presented at the 2019 National Council on Independent Living's conference on the topic of marketing, person after person told her they didn’t have the marketing skills to get the word out about their services, let alone that their CIL even exists!

We were very happy to host Michelle West, Founder and Principal of Aprosae, for our April webinar. The webinar is a quick overview on how to get the word out about your ILC or a particular program at your ILC. A full slide deck and more information is now available on our website.

The New York Association on Independent Living administers several statewide and regional programs in collaboration with its member ILCs, all of which are focused on helping people with disabilities live independently in the community.

Learn more about NYAIL programs by visiting: ilny.us/programs