WE WON!!!!! The Front Doors will be Accessible.

On Tuesday May 27 Claude Holcomb of ADAPT brought our list of demands to City Hall that had been put together at a meeting on Friday May 23. What followed was a whirl wind of activity that proves Fight City Hall and you can sometime win. It also shows what a group of activists who stand their ground can achieve. For a list of the demands click here  

First it was the e-mail send out on Wednesday May, 28 from Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez to officials in Public Works and in the City Managers office. Since there is no privacy notation on it I will share the letter here. The mayor wrote:

“Please take immediate action to modify the front entrance to the Library with an automatic *door device that will accommodate our severely handicapped residents. While I appreciate the reasons that led to the decision to limit handicapped access to the side door on Arch Street, I feel that it is necessary to enable access in the front of the building to all. Please provide a written estimate of costs and construction start date to me no later than this Tuesday, May 29th.” Eddie A. Perez, Mayor. 

Did We scare them or did they see the error in their ways? 

From the e-mail we gathered that the city knew that we were serious, that we not going to take any more run-a-rounds, and that as we stated some of us were ready to lock down the front doors of the library. I think also that the city was some what embarrassed over the fact that whose ever decision it was to not put in a power door opener was wrong. A big mistake. We still wonder if it was to save money as we know it was in the original plans. It seems now as I go over the work order made public today that the whole front door has to be done over and all the work that was done because of their mistake has to be undone. A letter has been sent from the Public Works  Department to Dawson Doors. The letter is sent from Mr. Jon C. Talgo, Project Manager of the Department of Public Works.  It is the work order of our demands. Sections of the letter are published as follows.

“This letter, in conjunction with our telephone conversations yesterday and today, constitutes a request from your firm to engineer and approve all necessary documents and materials needed to install an electrified automatic doors opener at the project referenced above. Re: Phase II Central Library Renovations, Project No. F07-04A. The building is located at 500 Main Street, Hartford Ct. 06103. In the next section is a listing of items that would need to be modified, corrected or installed to make the doors automatic. In the second to last paragraph Mr. Talgo says, “Please review the information and provide a cost for this work. In the interest of expediency the City would like you to proceed ASAP and start the engineering. If you need something more than this letter please let me know and I will get it for you.” The technical details of this projects I have left out of this accounting. But I tell you the city has made more work for themselves by not honoring all our residents.

The mayor of Hartford, members of the Public Works Department the architect of the project and members of Constituent Services came out to speak at the press conference and to us who gathered in front of City Hall.

This letter from the Public Works Department met with our demand #3. We were told that the work will  be completed in  August during a question and answer with the Public Works Department. After a quick consultation with Claude Holcomb of ADAPT this date was accepted. Claude asked who was going to be the over seer of this project and when the answer was the Disability Commission of the city we objected. We demanded that someone from ADAPT and from the activist community do this job it was quickly accepted by Constituent Services and Public Works Department. (we didn’t want the city overseeing the city) Claude had as the former chairperson of the City Commission reviewed all plans of construction projects in the city.  The city will have weekly update meetings and Claude of ADAPT and myself will be included either by our presence or by e-mail to be informed of the progression of the work. I then will inform the activists from this area who helped in this project.

The People United brings about Victory.

As a Queer Activist I was very proud of members of my community and our strong allies who came out and made up the bulk of the people at the press conference. Paul a member of Queers Without Borders reported that when he was passing out leaflets that there was strong support amongst the lunch time people on the streets.  We thank from the bottom of our activist hearts, Hartford City Council Person Larry Deutsch of The Working Families Party and his aide Ms. Jackson. Larry came to our meetings, supported the issue 100%, spoke out at the press conference and worked the channels of City Hall for us. We promise to monitor in the future all disability related issues. Last winter Claude and I had a real run-a-round with the city over shoveling the bus stops. Being met by a snow bank when you are trying to get on the bus to go to work is not acceptable.  I am going to publish two statements from the press conference. One is by African American Lesbian activist Regina Dyton who is the chair of The LGBT Commission in Hartford. The other is by the Director of Ct. TransAdvocacy Coalition a founder of Queers Without Borders, Trans/Queer activist Jerimarie Liesegang. Important writing addressing this issue by two women that our activist community loves and respects dearly.  I will also publish Claude Holcomb’s statement at City Hall.

Updates on the Library Door issue will be posted from time to time as we receive them.

ADAPT and Queers Without Borders would like to thank everyone who came out for this conference at City Hall. Make no mistake about it we are not going away and will contiue to fight in a multi-issue coalition until justice prevails.

*For Claude Holcomb’s take on all who could use a power button please refer to his statement. Please see the part in bold.