Brooklyn disability advocacy group brings case against New York City
The Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled commenced a lawsuit against New York City alleging significant deficiencies in the city’s disaster planning as related to the disabled and elderly.
In their suit, BCID contended that during Hurricane Irene, the 2011 weather system that bore down on New York City, many shelters, while open to the public, were not accessible to disabled persons.
“Ramps into shelters were often makeshift or too steep and dangerous,” the lawsuit contends. Other ramps, the suit further alleges, “that should have been usable led to locked doors for which shelter volunteers did not have keys.”