It’s about a federal class-action lawsuit filed in 2014 against the city of New York, “suing the city for violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.”
The most recent link comes first (December 8, 2015):
Center for Independence of the Disabled New York (CIDNY), et al. v. City of New York, et al.
In June 2015, a federal district judge denied New York City’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit. This important development will allow persons with mobility and vision disabilities to be heard in court on the matter of safe access to curb cuts and pedestrian routes.
The broader explanation comes next (July 30, 2014):
Disabled New Yorkers Sue for Safer Streets, by Brigid Bergin (WNYC News)
When Myrna Driffin walks down the street, she negotiates her way through crowds of people more focused on their smartphones than they are on her.
“I wonder who’s the blind one then, let’s put it that way,” Driffin jokes.
The 57-year-old was diagnosed with acute congenital glaucoma when she was two and lost her vision completely by the time she went to college. She lives on 23rd Street in Manhattan and walks home from an internship at the Center for Independence of the Disabled near Union Square. Her guide dog Polly, a gentle golden retriever-Labrador mix, walks on her left side.
But maneuvering city sidewalks and across intersections poses an ongoing risk. Even with Polly, Driffin said there are times when she’s walked straight into traffic.
“People either holler, ‘Miss, miss, you’re in the road’ or else I hear them beeping at me,” said Driffin. “That’s real scary.”
Driffin is one of two named plaintiffs in a federal class-action lawsuit filed in United States District Court on Wednesday, suing the city for violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, which celebrated its 24th anniversary last week. Advocates argue too many city sidewalks lack proper curb cuts and are not accessible to people with disabilities.
Mayor Bill de Blasio has made pedestrian safety a top priority of his Vision Zero transportation plan, but the suit argues the city has not done enough to make sure the streets are safe for all New Yorkers, of all abilities.
