A New York-based disability rights group has sued Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for not providing live American sign language interpreters at his televised daily briefings.
On Wednesday, Disability Rights New York (DRNY) filed its lawsuit in federal court. The complaint calls for Cuomo to start including an American sign language interpreter at the coronavirus briefings.
“It is inexplicable that during this pandemic, the governor would choose not to have ASL interpreters at his daily live televised briefings. As a result, deaf New Yorkers are unable to obtain vital life and death information at the time they need it most,” DRNY’s executive director Timothy Clune said in a statement.
“New York is the only state that has never provided televised in frame ASL interpretation of its COVID-19 briefings,” the suit alleges.
In its lawsuit, Disability Rights New York said it has received “a large number of complaints from deaf New Yorkers who are unable to understand Governor Cuomo’s daily briefings due to the lack of in frame televised ASL interpretation.”
New York isn’t the only entity failing to include an ASL interpreter during briefings. This lawsuit comes after the National Association of the Deaf and the National Council on Disability sent a letter to then-White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham following “daily complaints,” reports CNN.
