Our Mission
With offices in California and New York, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) is one of the leading nonprofit disability rights legal centers in the nation. Its mission is to advance equal rights and opportunity for people with all types of disabilities nationwide.
Contact for Press Inquiries
Email: communications@dralegal.org
Phone: (510) 665-8644
Links
DRA General Information Brochure (PDF)
OAKLAND, CA – Community Bank of the Bay (CBYAA) and its long time client Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) jointly announced today that through the generosity of one of the bank’s founding shareholders, 10,000 shares of its common stock were donated to Disability Rights Advocates. This gift, valued at approximately $51-thousand at the time of the … Continue reading “Disability Rights Advocates announces donation of 10,000 shares of Community Bank of the Bay stock”
Site dedicated to freedom denies freedom of access to people with disabilities March 16, 2017—New York, NY—In 2012, New York City welcomed the opening of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island. Yet FDR, the President it commemorates who used a wheelchair for mobility, would have struggled to take in its dramatic … Continue reading “Wheelchair Users Sue Over FDR Four Freedoms Park’s Major Barriers to Access”
New York, NY—March 2, 2017—Today, the non-profit firm Disability Rights Advocates filed a federal lawsuit against NYU Langone-NRAD Radiology Centers on behalf of a person who uses a wheelchair after she was denied service based on her disability. None of NYU Langone-NRAD Radiology Centers’ many facilities throughout Long Island and in Queens provide the accessible … Continue reading “NYU Langone-NRAD Radiology Centers Fails to Accommodate Wheelchair Users”
New York, NY – January 31, 2017 – A settlement has been reached between the National Federation of the Blind (NFB) and CityBridge, LLC to ensure that the LinkNYC public communications network is fully accessible to the blind now and in the future. LinkNYC, touted as a “first-of-its-kind communication network,” provides free mobile device charging, … Continue reading “Access to the Blind Ensured at LinkNYC Communication Network”
Berkeley, CA – January 24, 2017 – The Berkeley Center for Independent Living (CIL), a non-profit organization and Wal-Mart have reached an agreement that represents the culmination of a three-year endeavor by Wal-Mart to develop a first-of-its-kind card reader payment device mount that provides even greater access for its customers with mobility disabilities. As part of … Continue reading “Wal-Mart and Disability Advocates Reach Agreement on Card Reader Payment Device Mounts”
Youth with Disabilities in Adult Prisons Entitled to Special Education, Lawsuit Contends January 11, 2017 – Newark, NJ – Adult prisons in New Jersey routinely violate the rights of high school students with disabilities by denying them education, according to a federal class action lawsuit filed today. Some students in these prisons receive no education … Continue reading “Incarcerated Students with Disabilities Sue New Jersey Over Denial of Education”
“Eagle Awardees model disability inclusion and integration: innovating and setting precedents benefitting the disability community.” ―Mary-Lee Smith, DRA Interim Executive Director San Francisco, CA—November 3rd, 2016—Today, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), the leading national nonprofit disability rights legal center, announced its 2016 Eagle Awardees: Michael Argenyi and his legal team, Jessica Cox, Nyle DiMarco and the … Continue reading “Disability Rights Advocates Unveils 2016 Eagle Awardees”
New York, NY—October 27, 2016—Today, an unprecedented class-action lawsuit was filed in federal court alleging that New York City’s police precincts are largely inaccessible to people with mobility disabilities in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Disability Rights Advocates (“DRA”) filed the lawsuit on behalf of four individual plaintiffs who were unable to get … Continue reading “NYPD Ignores Equal Access for Wheelchair Users”
New York, NY—September 27, 2016—Today, Union Community Health Center (UCHC) and Bronx Independent Living Services (BILS) unveiled a comprehensive plan to provide accessible health care for patients with disabilities in the Bronx. The Bronx is New York City’s most medically underserved borough and people with disabilities especially feel the brunt of its inadequate health care … Continue reading “Community Health Center in the Bronx Adopts Innovative Plan to Improve Health Care Services for Patients with Disabilities”
September 15, 2016 – New York, NY – Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), a leading nonprofit law firm advancing disability rights nationwide, announced today the appointment of Michelle Caiola as Director of Litigation. Ms. Caiola will work in tandem with fellow Director of Litigation and Interim Executive Director Mary-Lee Smith. Sid Wolinsky, the founder of DRA, … Continue reading “Disability Rights Advocates Announces New Director of Litigation”