Earth Day co-founder Denis Hayes is in Times Square today to drop the “Earth Ball,” launching a yearlong program that culminates in the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. The broad hope of the program, dubbed Green Generation, is to enlist people to promote everything from healthy foods to building solutions for global issues such as climate change and clean water.
NEW YORK. A group of disabled residents who live in public housing have filed a federal class action lawsuit against the city’s housing authority claiming that the failure to repair 3,000 elevators is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The condition of elevators in public housing came to a head last year when 5-year-old Jacob Neuman fell to his death in an elevator shaft while trying to escape a broken down elevator.
The housing authority has defended the condition of its elevators and said it continues to improve inspections and repairs. There are some 7,000 tenants in public housing with mobility impairment. Those filing suit say they are at the mercy of the elevators, unable to get out of their homes when they’re not working.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer’s office released a report that found 75 percent of elevator in public housing failed inspection.