Five-Year Accessibility Plan 2026 Benchmark

Background

Local Law 12 of 2023 (“Local Law 12”), codified as section 23-1004 of the New York City Administrative Code, requires agencies to prepare and publish five-year accessibility plans using a template provided by the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (“MOPD”). Proposed plans were required to be published no later than December 31, 2023, and final plans, following a public comment period, were required to be published no later than March 15, 2024. Our first benchmark of the plan was published May 5, 2025. Our second was published May 1, 2026.

Local Law 12 further requires agencies to publish an annual report, setting forth the progress they have made towards achieving the goals in their five-year accessibility plan. These reports must be published on agency websites by May 1 and submitted to MOPD by May 15.

The Disability Service Facilitator (“DSF”) for the Office of the New York City Comptroller (“OOC”) is responsible for preparing the May 2026 accessibility plan benchmark.

General

The OOC works to promote the financial health, integrity, and effectiveness of New York City government, in order to strengthen trust, secure a thriving future for all New Yorkers, and build a more just, equitable, and resilient city. Led by an independently elected citywide official, the OOC provides checks and balances needed to hold City government accountable for budgeting wisely, investing responsibly, operating efficiently, acting fairly, living up to its obligations and promises, and paying attention to the long-term challenges we face together.

Starting January 1, 2026, the OOC has transitioned to a new administration, leading to a change in personnel office-wide. The OOC has continued to make great strides in making our office more accessible. We have met with the Department of Citywide Administrative Services (“DCAS”) leadership to discuss possible improvements that could be made during this administration. They have installed signage that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) height standards and with braille lettering. We have also made improvements to our fire safety plan by updating health and safety materials and providing annual training for floor wardens and relevant staff. We completed the installation of an assisted listening device, which allows individuals who are hard of hearing to clearly hear participants, both in the room and virtually, for our events with the public.

Statement of Commitment

The OOC complies with all applicable laws including, but not limited to, the ADA, Rehabilitation Act, the New York State Human Rights Law and the New York City Human Rights Law. The OOC does not discriminate on the basis of disability in the operation of its programs, services and activities and strives to be welcoming to and inclusive of people with disabilities.  

Disability Service Facilitator

Nicholas Astor
1 Centre Street, 5^th Floor, New York, NY 10007
212-496-1937,  accessibility@comptroller.nyc.gov

Grievance Procedures

You can find a link to our grievance procedures at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/services/for-the-public/accessibility/accessibility-commitment/.

You can give feedback on our plan at https://comptroller.nyc.gov/services/for-the-public/accessibility/five-year-accessibility-plan/feedback-form-for-five-year-accessibility-plan/.

Feedback Process

For any feedback to our five-year plan, please reach out to Nicholas Astor by mail at 1 Centre Street, 5^th Floor, New York, NY 10007, by phone at 212-669-4736, or by email at accessibility@comptroller.nyc.gov.

Physical Accessibility

Building Renovations: A Meeting held with DCAS leadership to discuss challenges with the building and will continue to work with them to see what improvements can be made under this administration.

• Continued efforts to declutter our workspaces (old records, old furniture, unused cabinets) to improve mobility
• Recent improvements include:

1. 1. Arrival doorbell at room 702
   2. Updated bureau signage for all bureaus installed at ADA accessible height with braille below the lettering
   3. the installation of an assisted listening device in our 10th floor conference room

Evacuation Procedures

Fire Safety Plan:

1. DCAS-led fire safety training open to all staff (Annual)
2. Floor warden team – fire safety training (Annual)
3. Safety and Preparedness documents which can be accessed by employees on the OOC Intranet (Fire, Health & Safety, and Workplace Violence Prevention) site containing:
   1. 1 Centre St. Evacuation Routes diagram
   2. Fire Safety Tips (1-pagers)
   3. List of Floor Wardens/Searchers by floor
4. Emergency Action Plan which can be accessed by employees on the OOC Intranet (Incident Preparedness Documents)
5. Established a Health and Safety email inbox (health-safety@comptroller.nyc.gov) dedicated to issues including communicating the need for mobility assistance in the event of an incident requiring a building evacuation
6. Established a dedicated email for workplace violence/incident reports wvp-incident@comptroller.nyc.gov

Programmatic Access

On January 1, 2026, we had a change in administration. We hosted a disability justice roundtable on April 29, 2026, which was led by the Public Affairs team in coordination with the Audit, Budget, and Policy teams. During the roundtable, we discussed the impact of our coordination with 311 during the recent snowstorm, informed the audience of our new assistive-listening technology and addressed constituent concerns, which were redirected to the appropriate city agencies.  We also introduced the public to our new policy team and discussed the City budget, including projected deficits and incoming federal cuts that may impact disabled New Yorkers. Additionally, we shared highlights of the proposed state budget and announced a commitment to publishing an annual economic snapshot on the state of employment for people with disabilities in NYC.

