Twenty two years ago the disabled community and their advocates celebrated the passing of hard fought for and hard won legislation and th ADA was born. A healthy baby human rights bill born with all its teeth and limbs to reach offenders and bite them on the ass when they didn’t comply. Twenty two years on, how much bite does it really have?

What do you think? Please share your stories. I have my own horror stories and successes.

The NYC MTA has 468 subway station 270 -5 elevators in the entire system, but that is at only 60 stations and their website brags less than 17% work on any day. Trains in NYC have no strapping or sensible dedicated area for the disabled the area marked on a new train is so ill thought out. If you sit there half the width of your chair is in the trains doorway — to be kicked and knocked about.

NYC taxi cabs- during the recent cab redesign bid, a company put forward a design that appeared totally 100% accessible. The design was in the running the taxi and limousine board chose the pretty inaccessible one. Mayor Bloomberg said disabled New Yorkers shouldn’t catch taxi’s because we have no right being on the street hailing them as we are a danger.

When he was challenged by a reporter on his comments he said “It is not now or has it ever been the responsibility of this administration to care for the disabled?”

Remember his comments above and try getting around Manhattan streets in a wheelchair.

The ADA is already outdated. So much abuse of the disabled exists through scams aimed at us, to bigotry and discrimination, both online and in person. When I called the ADA themselves they made it clear that they didn’t care about infractions made toward the disabled via the internet.

It has long been accepted that the disabled and otherwise-abled community use the internet because of its ability to cut through barriers created by the likes of Bloomberg because one click and the world can be delivered to you. With apps being pushed for every disability as teaching and recuperative aids, and it being common knowledge that we the disabled community use it as an aid to an easier life. It is absolutely narrow minded and wrong that the ADA doesn’t care about infraction made via the internet. They should be madly drawing up amendments to the ADA to protect the rights of the disabled and otherwise-abled internet using community

The ADA is like a baby with promise. Its future depends on what adult it meets along the way. At the moment fagan seems to control it like a legal version of Oliver. What we need is a caring parent with foresight and compassion but who at the same time let’s no one put her baby in the corner.

Happy birthday ADA — I hope there are many more!

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