New York State Reviews Parks Policy on Disabled Golfers
A former New York City police officer with a prosthetic leg may be closer to his dream of playing the famous Bethpage Black golf course, now that the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation is reviewing its policy on golfers with disabilities.
Bethpage Black is one of five 18-hole courses in Bethpage State Park in Farmingdale, NY and the site of the 2002 U.S. Open—the first Open ever played on a public course. Course officials denied access to Stuart MacKay last May, citing its rule prohibiting golf carts. MacKay, who lost his leg on duty in a traffic accident in 1995 is an avid golfer but is unable to walk the length of a course and requires a cart. He appealed to the New York State Office of Parks asking that an accommodation be made but was again denied as officials argued that the course was not designed for golf carts, that there were no designated asphalt paths that courses normally have in place for carts, and that the hilly nature of the course creates a health and safety issue for players driving carts.
On behalf of MacKay, United Spinal Association Counsel John Herrion wrote to State Parks Commissioner Bernadette Castro explaining that MacKay’s request for a cart was a reasonable accommodation for a person with a disability under the Americans With Disabilities Act and the New York State Human Rights Law and, since Bethpage was a place of public accommodation under ADA regulations, Bethpage Black was obligated to honor MacKay’s request. Herrion asked that Commissioner Castro’s office reply by July 20th or MacKay would take steps to file a formal complaint with the Department of Justice.
Herrion stressed that United Spinal was not asking that golf carts be made available to anyone seeking to play Bethpage Black; only that an accommodation be made for MacKay’s disability as required under the ADA.
Wendy Gibson, a spokeswoman for the Office of Parks said, “New York State Parks maintains five courses for public golf at Bethpage State Park. We are proud of our ability to offer handicapped access to four of the courses at Bethpage State Park, including the extremely challenging Red Course. Due to safety concerns related to some of the most daunting golf terrain in the country, NYS Parks has traditionally not permitted the use of golf carts on the Black course. We are carefully reviewing that no-cart policy, and expect to announce the results of that review over the next several weeks.”
Greg Jones, acting deputy advocate and counsel with the New York State Commission on Quality of Care and Advocacy for Persons with Disabilities said that his office had been directed to look into a similar complaint received by the governor’s office regarding accessibility at Bethpage Black and that the two complaints were likely to spur more attention to the issue by the Office of Parks and Recreation.
The issue of golfers with disabilities is not without precedent. The most famous case is the May, 2001 U.S. Supreme Court decision when the justices ruled 7-2 that a golfer with a disability could ride a golf cart between shots during the Professional Golfer’s Association (PGA) Tour. The golfer, Casey Martin, had asked the PGA for permission to use a golf cart during the tour because of a painful circulatory disorder known as Klippel- Trenaunay-Weber Syndrome that made it difficult for him to walk long distances and that can lead to amputation. The PGA rejected Martin’s request, arguing that it would fundamentally change the nature of the game and would give Martin an unfair advantage. The case went all the way to the high court which concluded that the ADA prohibited the PGA from denying the individual equal access to its tours on the basis of his disability.
Herrion noted that, in MacKay’s case, it could be argued that if the PGA allows carts
for players with disabilities, then Bethpage Black, which will be hosting the US Open again in 2009, might well allow carts if the PGA insists.
Washington, D.C., Parking Discrimination Suit in Mediation
A court-appointed mediator is trying to resolve a longstanding dispute between disability advocates and the District of Columbia regarding DC’s parking regulations. A lawsuit filed in April 2004 by United Spinal Association and the Disability Rights Council of Greater Washington charged that DC’s regulations discriminate against individuals with disabilities.
The suit alleges that the District’s 17,000 parking meters are totally inaccessible because they cannot be reached by someone in a wheelchair or are surrounded by trees, curbs, flower boxes, or cracked sidewalk pavements; the handicap parking placard program requires unnecessary personal medical information from applicants and imposes redundant hurdles to obtain and renew such placards; and finally, there is no “reciprocity” for handicap placards and/or licenses issued by other states. In simpler terms, out-of-state placards are not accepted in DC, which means that anyone not living in the District must apply for and renew a DC placard.
The US District Court Judge for the District of Columbia, John D. Bates, rejected a bid by the District’s attorneys in March to have the suit dismissed (Civil Action No. 03-0529) and both parties subsequently agreed to a court-appointed mediator. United Spinal’s Counsel Kleo King explained that the mediator will not make judgments about the merits of either party’s arguments and there will be no binding decisions issued. “The mediator’s role is more of a facilitator,” King said. “He schedules meetings with each side individually and with both sides collectively and tries to help the parties overcome differences and compromise. If it doesn’t work, the case will go to trial.”
In June, DC parking regulations also drew the ire of Representative Charles W. Pickering (R-MS) who, after a complaint from a constituent, sponsored an amendment to an appropriations bill (HR 3058) that would prohibit funds contained in the bill from being used to enforce the District of Columbia’s Individuals with Disabilities Parking Reform Amendment Act of 2000.
The Parking Reform Amendment Act (DC Law No. 13-279) is an amendment to District Municipal Regulations which limits the amount of free, unrestricted street parking available to vehicles bearing handicap license plates or a hanging placard. In the past, any vehicle, from any state, could park free for an unlimited period of time in any city parking space as long as that vehicle had handicap parking plates or a placard. Officials claimed the practice caused on-street parking congestion throughout the District. They noted that 29% of the city’s metered parking spaces were used for all-day parking by vehicles bearing a handicap designation and a number of these vehicles belonged to non-disabled commuters with fraudulent handicap license plates or placards who were attempting to avoid parking fees.
The Reform Act allowed vehicles with DC- issued handicap plates to park for double the time posted on the meter free of charge before having to pay, but all other drivers, including those with handicap plates from other states, would have to pay the meter to park. This would require that out-of-state visitors apply for a handicap parking placard from the DC Department of Motor Vehicles and go through the entire prolonged administrative process.
Rep. Pickering said that one of his constituents with a valid Mississippi handicap license plate parked at a meter in the District and was unaware that the free parking period posted on the meter did not apply to out-of-state vehicles. She was ticketed and complained to Pickering’s office. In addressing the issue on the floor of Congress, Pickering stated, “Now, we know in our Nation’s capital that we want equal treatment. We do not want discriminatory treatment, especially for our disabled citizens and veterans. We do not want to see them differently. I do not think it was the intent of the District of Columbia and their regulations to have this unequal, discriminatory treatment; but it nonetheless is.”
Responding to the amendment proposal in a colloquy with Pickering, the District’s congressional representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) cited a letter from the DC city administrator written on behalf of Mayor Anthony Williams: “We were seeking to curb abuses, not create difficulties for disabled visitors . . . I would greatly appreciate your courtesy in giving me the opportunity to work with Public Works and the Environment Committee Chair Carol Schwartz and our city council to correct the flaws you have found in this statute.”
Assured that the District would fix the problem, Pickering withdrew his amendment. To date, however, there has been no change in the statute.
While unable to discuss details of the mediation process, King said the issue of reciprocity was United Spinal’s main concern and is the only issue that is not negotiable. Other important complaints such as the accessibility of the meters and the time frame established to make changes can be negotiated, she said. Four meetings have taken place so far between the parties and the mediator. No deadline on the negotiations has been established.
Rob Ingraham is senior editor in Communications.
