Results tagged “disabilitiesact”

For just 25 cents, you finally can experience the steel-and-glass splendor of the city's first new public toilet. City officials gathered in Madison Square Park for the ceremonial first flush of the Automatic Public Toilet (APT). Almost a year after the location was announced and almost 2 years after the toilets were first previewed, Department of Transportation Commissioner Jeannette Sadik-Khan said she was "flushed with excitement in this new era...New Yorkers had their fingers and legs crossed for this special day." And so it goes.

The tragic death of Natalie Smead at the Woodside LIRR station made people wonder how the 18 year old could fall between the train car and platform in the first place. (Smead fell into the track, then rolled over to another train track where an incoming train hit her.) The answer becomes clearer in today's Daily News: The gap at the Woodside station was six to eight inches. Now, sure, the train conductors say to mind the gap, there are signs saying there's a gap, but six to eight inches seems egregiously big, especially when you're stepping down from a train car - you'd probably need to jump. Also, the Daily News points out:

There is no federal safety regulation that sets a maximum width for the gap between platform and train, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman said. The Americans with Disabilities Act, though, sets a 3-inch gap limit at newly constructed or renovated stations.

No federal safety regulation for platform gaps - great. And if the ADA has a three inch gap rule for new stations, we'd venture to say that gaps of six inches or more is not kosher.

At the same time, Senator Charles Schumer says the federal government owes NY State schools about $1.1 billion in money from the No Child Left Behind Acts as well as Individuals with Disabilities Act. The Daily News spoke with one teacher who will personally spend $1000 in supplies for her Brooklyn class. The article also notes that while cause for the shortfall is unclear, the funds need action from local government, so Gothamist can only hope that the Department of Education has is bothering the right people on the Hill about this money.

"I'm scared of monkeys," he said, his good mood vanishing instantly.NY Post, as much as Gothamist loves this story, stop going to Tommy's house - you're freaking him out!

The Times had an article about the Corbin Building, at 11 John Street, being preserved and maybe even incorporated into the MTA's plans for a new Fulton Street Transit Center. MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow said, "Our new transit center and downtown's historic architecture are both important to the future success of Lower Manhattan."