Press Release - Eliot Commemorates Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary

Eliot Commemorates Americans with Disabilities Act Anniversary

Eliot Spitzer, candidate for governor, and running mate David A. Paterson, candidate for lieutenant governor, met today with hundreds of disability advocates to commemorate the 16th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Advocates for New Yorkers with disabilities gathered at the headquarters of the Disabilities Network of New York City and were conferenced in from thirteen satellite locations across New York State.

Eliot and David commemorated the anniversary of the ADA by engaging in a discussion about their disabilities agenda for New York, which they have laid out in part in prior speeches. They also used the opportunity to listen to the many concerns of the disability community as a way of building on their agenda and of ensuring that it fairly represents the needs of this community.

Eliot and David's disabilities agenda includes among other issues:

- Appointing a disabilities advocate in the Governor's office to coordinate all issues relating to persons with disabilities;

- Making employment - of the two-thirds of New Yorkers with disabilities currently unemployed - a priority through workforce development efforts and the State's procurement process;

- Committing to greater community-based housing options;

- Reforming Medicaid to ensure that New York's support system follows a person wherever he or she goes; and

- Exploring innovative supports for life and financial planning as well as greater caregiver support.

"As we celebrate this anniversary, we must rededicate ourselves to the ideas and ideals set forth in Americans with Disabilities Act," Eliot Spitzer said. "It is our obligation as a state to offer those with disabilities the same opportunity, independence, and empowerment that we aspire to for all citizens."

"Sixteen years later, we have all seen how the ADA shattered the chains that have held back millions of Americans, whose only disability was the insensitivity of our society," David Paterson said. "All of us, who have enjoyed its protections and whose lives have been enhanced by its equalizing of opportunities, are the guardians of its future. The law may be on the books, but its enforcement and implementation requires our constant vigilance," he continued.

http://www.spitzerpaterson.com/main.cfm?actionId=globalShowStaticContent&screenKey=cmpNews&htmlId=6667&s=spitzer3