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Inici / Àlbums / Etiquetes Philadelphia
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ADAPT (441)
DISCLOSURE September-October 1989, Issue No. 112 the national newspaper of neighborhoods [Headline] Disabled Protest Across Country: “Accessible Transit Is a Civil Right" This story continues on 436 but is included here in its entirety for ease of reading. PHOTO by Tom Olin: A large group of people in wheelchairs, on crutches, many carrying posters, are massed in front of a MCI New Jersey bus. Joe Carle is in the middle of the group with his back to the camera and on the back of his wheelchair is a sign that reads "I can't even get on the back of the bus." Also visible (right to left) are Cassie James, Diane Coleman, Brian Shea, Mike Early from CORD, two other guys in wheelchairs, Kent Killam, Julie Nolan, a white haired blind person with a big sign, and a short woman, perhaps a child, looking to her left and holding on to the back of a wheelchair. The group is blocking the bus and the street, while others walk by on the sidewalk. Caption reads: Members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT) and affiliated groups stages demonstratlon on disabled rights issues in front of buses at the federal court building, Philadelphia, May, 1989. by Mike Monti The message is clear: “We will ride,” say the members of American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit (ADAPT). From a series of demonstrations to a controversial court case, this relentless group keeps fighting for accessible transit around the country. Among its victories are a July, 1989 federal court ruling that transportation agencies no longer have a 3 percent cap in providing wheelchair lifts or paratransit. For the members of ADAPT, accessible transit is a basic civil right — and is always worth fighting for. We reported in Disclosure #l08 on ADAPT’s actions in Montreal at the annual convention of the American Public Transit Authority (APTA). APTA and other transit authorities continue to make it extremely difficult for people with disabilities to use public transit. Nevertheless, ADAPT has shown that it will confront APTA wherever it shows up. Last April, at the Western Regional Conference of APTA in Sparks, Nevada (just outside of Reno), over 125 ADAPT members staged actions at the conference, calling for public transportation that can be used by everyone — including people with disabilities. Members started off with a march from their hotel to the conference hotel. When they were about halfway there, ADAPT was met by a police blockade. Obviously, authorities already knew about ADAPT: here is a group that won’t stops until it forces permanent changes. In Sparks. the marchers were able to get around the police barriers. But when they got to APTA’s hotel, they were met by private security forces. The hotel security outnumbered the city’s police three-to-one -— and were able to chain the door shut before ADAPT entered. Forty-seven ADAPT members were arrested, and seven were sent to jail. “The Sparks police had obviously decided that we weren't going to march in the streets,” said Stephanie Thomas, an ADAPT member who lives in Austin, Texas. “But we were able to go around the car barricades. it was like water going around the rocks." The following afternoon, ADAPT staged another demonstration with many crawling across the street and around police barricades, blocking traffic until they reached the front door of the hotel. It was locked from the inside. This time, 25 were arrested. The charge: blocking a fire door which was locked. Many of the ADAPT members who were arrested went on a hunger strike. Meanwhile, ADAPT members on the outside held a press conference calling attention to the problems jail staff were having providing for several of the disabled people’s needs. A final protest was held the next day. One day later, the Sparks judge who sent the hunger strikers to prison made a deal with the protesters: he let out two protesters for the price of a $100 fine. The judge had imposed a much stiffer sentence a couple of days earlier, but changed his mind in the face of a group of arrested ADAPT members who made it clear that they would rather starve and stay in jail than pay a huge fine. Meanwhile, disability groups on the east and west coasts were raising money to help support ADAPT. On the fourth day of the hunger strike, the judge relented and the fine was reduced. By the end of the day, all arrested ADAPT members had been released — and many in the group headed to Denver, for more demonstrations. In Denver — which is the home of ADAPT — the group protested at the annual conference of the Urban Mass Transit Administration (UMTA). This time, demonstrations focused on the federal government's request for a re-hearing of the ADAPT vs. Burnley case. In February, ADAPT won a major victory from the Department of Transportation (DOT) - only to have it undercut by the government. The first of ADAPT’s arguments stated that the rule saying transportation agencies should not have to spend more than 3 percent of their budget on wheelchair lifts or paratransit was unconstitutional. Second, ADAPT held that the option allowing agencies to decide whether or not to provide new buses with wheelchair lifts