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Community Corner

Suit Filed to Suspend Nassau's Able-Ride MTA Cuts

Federal class-action lawsuit filed against the MTA in an effort to prevent drastic cuts to its Able-Ride program.

"Effective April 12, 2010, Able-Ride will no longer provide paratransit service to areas of Nassau County that are beyond the service area defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)," said a letter sent by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to Long Island Able-Ride customers dated March 10, 2010.

In an effort to stop these cuts, Adults and Children with Learning and Developmental Disabilities (ACLD) along with United Cerebral Palsy of Nassau (UCPN), have filed a federal class-action lawsuit against the MTA on behalf of eight disabled individuals who will see their service eliminated because they do not live within three-quarters of a mile from an MTA bus line. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order and injunction against the MTA to prevent drastic cuts to the Able-Ride program.

"These cuts impact me greatly," said Meryl Jackelow, one of the eight plaintiffs in the case, at a press conference held at the Nassau County Supreme Court Building in Mineola on Wednesday. "I use and depend on Able-Ride to get to work, to get to recreational programs, and to get to doctor's appointments. The regular bus stops are just too far for me to get to." If the cuts go through, Jackelow, who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy, will have to take taxis to Able-Ride stops, which would be a heavy burden on her fixed income.

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Aaron Liebowitz, executive director of ACLD, pointed out how these potentially significant cuts will impact Nassau County's disabled population at the press conference attended by more than 100 people. "In our opinion, the MTA's cuts will affect Nassau County's disabled community disproportionately," Liebowitz said. "Don't make people prisoners in their own home. Let them keep living independently."

UCPN's Executive Director Bob McGuire illustrated that there are many people who don't understand that Able-Ride provides people with disabilities with a sense of freedom. "The loss of Able-Ride is very much like the loss of a wheelchair or a listening device," McGuire said. "These people use Able-Ride to go to life events and clinical programs, and they go shopping, helping out our economy."

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The fate of the temporary restraining order to stop the cuts will be decided this Friday. Even if the order is granted, McGuire isn't so optimistic about the motion remaining permanent.

"If the order is passed, I'm absolutely concerned that this will only be a temporary fix," McGuire said. "We really need to get the county to restore the funding to continue the Able-Ride service."

As the current system stands, when calling to make a reservation for a trip, people are advised by an Able-Ride agent whether their trip meets ADA eligibility requirements. Seth Stein, a partner at Moritt, Hock, Hamroff, and Horowitz, LLP, Attorneys at Law (MHH&H) who outlined the key points of the class-action suit and other legal actions filed on Wednesday in federal court to stop cuts in service from taking place, said he feels there should be a better way to find out who is covered and who isn't.

"Existing ADA regulations call for all transport services to talk to the disabled community to get feedback, and we believe that they did not do this," Stein said. "In addition, even the MTA is unsure of which citizens will be affected. You can be on one side of this line and not get service, while your neighbor who lives across the street would still get service. The MTA should be able provide a way to find out if Able-Ride will cover you or not."

According to the MTA's letter, the Able-Ride cuts will affect people with disabilities from Bayville, Syosset and Oyster Bay, which are all outside the area required by the ADA. This puts Jennifer Li of Syosset directly in the cuts' crosshairs.

"The cuts affect me deeply," Li said. "There's no bus stop for me to even get to. I'll have to depend on friends and family, but they all have their own schedules."

The MTA said everything it has done is legal. "The new Able-Ride transportation policy is fully consistent with the American with Disabilities Act's requirements for paratransit services," MTA spokesman Jerry Mikorenda said. Due to the pending litigations, Mikorenda would not elaborate any further.

While the MTA believes that it is acting accordingly, many believe otherwise.

"I am horrified that they would treat the disabled the way that they have treated us," said Angela Davis, a member of the Human Rights Commission of Nassau County. "We want the MTA to stop these ridiculous cuts and find another way to make the money they need and not at the expense of the disabled."

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