Rebecca's story

Rebecca's quote - "I love New York City. But many days, I feel like New York doesn’t love me back."

Audio description

Video Transcript Description Narrator (00:00:00): Montage footage of New York City landmarks: the Brooklyn Bridge, Central Park, Times Square, the MET, and the Statue of Liberty. Rebecca, cane in hand, walks along the pavement and poses in front of a skyscraper.

Rebecca’s quote continues – "It isn’t made for me, a person with a disability. And worst of all, nobody cares about changing that."

Rebecca Lamorte, 30, ran for New York City Council in June 2021.

Rebecca crosses a New York City street on a hot June day, wearing sleeveless dress and sandals, using her cane. She looks down at the crosswalk.

REBECCA CAMPAIGNING

Rebecca talks to a disabled New Yorker in a wheelchair in a park along the river. She gives him a campaign flyer

Rebecca’s quote – "Campaigning is something that's meant specifically for able-bodied people. You're constantly on the go and your body doesn't get a chance to rest."

Rebecca stands on a street corner, handing out campaign pamphlets to passersby. She wears a Covid mask that reads “Vote.”

Rebecca stands on a street corner, handing out campaign pamphlets to passersby. She wears a Covid mask that reads “Vote.”

Rebecca walks up steps using her cane into a park. People hang out on the steps and benches, with their dog, enjoying the park.

A poster for Rebecca's campaign on construction scaffolding along a pavement. The poster contains a photo of Rebecca and reads: Rebecca for New York. Democrat for City Council District 5. Vote June 22. Rebecca Lamorte. Economic, housing, racial, disability: justice. Rebeccalamorte.com

Rebecca spends the evening speaking about her campaign at an outdoor patio bar to guests who stand and sit at tables with drinks.

Rebecca’s quote – "One of the most difficult things is door knocking. There was one day when I walked up 70 flights of stairs. That night I couldn't get to my walk-up apartment. So I had to sit at the base of the stairs just waiting, getting to a mental space where I could tolerate the pain to just do two final flights."

A photo of a long flight of stairs in an apartment building.

A photo of a long flight of stairs in an apartment building.

Sunlight shines down, lighting Rebecca’s face as she climbs a flight of stairs in an apartment building, while campaigning door-to-door for New York City Council.

Rebecca walks down a long corridor and begins to climb a flight of stairs in an apartment building.

Rebecca’s quote – "For me, the only way my pain subsides and improves to a manageable level is to rest my leg. And there just isn't time for that."

A close-up of Rebecca’s face. She’s wearing a Covid mask imprinted with “Vote.”

A close-up of Rebecca’s face. She’s wearing a Covid mask imprinted with “Vote.”

New York City empty subway station platforms. Train tracks run down the middle between two platforms. People wait for trains.

Rebecca sits on a subway with her cane between her knees, resting both hands on top of the cane. She wears a bandage across her ring and middle finger on her left hand, which she hurt when slipped during campaigning.

The largest silenced minority in the US

Among American adults, 26% have some type of disability, of which mobility-related impairment is the most common.

If people with disabilities were formally recognised as a minority group, they would be the largest in the US. And yet, they are far from being seen or heard.

Rebecca's accident

Audio description

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Video Transcript Rebecca (00:00.000): I was 22 when my accident happened. Description Narrator (00:02.378): Rebecca walks through the streets using a cane and takes the escalator down to the subway. Rebecca (00:04.796): I finished lunch with a friend, and I got on the 6 train home. Description Narrator (00:09.026): Rebecca stands on the platform as a train passes by. Rebecca (00:11.553): I was reading a book. The doors opened and somebody just came up from behind me and pushed me out of the way. Description Narrator (00:18.340): Rebecca boards the train and finds a seat. Rebecca (00:20.269): My foot went into the gap between the train and the platform. I fell to the side, my leg was crushed. I couldn't believe this had just happened to me. It took a couple of months to figure out that I have what's called complex regional pain syndrome. All of the nerves in my left leg are completely damaged. So, every day I'm in exorbitant amount of pain at times. Sometimes it's manageable, sometimes it's so bad I can't walk. I can't go up and down stairs at all. Description Narrator (00:45.389): Rebecca takes an elevator and walks up stairs. Rebecca (00:47.423): Immediately after my accident, for example, I couldn't do stairs at all. I couldn't take the subway for over a year because the system was inaccessible. I started really questioning myself, how I felt, what I was doing, because my life completely changed all in that one moment.

The least accessible subway system in the US

Out of the 472 active subway stations in New York City, less than one-quarter (23%) are equipped with elevators.

