Press

WASHINGTON, July 26, 2017 — The American Bar Association will posthumously honor Laurence (Larry) W. Paradis, the former executive director of Disability Rights Advocates in Berkeley, Calif., with its Paul G. Hearne Award for Disability Rights. Paradis died July 28, 2016. The ABA Commission on Disability Rights selected Paradis for his advocacy and leadership for […]

Seattle, WA—May 16, 2017—Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) today announces an agreement with Northwest Hospital & Medical Center.  Over the last several months, Northwest Hospital, DRA, three individual members of Seattle’s Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing (DDBHH) community, and Abused Deaf Women’s Advocacy Services (ADWAS)  have worked together to ensure that Northwest Hospital’s outstanding, patient-focused […]

San Francisco, CA – April 28, 2017 – AMC Theaters (AMC) has reached an agreement with several blind individuals, the California Council of the Blind (CCB), and the LightHouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired in San Francisco (LightHouse) to ensure blind customers have reliable access to audio description services at AMC movie theaters nationwide. […]

New York, NY—April 25, 2017—Two class action lawsuits were filed today against the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), accusing it of systematically excluding people with disabilities. One suit, filed in New York state court, is the first case to ever challenge the fact that over 350 of New York City’s subway stations are unusable by people […]

Long Beach, CA—April 10, 2017—A class action settlement agreement to make Long Beach’s sidewalks, crosswalks, and other pedestrian pathways safer and more accessible for people with mobility disabilities was preliminarily approved by Judge Dale Fischer yesterday evening. This civil rights victory was negotiated with the City of Long Beach by Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), Disability […]

April 5, 2017—SAN FRANCISCO—A pair of advocacy groups and two people with disabilities filed a lawsuit today against BART alleging that it discriminates against people with mobility disabilities, effectively excluding them from the regional mass transit system. For people with disabilities, problems that may be familiar annoyances to most riders can create absolute barriers to […]

April 3, 2017—Lyft and the National Federation of the Blind today announced a collaborative effort to ensure reliable and equal service to individuals who are blind and use service animals. Lyft’s affirmative and proactive efforts will help ensure its convenient and affordable transportation services are available to riders who are blind and use service animals […]

March 23, 2017 – New York, NY – Eatsa, a chain of eateries touted as the “restaurant of the future,” has arrived in New York City with two Manhattan locations.  Yet its high-tech ordering and food pick-up process has failed to include existing, readily available usability features for blind and low vision people, in violation of […]

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 […]

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 […]