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December 13th, 2005

For Immediate Release

Contact: Michael A. Harris

Telephone: 914-323-1725

Mobile: 914-490-0518

E-mail: mediacontact@disabledriders.org

*MEDIA RELEASE*

Disabled Riders Demand Suspension of Controversial Service Animal Rule

Riders advocacy group calls rule discriminatory; threatens legal action against TA

(TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13^th, 2005) NEW YORK, NY – Members of the Disabled Riders Coalition spoke out both prior to and at Tuesday’s meeting of the MTA’s New York City Transit Committee to demand the immediate suspension of a controversial rule in New York City Transit’s Code of Conduct, which permits Transit officials and police officers to refuse entry to or eject from any conveyance a service animal if in their sole discretion, they believe that such animal poses a safety threat.  Rule 1050.9(h) §5[1] was amended by unanimous vote of the MTA Board to include service animals at its September meeting, a move that the Coalition calls discriminatory and illegal.  The Coalition says that they have received two reports of such ejections since the passage of the rule and fear that if something is not done about it, more may follow.

“This rule is a blatant violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which says that service animals must be permitted into any public accommodation, which would certainly include buses and subways”, said Todd Walerstein, who is blind and uses a guide dog.  Walerstein, a Manhattan resident who spoke out this morning, added, “They simply cannot do this.”

The Coalition held a news conference in front of MTA Headquarters this morning and then offered testimony on this matter before the NYC Transit Committee demanding the immediate suspension of this rule, which went into effect last Monday (December 5^th).  They also delivered a letter to NYCT President Lawrence Reuter and Committee Chairman Barry Feinstein, asking that the TA thoroughly re-examine the rule as MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow had promised prior to the September vote adopting the rule.  At the October NYC Transit Committee meeting, President Reuter announced that the rule would continue to exist as passed, outraging many in the disability community. 

Phil Kirschner, a Brooklyn resident who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder after being mugged on the subway and uses a Doberman as a psychiatric service animal, says that until he got his dog he was afraid of riding the subways.  Now he has a new fear, “I am afraid of being kicked out of the subway because of my dog.” 

Michael Harris, a 21 year-old college student from Brooklyn, who serves as the Coalition’s campaign coordinator, says that Kirschner’s situation is a large part of their concern about the rule,  “When people think of service animals, they generally think of golden retrievers, but that simply is not the case.  Service animals come in all shapes and sizes, they can be Rottweilers, Pitbulls, horses even rodents or lizards.”  He says that the rule is too broad and gives Transit officials and police officers no guidelines as to what constitutes a safety threat.  “To one cop the mere presence of a Rottweiler in a subway station could constitute a safety threat, while another could think that is fine.  The ADA requires that such a regulation be narrowly tailored and specifically define what a safety threat is.  This rule simply doesn’t do that”, he said.

“The rule as it previously existed permitted such action with regard to animals, but the September amendment specifically includes service animals.  Such a rule is in direct conflict with the ADA and more significantly is demonstrative of a blatant disregard on the part of the TA for the needs of riders with disabilities”, said Harris.  He urged the full MTA Board to consider suspension of the rule at its monthly meeting on Thursday, calling it, “the right thing to do.”

The Coalition says that if the TA does not act quickly to address this issue, they will not rule out the option of legal action, be it through a formal complaint with the FTA, litigation against the TA or other action

WHO: Members of the Disabled Riders Coalition

WHAT: News Conference and testimony demanding the suspension of a rule permitting the ejection of service animals from NYC subways and buses

WHEN: Tuesday, December 13^th, 2005; Press Conference @ 9:15am, Testimony @ 10am

WHERE: MTA HQ, 347 Madison Avenue, New York, NY

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For more information about the Disabled Riders Coalition, please visit our website at www.disabledriders.org