Does Public Safety Department Renovation Relegate Roosevelt Island Disabled Community To Second Class Status As They Try To Enter Cultural Center?

I received the following message from Roosevelt Island resident Sharon Stern regarding what she feels was inappropriate behavior by members of the Roosevelt Island Public Safety Department as she tried to enter the Roosevelt Island Cultural Center. The renovation of the Public Safety Department office has required that the entrance to the Cultural Center be moved in such a manner that Ms Stern believes relegates her and other disabled people to second class status.

To Whom it MAY Concern?

A person with a physical disability living on Roosevelt Is
since before it was so dubbed, I am now in the 21st century
relegated to a second class status. We are restricted to back door
access to RIJC religious services and the Cultural Center, and this
through a circuitous route through the 546 lobby; to which I have
NO KEY.

I had intended to write a complaint of the reprehensible
treatment to which I, my aide, and Judy Berdy were subjected by
Officer Lee, Sunday eve 9/27/09 on our way to religious services.
I'd been given to understand that under extenuating circumstances,
(rain or in my case, a malfunctioning wheelchair) I'd be 'allowed'
access through the Front door on Main St.. which now is the
entrance to Public Safety, (what a misnomer). (My aide was pushing
my chair.) Access was denied; Officer Lee (or Yee?) was 'Following
orders' (Where've I heard THAT before?) of Chief Guerra.
Yesterday Steve Shane, upon hearing of this unconscionable
situation, (from me on the phone) promised to strive for 'more
flexibility' from Chief Geurra. I later learned of a subsequent
meeting of the principals were Guerra allowed for no flexibility.
Whose running this joint anyway???

At 3:am this morning I came to my senses. Chief Guerra can
keep his flexibility and put it were the sun doesn't shine. I ask
no favors: I demand my rights as a tax paying citizen of the United
States of America.

I will not enter at the rear; this kind of abuse ended with
Civil Rights and the ADA. This whole extension of Public Safety
space, (and power, evidently) is a complete travesty. It is a
violation of 1. Human Rights, 2. ADA regulations, 3. the simple
human decency that once guided this island. It is, I fear, an
extension of the greed and corruption that is destroying our
country today.

Until this outrageous situation is rectified, either by a
reversal of PS policy or another architectural renovation, I
consider myself barred from access to RIJC services and the
Cultural Center.

Now to get my 2 WCs repaired; another fray; bucking another
beaureaucracy, (sp?). Too much for these 2 paralyzed shoulders to
bear.

Asked to comment, RIOC President Steve Shane replied:

I am meeting with all of the concerned parties and their advocates as soon as they can to jointly address the matter. We have carefully considered ADA requirements and are more than sympathetic to the special needs of our disabled population.

UPDATE 10/8 - Public Safety Department Director Keith Guerra responds and RIOC Director Jonathan Kalkin reports on possible solution for disabled community access to Cultural Center.