84% of subway station elevators reported at least a week’s worth of outages in 2018. For example, the elevators at Times Square, 42nd St., averaged outages of 30 days.

Rebecca talks to a visually impaired person in a subway station while they sit on a bench on the platform waiting for their trains

Unreliable 24/7 subway system

A personal account of Sarah Kim, disability journalist with cerebral palsy

I use an electric wheelchair when I travel long distances for safety and time-efficiency reasons. During my undergraduate years at an Upper Manhattan college, I always travelled 20 blocks to get to the nearest accessible subway station. And if by luck the elevator was working, I’d just hope it was a good day and have faith that the elevator at my destination would be operational, too.

However, there were countless times when I’d be stuck on the subway platform with a broken elevator. In these situations, I had one of two options: wait for Good Samaritans to pass by to help me carry my 60-pound (27 kg) chair — a significant upgrade from the 250-pound (213 kg) one I had during my first year living in the city, I’ve learned my lesson quickly — up the flight of stairs. My next best option was to get back on the train and ride it to the next closest station — which can be as far as a dozen stops away — and either take the bus or travel on the opposite side of the subway track to arrive at my destination, again.

Other “options” for New Yorkers with disabilities

Access-A-Ride is a network of vans equipped with wheelchair lifts that drop eligible passengers off at their destination for the price of a subway ride: $2.75. But there are several caveats.

First, the passenger must schedule the ride 1-2 days in advance. Since this is a shared service, customers may be offered a pick-up time an hour earlier or later than requested. After the van arrives, passengers have five minutes to meet the driver, or they get counted as a no-show.
In 2017, Access-A-Ride launched the “On-Demand E-Hail” programme, which allows its 1,200 users to electronically book $2.75 taxi rides without having to schedule trips in advance. But, a significant drop in available vehicles since the pandemic has made this an undependable option.

MTA Buses are touted as “100% accessible to customers who use wheelchairs.” But bus drivers don’t always know how to operate the ramps or lifts to board passengers with mobility disabilities. The city’s lack of enforcement against cars blocking bus stops — and delays in plowing piles of snow during winter — also prevents drivers from being able to pull up to the kerb so riders with disabilities can safely board or exit the bus.

A city bus turns off of East 91st Street to go uptown via 1st Avenue. The street is lined with skyscrapers and green trees.

Rebecca's dog

Audio description

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Video Transcript Description Narrator (00:00.000): Rebecca and her dog lay in her bed. The dog licks Rebecca’s face. Rebecca (00:03:207): One of the first things I did that really helped get me to a much better mental space was getting a dog. Six months after my accident I went to the ASPCA and I said, “I need a buddy”. I need something to hang out with me because I'm spending too much time alone and it's not good for me. I need something to keep that purpose going. Like at work I had my purpose, but then I would come home, and I couldn't walk. I couldn't do anything. I would be home all the time. And so, my dog really gave me a reason to get up every day to get out of bed, no matter what that looked like, what that felt like. Description Narrator (00:35.212): Rebecca films herself in her car with her dog in the passenger seat. Rebecca (00:38:098): And it helped me get back to a sense of normalcy where I learned after the fact my dog is blind. So, he also has a disability. So, he couldn't walk as far as other dogs, he couldn't play traditionally. So, he also was going through his own moment that I was able to help him through navigating that new normal of being in a new home unable to see and just getting adjusted to life with me. [music plays]. Description Narrator (00:59.721): Rebecca holds her dog in the car and sings Christmas music.

Rebecca's Job

For the past 10 years, Rebecca has worked with prominent New York labour unions advising on legislative and communications issues.

After her accident in 2013, Rebecca started advocating for the disabled community.

A man wearing a t-shirt with his back to the camera. His shirt reads: Whose city? Our city.

Rebecca lost access to her healthcare when she took a leave of absence from her full-time job to run for local office.

Without health insurance, she had to learn to live without her prescription pain medication.

A photo of Rebecca from the knees down. She stands with her cane, wearing slip-on shoes with a democratic donkey on the left shoe and Vote written on the right shoe.

NYC’s Compliance with ADA (or, lack thereof)

The median annual salary for NYC residents with disabilities was $32,000 in 2017, which is barely enough to live in the city. Overall, 34% of people with disabilities have income below the poverty line.

NYC falls short of complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a report published in 2016 outlines. The city fails its residents with disabilities in six significant areas: education, employment, public transport, housing/shelter, access to healthcare and website accessibility.

