Wheelchair ramps among features inaccessible for people with disabilities in Babylon Town facilities, state audit finds
The Town of Babylon Parks and Recreations building has a handicap ramp with no railing, doorknobs instead of handles to open doors and a patio without railings. Credit: Tom Lambui
A New York State Comptroller’s audit has found more than 100 instances where Babylon Town facilities do not provide adequate access for people with disabilities.
The audit, which took place from January 2023 to June 2024, examined seven facilities within the town: town hall, the town hall annex, the parks department, the animal shelter, the recycling center, the senior center in North Babylon and the town’s newest building, the courthouse/civil service building in North Amityville.
The comptroller’s office looked at 1,290 components of accessibility ranging from signage to the pitch of wheelchair ramps and found 139 areas where the town could improve accessibility. The majority of the components — 67 — were found at a town hall in Lindenhurst, followed by the town hall annex in North Babylon, with 26.
According to the report released last week by the comptroller’s office, the items that need to be addressed include having signs with raised lettering and Braille, changing twist-and-turn doorknobs to latch handles, having van-accessible parking spaces and having rails alongside ramps.
A categorized breakdown in the state report shows 30 interior door, 21 entrance, 21 sign, 16 ramp and 10 parking improvements are needed in addition to improvements in seven other categories across all facilities examined.
In a letter to the state addressing the findings, Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said he agreed the town needed to make the improvements.
"The Town strives to provide services to all residents," he wrote. "Your recommendations will help us realize that goal."
The town has 90 days from when the town received the findings late last month to submit a corrective action plan to the state.
Tom Stay, the town’s chief of staff, said he aimed to have 75-80% of the items finished by that time and that some have already been fixed.
"A lot of it was smaller items, like lowering the hand soap [in the bathroom], and some of the pipes under the sink were ticking out too far so if someone is in a wheelchair they would hit their knees, so we had to adjust the pipes," Stay said.
Most of the items can be addressed in-house, Stay said, but things like adding ramp railings will require outside contractors. Items the town workers can do will cost about $7,000, he said, while others like the railing installations could cost $30,000 to $50,000.
The most costly item on the list is widening the town hall elevator, Stay said. That could cost as much as $2 million and will require a relocation of the elevator, he said.
According to the most recent census data from 2023, 11,190 residents in the town have ambulatory difficulty and 3,634 have vision difficulty.
Therése Aprile-Brzezinski, director of planning and policy for the Long Island Center for Independent Living, Inc. based in Levittown, said the state findings didn’t surprise her.
"These are pretty common as far as oversight in accessibility," she said. "The standout aspect for me is the Town of Babylon seems to be really ready to work together to correct issues."
Aprile-Brzezinski said the audit could serve as a "heads up" to other municipalities.
"My hope is that when other municipalities see audits like this that they will take steps to be proactive and do their own self-assessment to analyze their physical access to programming and facility," she said.
A New York State Comptroller’s audit has found more than 100 instances where Babylon Town facilities do not provide adequate access for people with disabilities.
The audit, which took place from January 2023 to June 2024, examined seven facilities within the town: town hall, the town hall annex, the parks department, the animal shelter, the recycling center, the senior center in North Babylon and the town’s newest building, the courthouse/civil service building in North Amityville.
The comptroller’s office looked at 1,290 components of accessibility ranging from signage to the pitch of wheelchair ramps and found 139 areas where the town could improve accessibility. The majority of the components — 67 — were found at a town hall in Lindenhurst, followed by the town hall annex in North Babylon, with 26.
According to the report released last week by the comptroller’s office, the items that need to be addressed include having signs with raised lettering and Braille, changing twist-and-turn doorknobs to latch handles, having van-accessible parking spaces and having rails alongside ramps.
A categorized breakdown in the state report shows 30 interior door, 21 entrance, 21 sign, 16 ramp and 10 parking improvements are needed in addition to improvements in seven other categories across all facilities examined.
In a letter to the state addressing the findings, Town Supervisor Rich Schaffer said he agreed the town needed to make the improvements.
"The Town strives to provide services to all residents," he wrote. "Your recommendations will help us realize that goal."
The town has 90 days from when the town received the findings late last month to submit a corrective action plan to the state.
Tom Stay, the town’s chief of staff, said he aimed to have 75-80% of the items finished by that time and that some have already been fixed.
"A lot of it was smaller items, like lowering the hand soap [in the bathroom], and some of the pipes under the sink were ticking out too far so if someone is in a wheelchair they would hit their knees, so we had to adjust the pipes," Stay said.
Most of the items can be addressed in-house, Stay said, but things like adding ramp railings will require outside contractors. Items the town workers can do will cost about $7,000, he said, while others like the railing installations could cost $30,000 to $50,000.
The most costly item on the list is widening the town hall elevator, Stay said. That could cost as much as $2 million and will require a relocation of the elevator, he said.
According to the most recent census data from 2023, 11,190 residents in the town have ambulatory difficulty and 3,634 have vision difficulty.
Therése Aprile-Brzezinski, director of planning and policy for the Long Island Center for Independent Living, Inc. based in Levittown, said the state findings didn’t surprise her.
"These are pretty common as far as oversight in accessibility," she said. "The standout aspect for me is the Town of Babylon seems to be really ready to work together to correct issues."
Aprile-Brzezinski said the audit could serve as a "heads up" to other municipalities.
"My hope is that when other municipalities see audits like this that they will take steps to be proactive and do their own self-assessment to analyze their physical access to programming and facility," she said.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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