A Manhattan federal judge ruled Tuesday that New York City has violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) because the majority of traffic signals are not accessible for people who are blind or have low vision.
The city’s lack of proper signals for people who are blind or have low vision violates the ADA, said Manhattan Federal Judge Paul Engelmayer.
In a Tuesday ruling, District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer ruled the current “near-total absence” of accessible crossing information violates the ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the federal disability law that preceded the ADA.
The lawsuit, brought by the American Council of the Blind in 2018, sued on behalf of plaintiffs Michael Golfo and Christina Curry, claiming that of the city’s 13,000 pedestrian traffic signals, just over 2 percent convey information in a way that is accessible to blind pedestrians.
“Most significantly, the Court finds, on the undisputed facts, that the near-total absence at the City’s signalized intersections of crossing information accessible to people who are blind or have low vision denies such persons meaningful access to these intersections,” the decision said.
The court will now work with the city and the plaintiffs to discuss a remedy.
Approximately 205,000 people with vision disabilities live in New York City.