The Audit team presented our annual commitment to accessibility audits of City agencies, as well as last year’s audit of the Department of Education’s oversight of school bus vendors. Furthermore, the Audit team discussed future plan to inspect the five-year accessibility plans of all city agencies during this administration. We look forward to creating a more accessible city using the tools of our office.

Digital Access

Web Accessibility Initiatives and Progress

During the summer of 2025, the OOC participated in a citywide accessibility initiative coordinated by the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities (MOPD). Using MOPD’s methodology, we conducted an audit of our website using diagnostic tools, including WAVE, Chrome Lighthouse, color contrast analyzers, and manual testing via the NVDA screen reader.

Following a review by our Office of General Counsel (OGC), the final results were submitted to MOPD.

Expanding Our Scope

While the citywide audit followed specific parameters, our team chose to go further by running accessibility scans across a broader range of pages. This ensured that every website template used by the Office was vetted for compliance.

Preparing for Federal Mandates

We are currently working toward the Department of Justice’s mandate requiring all government websites to meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards by April 26, 2027. To ensure we stay ahead of these requirements, we conducted our website audit against the newer WCAG 2.2 guidelines. This higher standard introduces nine additional success criteria focused on improving the user experience for individuals with low vision, cognitive disabilities, and those accessing the Office’s services via mobile devices.

Public Feedback Mechanism for the Five-Year Accessibility Plan

In our ongoing commitment to transparency and inclusivity, we have added a dedicated feedback form to our website to solicit ongoing public input on our Five-Year Accessibility Plan, further ensuring that our accessibility efforts are informed by the perspectives and experiences of individuals with disabilities and the broader public. The feedback collected through this form will be carefully reviewed and considered as we continue to implement and refine our accessibility plan, fostering a collaborative approach to creating a more accessible digital environment.

You can provide feedback at:
https://comptroller.nyc.gov/services/for-the-public/accessibility/five-year-accessibility-plan/feedback-form-for-five-year-accessibility-plan/

Events and Employee Programming

• The OOC continues to make good faith efforts when it comes to our events access, including:
  • Designate an employee to escort and accompany individuals with disabilities that request to be guided to the event location and remain onsite to address any needs that may arise.
  • Making sure that entrances are at least 32 inches wide.
  • When applicable, an elevator button that is maximum 54 inches from the ground.
  • When applicable, an elevator beeps as it passes each floor and or designate staff to accompany any persons who need to use the elevator.
  • Bathroom sinks are no higher than 34 inches from the ground.
  • When applicable, braille or raised lettering is on signage.
  • Grab bars in the bathroom stalls
  • Accessible entrance

The OOC has experienced challenges working with vendors to fulfill short-notice accommodation requests. A two-week deadline before an event is the best timeline for our events team and our vendors. If an accommodation is requested less than two weeks prior to the event, we do our best to meet the accommodation request. We are also looking to expand our vendor roster to meet an accommodation if a vendor is unable to meet a request.

Effective Communication

The OOC hosts social and educational activities both online and in-person to facilitate accessibility for all employees. If an employee requires a Reasonable Accommodation to attend or participate in any event, they may contact the Equal Employment Opportunity (“EEO”) Officer at eeo@comptroller.nyc.gov.

In addition, the agency provides transportation to external events for employees in need of assistance by utilizing our fleet of vehicles. Preparation of event space is supported by OOC Facilities. Under the direction of the event manager, space is configured to accommodate attendees. Consideration is taken for placement of tables, chairs, and any equipment to ensure mobility access in and out of a space. In addition, the number of attendees anticipated for an event is taken into consideration when selecting a space to ensure it is not overcrowded and allows for mobility by all.

Standard language has been provided to all Bureaus indicating that information for Reasonable Accommodations should be included in all interview coordination correspondence. Bureaus should contact the EEO Officer for guidance on the reasonable accommodation process for candidates. The agency’s EEO Office welcomes various forms of communication: in-person, telephone, videoconference, email, and other forms of digital communication. Multiple interview platforms are available as standard procedure.

Workplace Inclusion

Any employee – full-time, part-time, intern and temporary – may file a Reasonable Accommodation request to meet their accessibility needs. The agency’s EEO Office follows Reasonable Accommodation procedural guidelines.

