What Has DIA Done?

• We helped create equal employment opportunities at NYC Board Of Education when they hired their first teacher who used a wheelchair (1970).
• We worked with like-minded organizations to help create the first national standards for accessible buses and subways (1976 – 1984).
• We were at the head of the movement that created 100% accessible bus service in NYC (1984).
• We fought for and got the N.Y. City to create a Paratransit system (1984).
• We worked with the NYC Department of Transportation to expand curb-cuts citywide.
• We advocated for the City Council to enact Local Law 58 which mandates access in common spaces in residential housing and businesses and facilitates building ramps on city sidewalks.
• We fought to gain audio description, closed captioning and wheelchair access in movie and Broadway theaters. Got Duane Reade to make all its stores 100% ADA compliant. (2001 to 2016).
• We forced the adoption of new voting machines and continue to fight for polling site access. -We filed and won the first ADA Title 3 Lawsuit against the Empire State Building (1992).
• Created the OneStep Access Program. Working with Pratt Institute and the NYC Human Rights Commission, OneStep promoted physical access in small businesses throughout the City (1993-2009).
• We won a “zero denial” policy of Access-a-ride rides in 2001. We worked tirelessly for improvements such as being able to call 1 or 2 days in advance instead of 4 or 7 days. We got the MTA to create dedicated Access-a-ride stops at hospitals, stadiums, concert halls, and colleges. We got a Federal Transportation Administration compliance review in 2003 that forced Access-a-ride to shorten late cancellation time to 2 hours instead of the day before. We fought for children to be able to use Access-a-ride. We pushed for the use of taxi and livery vehicles in Access-a-ride. This work is ongoing.
• We got the City Council to pass the Accessible Ferry bill which required that all NYC commuter ferries be accessible to people with mobility problems (2005).
• We won the right to have independent lift operation in public spaces.
• We Fought for and won access to Federal courts.
• We got improved access at New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx.
• WeFought for and won access to NYC Housing Court.
• We worked with a like-minded coalition and won an agreement for 100 key accessible subway stations (by 2020).
• Working with the Taxis For ALL Campaign coalition, we fought for and won an agreement to have 50% of yellow taxis accessible (by 2020).
• Disability service liaisons now exist at all city agencies thanks to DIA.
• We fought to require wheelchair access to all community board meetings.