A homeless man with a hoodie covering his head, sits in an electric wheelchair panhandling on a busy New York City street. He holds out an empty coffee cup as people quickly pass by.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

The historic Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990, by President George H.W. Bush. The ADA was the country’s first-ever comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities, offering protection against discrimination and imposing accessibility requirements in workplaces and in public spaces.

In 2016, Disability Rights Advocates partnered with the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY) to discuss the city’s shortcomings with regard to ADA compliance. These are the main findings from the report:

83% of public elementary schools are not “fully accessible” to people with disabilities.
Only 29% of working-age people with disabilities were employed full or part-time, compared to the 70% general employment rate.
New Yorkers with disabilities make up 12% of the city’s population, yet 40% of those who are homeless.

Rebecca canvassing

Rebecca's quote - "I decided to run for public office because I was angry about the inaccessibility in my community and how I was treated. I wanted to fight like hell."

Audio description

Closed caption

Video Transcript Rebecca (00:00.000): …coming by to share some information and see if you're voting. Come on by and say hello to us while we’re getting out the vote for this early voting. Description Narrator (00:00.000): Rebecca speaks to an apartment resident through an intercom and a woman on the street. She films a social media video promoting her campaign and takes a photo with a voter. Cynthia Nixon, actress and progressive advocate, stands next to Rebecca holding a pamphlet. Cynthia Nixon (00:06:303): She has an amazing campaign, and she is centering the needs and concerns of disabled New Yorkers. Rebecca (00:11.678): So, make a plan, get to the polls, rank me number one. Description Narrator (00:14:017): Rebecca hands a pamphlet to a passerby. Rebecca (00:14:308): On this side, thank you so much. Are you voting in the upcoming elections? As a disabled New Yorker, so many people are left out of policy conversations. Description Narrator (00:21:357): Rebecca walks up a flight of stairs in an apartment building. An elderly resident bumps elbows with Rebecca. She slowly walks down the stairs.

REBECCA ON REPRESENTATION

Rebecca's quote - "Representation is very important in every aspect of life, but especially in politics. I like to say, if you don’t have a seat at the table, then you’re on the menu."

Audio Transcript Rebecca (00:00.000): I like to say on the campaign: When you think about why the city is so unaffordable, inaccessible or inequitable in a variety of ways, it's because not every voice is a part of the conversation, not every person has a seat at the decision-making table. And that's what folds into our policy. (00:14:391): That's what shapes the laws that we pass and the legislation that we even examine. And that's especially true for disabled New Yorkers because we never see the access we need. We're never focused on. We're seen as an afterthought, as something to get to, at some point in time.

Rebecca bends down to talk to a disabled girl in a stroller and her mother, in front of the Metropolitan Art Museum.

New Yorkers of colour with disabilities are doubly marginalised

New Yorkers of colour in 2019 continued to experience poverty at disproportionately high rates: 20.9% of Latinx and 20.5% of Black residents lived in poverty, double the share of white residents.

Additionally, affordable housing options are primarily located in the outer boroughs of Manhattan. Here, “transit deserts” and few accessible stations severely limit employment opportunities for disabled New Yorkers of colour.

A man in a power wheelchair looks out the window, on the Roosevelt Island Tramway.

Income inequality along the subway lines

After the Rapid Transit Act was passed in 1891, the construction of the world’s largest underground railway system started in 1900.

The NYC subway lines are heavily concentrated in Manhattan, ignoring large populations in the other four boroughs (Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Staten Island).

Working-age New Yorkers with disabilities are more than twice as likely to live in poverty as those without disabilities. The concentration of subway lines coincides with the income inequality in the city. For example, the No. 2 and No. 3 subway lines have the widest range in median household incomes. They shuttle commuters all the way from Lower Manhattan (Chambers Street: $205,192) to the Bronx (East 180th Street: $13,750).

REBECCA’S ELECTION

Rebecca didn’t win the primary, but more than 4,500 New Yorkers voted for her.

Rebecca's quote - "People really discounted us, told us this fight wasn't real. But thousands of people turned out to vote specifically for me as a disabled New Yorker."

Rebecca poses in front of a pavement chalk message that reads: Vote Rebecca Lamorte, City Council District 5, Dem Primary.

Rebecca's quote - "I can’t imagine calling any other place my home, but that’s also partially out of fear—fear of the inaccessibility that awaits in a new place. If NYC is so inaccessible, think about the difficulty disabled people in other parts of my country and the world face."

$Rebecca rides up a subway station\'s escalator, wearing her “Vote” mask.$