Reasonable Accommodations enable employees with disabilities to do their jobs and accommodations that modify the workspace are not uncommon, including, but not limited to, work from home, ergonomic chairs, standing desks, footrests and other devices that will assist the employee.

A request for a Reasonable Accommodation is submitted to the EEO Officer for review, discussion, research, and to assist in the resolution of the matter. If a Reasonable Accommodation is granted, the agency may procure, deliver, and install any required equipment or devices at the employee’s workspace. The Administrative team will review and address issues regarding the workspace to ensure that any modifications allow for accessibility, safety, and comfort for the employee to perform their job. For any such requests, OOC maintains a pooled budget for administrative expenditures which supports the procurement of accessibility goods or services when Reasonable Accommodation request is granted.

Employees and candidates for employment may request a Reasonable Accommodation to meet their accessibility needs via a form available on the OOC’s intranet. Information about the Reasonable Accommodation request process is shared annually with employees agency-wide and is also available in the Employee Handbook and on the agency’s intranet. Information about Reasonable Accommodation requests for employment candidates will be shared during interview scheduling communication.

The New York City Human Rights Law prohibits discrimination in New York City, in employment, housing and public accommodations.

For more information, visit https://www.nyc.gov/site/cchr/law/the-law.page.

Agency-Wide Trainings

The agency also requires annual mandatory Disability Awareness and Etiquette trainings to educate and encourage employees to foster a climate of acceptance, diversity, and inclusion.

Employee Trainings are listed below:

• Diversity & Inclusion / Disability Awareness and Etiquette: Employees learn to recognize and understand the important role that people with disabilities play in a diverse and inclusive workforce.
• Health & Safety / Right-to-Know: Public employers in New York State are required to provide annual Right-to-Know Understanding Chemical Safety in the Workplace training for all staff.
• Diversity & Inclusion / LGBTQ-The Power of Inclusion: The OOC remains committed to educating employees about queer and transgender diversity and inclusion. The City’s mandatory computer-based training focuses on the requirements under the Mayor’s Executive Order 16 and strategies to develop, implement and normalize inclusive behaviors in all City agencies.
• Ethics / DOI Corruption Prevention Awareness: The Department of Investigation’s Corruption Prevention Awareness training module teaches employees to recognize and guard against corruption, waste, fraud, and wrongdoing in the workplace.
• Ethics / Conflicts of Interest: The Conflicts of Interest Board training covers restrictions on giving and accepting gifts, outside employment, volunteering, political activities, and misuse of position.
• Health & Safety / Workplace Violence Prevention: Annual training for employees is required under the New York State Workplace Violence Prevention law to identify risks of violence in the workplace and preventive measures, including appropriate work practices, reporting and emergency procedures.
• Diversity & Inclusion / Sexual Harassment Prevention: This City-mandated eLearning trains employees to define sexual harassment, understand what they can do to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, and know how they can make a difference in the workplace.
• Information Technology / Cyber Security: This session reviews key elements in today’s cyber security threat landscape, the technology tools that the agency has deployed to strengthen the office’s security landscape and best practices to enhance the overall security profile for the OOC’s office.
• Health & Safety / Video Display Terminal (“VDT”): This training is designed to ensure that all employees are aware of Article 18 of the Citywide Contract that focuses on the prevention or mitigation of VDT-related health problems for employees in the workplace by promoting safeguards for computer operators.
• Diversity & Inclusion / Everybody Matters: EEO and Diversity & Inclusion Training: This city-mandated training ensures that every employee knows and understands their Equal Employment Opportunity rights, including the City’s EEO policy, who is protected, what constitutes discrimination and who is entitled to an accommodation.

55-a Updates

The OOC nominated a new 55-a coordinator recently. We also conducted a comprehensive workshop for the bureau leadership and hiring managers in March 2025 on processes and rules related to hiring individuals with disabilities under Section 55-a of the New York State Civil Service Law. The office also sends monthly emails to staff notifying them of upcoming civil service exams. The 55-a Coordinator will in future plan lunch and learn sessions for all agency employees to disseminate information related to the 55-a program. We continued to maintain a relationship with AHRC’s internship program and participate in the program in the fall of 2026.

Consultations and Feedback

The five-year plan was created by the Accessibility Plan Working Group, which comprises of employees from across the agency, including the Bureau of Public Affairs, Bureau of Administration, Office of the General Counsel, Office of the EEO, Diversity and Inclusion, and Communications Department.

Conclusion

We have made great strides in improving our emergency preparedness for staff and guests alike. Our Digital Inclusion Officer audited our website to ensure compliance with WCAG 2.2. We also look forward to developing budget, audits and policy reports with a disability justice lens.