Advocates: MTA board member with disabilities a boon for equality

Long Island disability advocates Tuesday praised a new state law Gov. Kathy Hochul said will "advance equity" by ensuring at least one MTA board member be "transit dependent" because of a disability.

Hochul, who signed the bill into law Monday, noted in a statement her June appointment of Dr. John-Ross Rizzo, a nationally recognized leader in rehabilitation medicine and adaptive technology at NYU Langone, to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority board. Rizzo is vision-impaired, and Hochul said he provided a "critical voice for the disability community on the board."

"I'm committed to improving accessibility across the MTA's network of buses, trains and subways," Hochul said. "This new law will ensure the disability community has a voice and a seat at the table in deciding the future of transit in New York."

Having a person with a disability on the board, even if only one on the 23-member board, gives voice to a block of riders long overlooked, according to advocates and other Long Islanders praising the bill.

"I think it would be helpful just to get a different perspective," said Bryanna Copeland, a 31-year-old double amputee from Franklin Square, who spoke by phone Tuesday from a Long Island Rail Road train. While she said able-bodied people might understand an issue, "to have it come from someone that actually has a disability, I feel like that's more valuable."

Rizzo said in a statement: "We have now entered a watershed moment in history as disability-focused technology has matured given advances in mobile computing, artificial intelligence and broadband, affording the promotion of transit equity with unparalleled rigor."

Nadia Holubnyczyj-Ortiz, of Floral Park, a workforce development consultant and disability advocate, called Hochul's action "very exciting, because we need the perspective of someone who's disabled … to make a decision about what is beneficial to the disabled transit-dependent."

Holubnyczyj-Ortiz, who uses a wheelchair, said those with disabilities should be part of the decision-making process.

"That's what the governor's appointment does; it provides a perspective that's often overlooked or not regarded or assumed."

Chris Rosa, president and chief executive of The Viscardi Center, which provides education and training for children and adults with physical disabilities, had a similar view.

He said in a statement: “We applaud Governor Hochul for guaranteeing that at least one member of the MTA Board is a mass-transit user with a disability. The lived experiences of a Board member with a disability, who relies on mass-transit for travel, will offer a critical perspective to help ensure that the MTA’s planning, policy-making, and operations keep meaningful transportation access for riders with disabilities top-of-mind."

By Olivia Winslow

olivia.winslow@newsday.com@newsollie