[infoshare] Blizzard Poses Extra Challenges For The Disabled - WNYC

From: "Luis Guerra" <free_speech@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <"Undisclosed-Recipient:;"@freelists.org>
Date: Wed, 29 Dec 2010 20:09:22 -0500

Hi all,
I read this article and I thought I'd share it with you.

Blizzard Poses Extra Challenges For The Disabled
Wednesday, December 29, 2010

By
Janaya Williams

    Snow-covered sidewalks may be an inconvenience for many New Yorkers, but
they can pose a much bigger problem for people who are disabled or
mobility-impaired.

Paula Wolff works with the
Center for Independence of the Disabled
 in New York and uses a wheelchair to get around. The building where she
lives, Selis Manor in Manhattan, provides housing for the blind and
disabled. Wolff
says she has heard many horror stories from building residents since Sunday,
when the snowstorm made city roads and sidewalks impassable.

"I heard about one couple who were going from the building to their home in
Brooklyn," Wolff said. "They started out with Access-A-Ride at 10:30 on
Sunday
night, and they didn't get home until 7:30 the next morning."

Wolff says that in previous years, she has been able to return to work one
day after a big snowfall. But this year, it has taken two days for roads to
be
clear enough for her transport van to travel safely.

In addition, she says, sidewalks are often cleared without regard to the
disabled -- with snow piled high at corners and curbs, and very narrow
passageways
through the snow banks.  "They may be wide enough for somebody walking
through on foot," Wolff says, "But they're often not wide enough if you're
in a
chair or using a walker."

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[infoshare] Blizzard Poses Extra Challenges For The Disabled - WNYC

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