Category: Blog

This is a rare opportunity for a proven disability rights leader to become the next Executive Director of a well known, highly respected civil rights organization in New York City. The next Executive Director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY) will inherit an organization that has an established reputation as a leader among civil rights organizations and independent living centers throughout New York, the Northeast and the Nation. CIDNY is a financially stable, mission-driven organization with a strong culture of disability rights values. The work of CIDNY’s staff, most of whom have disabilities, covers multiple programs in 5 mandated core areas including peer mentoring, skills training, information and referral, advocacy and transition. CIDNY is an important voice in New York City and State government advocating for public policy changes that improve the lives of people with disabilities. The individual fortunate enough to be chosen for this position will have significant disability rights leadership experience and skills. Driven by a deep passion for human rights and social justice, CIDNY’s Board and staff place a high value on a leader who is self-aware, committed to disability and social justice, open to shared learning and genuinely compassionate. This is an outstanding position for a strategic, and visionary leader to build on more than four decades of innovative disability rights advocacy in New York City.

The mission of the Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY (CIDNY) is more important now than ever before. People with disabilities are up against unending challenges exacerbated by Covid 19 – increased economic inequity, discrimination in accessing health care, transportation, effective communication, in addition to unnecessary institutionalization and a lack of accessible housing options. In short, discrimination against people already pushed to the sidelines.

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We are deeply troubled by the confirmation of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court of the United States to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. We are extremely concerned about the impact that her addition to the Supreme Court will have on people with disabilities. We fear that advances made, over the last forty years, can be taken from us and our lives put at risk.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett has shown a willingness to endorse government discrimination against people with disabilities. Her dissent in a decision about the public charge rule said that placing additional burdens on people with disabilities is reasonable and not in conflict with longstanding disability rights law (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act). She has also joined an opinion that exclusion of children with disabilities from school districts, based on their educational needs, is not in conflict with the ADA and Section 504.

Her views contrast sharply with those of late United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. Justice Ginsburg authored and joined in the majority on decisions interpreting the Americans with Disabilities Act and other matters that have had a profound impact on our lives. For example, she authored the decision in Olmstead v L.C. which held that people with disabilities have the right to receive services in the most integrated setting. 

One of the first cases that Justice Coney Barrett will hear as a member of the Supreme Court of the United States is on the Affordable Care Act (otherwise known as Obamacare or ACA). Judge Barrett claims to be “not hostile” towards the ACA but her past opinions have shown otherwise. The ACA has improved for people with disabilities. It protects against discrimination in health care and on the basis of pre-existing conditions. It includes coverage for mental health, the ACA has helped people live on their own, out of institutions, and thrive. 

We strongly opposed the nomination and joined other disability groups in urging the Senate to oppose her nomination. We disagree with the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg. We expect to face the imposition of new roadblocks to equality for people with disabilities resulting from Amy Coney Barrett’s addition to the Supreme Court.  We will continue to fight for the rights of people with disabilities. We will not go back.