July is Disability Pride Month! While we celebrate Disability Pride every month at the MTA, July allows us to mark the 33rd anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and take a specific moment to acknowledge the experience and importance of people with disabilities to our city and region.
In honor of the month, we hosted and participated in special events, all detailed below. You can view all our webinars using the links below.
Events from the month:
Fireside Chat with Quemuel Arroyo, Midori Valdivia, Demetrius Crichlow
Check out a recording of the fireside chat.
MTA Chief Accessibility Officer Quemuel Arroyo, NYCT Senior Vice President of Subways Demetrius Crichlow, and MTA Board Member Midori Valdivia came together to discuss previous, current, and future outlooks on accessibility at the MTA. Together, these transit thought leaders have over 40 years working across City and State agencies, the private sector and non-profits to make New York City more equitable for all. Hear their perspectives and experiences over their careers working to improve public transit in New York, the value of working with advocates and community organizations, and their goals for the future of transit at the MTA.
Disability UNITE Festival
Visit Disability UNITE website.
We were thrilled to join the Disability UNITE festival virtually this year due to inclement weather. Visit their website for more information on the event.
Accessible Design in the Digital Age
Check out a recording of the accessible design webinar.
Accessible design experts from the MTA and beyond came together for an engaging discussion on what accessible design looks like in the digital age. Speakers on this webinar shared examples of MTA digital products that embody universal design principles, and moderated a discussion about how to engage riders, advocates, and the public in accessible design thinking, sharing experience from their research. At this session hear from Jessica Crabb, head of Design for the Digital Services team at the MTA, the NYU Ilse Melamid Associate Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine John Ross “JR” Rizzo, and Jessica Murray, Ph.D., disability rights advocate and Chair of the MTA's Advisory Committee for Accessible Transit (ACTA).
Accessibility for All: The Past, Present, and Future of Accessibility at the MTA
Check out a recording of the past, present and future of accessibility at the MTA.
The MTA Accessibility team and the New York Transit Museum came together to discuss the history of accessibility at the MTA and look to the future of accessibility beyond the requirements of the ADA. Accessibility at the MTA does not only consider those who identify as having disabilities—we are working to build a system that is welcoming, safe, comfortable and accessible to all. Learn more about new technologies and solutions that the MTA is testing across subways, buses, and paratransit to make that vision of a universally accessible system a reality, and how you can be part of this movement.