was unconstitutional. DOT kept flip-flopping on the issue: first it said yes, and then it backed off, asking for a rehearing to vacate the decisions. In Denver, ADAPT confronted Michael Norton, U.S. Attorney for the Tenth District in Denver. “Why is the government working against disabled rights?” asked ADAPT. Norton eventually read a 20-page statement from Attorney General Thornburgh stressing “the need for concern, compassion, and commitment” — but also saying that the law never mandated integration. “It was a really offensive statement, ” said Stephanie Thomas. “On one hand, he was affirming the government's commitment, and on the other he’s fighting tooth and nail to stop rights for the disabled.” When the case was reheard in Philadelphia on May 15, ADAPT was ready. With help from the local chapter of Disabled in Action and the Cape Organization for Rights of the Disabled (CORD), protesters gathered at the federal court building. Four ADAPT members met with the U.S. Attorney, who listened to their concerns. Two days later, a protest was staged at Independence Hall. Dressed in revolutionary garb complete with wigs, three-cornered hats and fife and drum, the “Disability Rights Patriots” marched around the Liberty Bell. Court Decision On July 24, ADAPT won a significant victory as the original ruling striking down the 3 percent cap on wheelchair and paratransit lifts was upheld. On the local option issue, judges decided that the stipulation was legal. Now, it's back in the hands of DOT, for "clarification." Meanwhile, ADAPT will be working with lawyers to plan its next strategy in the legal arena, even though the courts have dodged the issue of equal rights for the disabled. Nevertheless, ADAPT is still ready for action. “We are not going to sit around and wait for the government to put a piece of legislation through,” said Wade Blank. What's next for ADAPT? The next APTA Conference will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, September 23-28, 1989. “The court’s decision on local option will make our demonstrations in Atlanta bigger,” says Mike Auberger, a co-director of ADAPT. Sparks Nevada, Denver, Philadelphia, Atlanta. . .ADAPT marches on for rights for people with disabilities. “Someday,” says Wade Blank, “ It will be just as appalling to see buildings without ramps as it was seeing signs that said ‘Whites Only.’ ” end of article Pictures of 2 graphic symbols: One is the ADAPT no-steps logo with American Disabled for Accessible Public Transit around the outside and a circle with a set of steps rising to the right and a bar across the circle and steps with the word ADAPT on it. The other is a power fist, with wheelchair warriors written below the arm. Caption reads: These symbols are part of ADAPT’s continuing fight. Says Wade Blank of ADAPT “Someday it will be just as appalling to see buildings without ramps as it was seeing signs that said ‘Whites Only.’”
ADAPT (592)
[Headline] Wheelchair lifts required on all new transit buses Denver Post Staff and Wire Reports PHILADELPHIA -- Advocates for the disabled Tuesday hailed a federal court ruling requiring wheelchair lifts on new public buses, but a spokesman for transit agencies said the ruling doesn't address vexing problems. "We've been grappling with this for a long time" said Albert Engelken, deputy executive director of the Washington-based American Public Transit Association. He said wheelchair lifts receive limited use where they exist and are an added expense to transit agencies at a time when federal subsidies have been dwindling. On Monday, a 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel ruled 2-1 that Congress has made its wishes on accessibility clear, and that lift-equipped buses are part of that mandate. The court ordered the Transportation Department to rewrite a regulation allowing communities to offer alternative "paratransit” service, such as van rides, to the disabled. It said the 24-hour reservations that riders need to make for such services hinder spontaneous use of mass transit. The ruling apparently will have no impact on the Regional Transportation District in Denver, which already has a handicapped accessibility policy that mirrors requirements outlined by the appellate court, an RTD official said. RTD spokeswoman Diana Yee said 80 percent of the system’s 750-bus fleet is wheelchair lift-equipped. Additional service is supplied by a 16-vehicle paratransit program called Handi-Ride that uses vans and small buses to respond to individual transportation requests. RTD also is requiring private operators; soon to takeover 20 percent of the system’s routes, to use buses equipped with wheelchair lifts. James Fornari, a New York City attorney for a group of veterans with spinal-cord injuries, said the court ruling will force transit systems to look for the most efficient means of serving disabled people. “We are quite pleased with this decision, and I see it as a springboard for making other transit systems, which have buses accessible to the mobility impaired, so they can be mainstreamed into American life and society," Fornari said. Engelken said his association’s board, which comprises the heads of transit agencies. across the nation, believes agencies should be able to decide on a local basis how best to serve disabled people.
