Audit Report on the on the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities’ Compliance with Local Law 28 Of 2016 Regarding Notification of Accessibility for Events Open to The Public for Residents with Disabilities

Executive Summary

In 2016, the New York City (City) Council enacted Local Law 28, which requires advertising and other materials pertaining to public events hosted by a City agency to include information regarding accessibility for people with disabilities, thereby increasing nondiscriminatory access to services provided by City government for residents with disabilities. Local Law 28 further requires the New York City Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD) to develop a guide to assist City agencies in notifying the public about the availability of reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities and for responding to requests for such reasonable accommodations.^[1] This audit focuses on whether MOPD complied with Local Law 28.

MOPD is the liaison between City government and the disability community. MOPD is responsible for developing protocols and giving guidance to agencies to ensure that people with disabilities can access City services. MOPD works with all City offices and agencies and aims to ensure that the rights and concerns of the disability community are included in all City initiatives and that City programs and policies consistently address the needs of people with disabilities. Through its work and advocacy, MOPD strives to steadily improve services and programs for 920,000 New Yorkers who have self-identified as living with a disability, as well as the approximately six million annual visitors to the City who have disabilities.^[2] In doing this work and in its advocacy, MOPD incorporates all facets of life including transportation, employment, healthcare, housing, education, financial empowerment, and access to City services. Furthermore, MOPD engages in advocacy and policymaking at the local, New York State (State), national, and international levels to make certain that accessibility and full inclusion are key priorities for all public and private stakeholders.

Audit Findings and Conclusions

We found that MOPD complied with Local Law 28 in relation to the specific items we tested. Our review of various MOPD publications and documents found that MOPD has made continuous progress in providing guidance on meaningful disability access to ensure people with disabilities have adequate access to City services at public events. MOPD has a designated Disability Service Facilitator (DSF) to manage MOPD’s responsibilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and other federal, State, and local laws and regulations concerning accessibility for persons with disabilities.

We also found that MOPD continues to serve its population, despite the temporary suspension of in-person services and events due to COVID-19, by holding virtual events open to the public and offering training to City agencies and the public. The advertisements and registrations for MOPD’s virtual events that we reviewed contained the required information relating to the events’ accessibility and how requests for reasonable accommodations can be made. In addition, MOPD worked with its community partners to organize and publicize virtual events throughout the month of July 2020 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the ADA.

MOPD has also offered training to City agencies and the public on virtual meeting accessibility during the COVID-19 pandemic and developed a related Accessible Virtual Meetings Guide.

The following sections of this report discuss these findings in greater detail. Appendices I and II list and summarize the specific items we tested and the results of our tests. Appendix III illustrates MOPD’s efforts to ensure Local Law 28 compliance.

Agency Response

In its response, MOPD agreed with the audit’s findings and recommendation. MOPD stated, “MOPD thanks the Office of the Comptroller for its findings that MOPD generally complies with Local Law 28 and is upholding its responsibilities to New Yorkers with disabilities. MOPD will continue to maintain compliance with Local Law 28 and ensure that notices for public events hosted by City agencies include accessibility information.”

[1] According to Local Law 28, along with providing guidance to other City agencies, MOPD must adhere to its own guidance in ensuring that it is notifying the public about the availability of, and responding to requests for, reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities.

[2] These figures are published on MOPD’s website and in its Language Access Plans. https://www1.nyc.gov/site/mopd/about/about.page