ADAPT (588)
Fort Worth Star Telegram handwritten: 3-26-89 [sic] [Headline] An Easter sit-in by activists in the Federal Building [This story appears in 588 and continues on 587, but is entirely included here for ease of reading.] PHOTO (by Fort Worth Star-Telegram/ RICKY MOON): In a fairly fancy office with leather chairs and wooden bookshelves and table, a group of disabled people sit in a semi circle. On the left side of the picture is a small man (Paul Alexander) in a grey suit and small, personally adapted wheelchair; his head is back and he is kind of looking over his shoulder at some of the others in the room. Next to him in a comfy padded chair sits a man with black hair, mustache and beard (Frank Lozano) in an ADAPT no steps logo shirt. Over his head he holds a poster that says "Access not excuses DON'T APPEAL." Next to him is a man in a manaul wheelchair (Bob Kafka) who is also wearing an ADAPT no steps logo shirt, suspenders and blue jeans. Beside him is a doorway and someone is standing in the doorway, on the other side with his back to the group. On the other side of the door is a woman in a wheelchair (Kathy Gaines) with curly hair and a pink blouse; she appears to be in a wheelchair as well. She is holding a sign but you can't read it from the angle it's at. Beside her, and at the front of the picture is a man (Joe Carle) sitting in an armchair with his legs up in his wheelchair; one leg is amputed below the knee. He is wearing a vest and ADAPT T-shirt on the arm of which you can see the list of cities where ADAPT has held actions. He is holding up and looking at a poster that reads "Bush says Mainstream Disabled." Caption reads: Paul Alexander, left, and Kathy Gaines, second from right, tried to negotiate for Frank Lozano and Bob Kafka, center, and Joe Carle, right. [Headline] Disabled demand better access BY Bob GWIZDZ Fort Worth StarTelegram Four people lobbying for better access to public transportation for disabled people refused to leave the Federal Building in downtown Fort Worth last night, promising to stay until Monday. Members of the American Disabled for Accessible Public Transportation earlier in the day had demanded that a local Department of Transportation official call the White House in support of their cause. Similar actions were planned in other cities today. “We plan to stay through Easter and welcome Wilbur Hare Monday morning.“ said Bob Kafka, a community organizer with the group. “On Monday we'll decide where we go from there.“ Hare, regional manager of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, refused the group's request that he call White House chief of staff John Sununu in support of a recent federal appeals court decision requiring wheelchair lifts on all new public buses purchased with federal money. Group members say they think the Department of Transportation will appeal the decision. ln Philadelphia, eight people were escorted from a federal building that contains the regional transportation administration office when the building closed at 5 p.m. Sieglinde Shapiro, who headed the delegation of disabled people, said she read a statement to the official in charge. The statement noted that similar meeting had been scheduled with regional directors in New York, Boston, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Ariz., and Salt Lake City, she said. The Associated Press office in Dallas said it had no reports of meetings with federal officials there. The Fort Worth office of the transportation department serves the Metroplex. Shapiro said “our sources in Washington tell us that the U.S. Department of Transportation is poised to appeal” the Feb. 13 decision by the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The ruling requires that every bus newly purchased with federal assistance be wheelchair accessible, and that those unable use buses be provided with adequate transportation. The Fort Worth protest began when between 20 and 30 demonstrators, many in wheelchairs, arrived at the Federal Building around 1 p.m. after assembling at nearby Burnett Park. Hare, who said he received word Wednesday that a protest was planned, asked the protesters to meet with him downstairs at the Federal Building. The demonstrators refused. “That’s how you treat the disabled separate,” Kafka said to Hare. “We want to see you on the ninth floor, in your office, like everybody else. It’s the same thing as transportation — we want access like everybody else.” After a few protesters entered the building, Federal Protective Service officers locked the doors, forcing more than half of the demonstrators to remain outside. Hare said his office would not accommodate all the protesters. He declined to say who ordered the officers to lock the doors. About 10 protesters met with Hare in his office. “I’m not calling Mr. Sununu, but if you have a message for him, I’ll do my best to get it delivered,” Hare said. “lf you’d like to make a call, then go where you conduct your business and make the call. I’m sure you’ve made your views known to (President) Bush and if you haven’t, there are better ways to do it than tying up this office all afternoon.” Hare did call the Washington headquarters of the transportation administration and said he relayed the protesters’ message to officials there. When Hare left at 4:45 p.m., his normal quitting time, four protesters decided to remain. “We weren’t anticipating Mr. Hare being so obstinate,” Kafka said. “We expected a quick reaction and a phone call. It just shows their real arrogance toward disabled people.” At 6 p.m., Casey Bowen, director of building operations with the General Services Administration, told the protesters that he would prefer they leave, but that he had no intention of forcibly removing them. But Bowen said he would not allow them to have food sent in, and he had the telephones removed from the office. “Quite frankly, our intent is not to encourage this sort of protest,” Bowen said. Reporters could not contact the protesters later in the evening and building guards declined to comment. The protesters, who had no provisions other than a couple of granola bars and soft drinks, have access to the building's snack and soft drink machines. Besides Kafka, 43, of Austin, the protesters who remained in the building last night were Joe Carle, 50, and Frank Lozano, 39, both of Dallas, and Tim Baker, 26, of Austin. Kafka has used a wheelchair since he suffered a broken neck in an auto accident 10 years ago. Carle suffers from a circulation disorder, has had part of one leg amputated and has used a wheelchair for nine years. Lozano is blind, the result of an auto accident five years ago. Baker suffers from severe cerebral palsy. Paul Alexander, a Fort Worth lawyer who uses a wheelchair, arrived late in the afternoon to try to negotiate a settlement. When it became apparent that the protesters were determined to stay, Alexander tried to arrange for permission for food delivery. Alexander said arrangements could not be made. “Us being locked up all weekend symbolizes the thousands of disabled people who are locked up in their homes," Carle said. “Will it do any good? Or will it make you look like a jackass? l don’t know the answer. I honestly don’t." Staff writer Betsy C.M. Tong contributed to this report.