What used to be a wheelchair-accessible pathway to Crystal Lake Legion Park has now been replaced with grass. Village of Rhinebeck residents are outraged after the removal of a park pathway, saying it was torn up without any notice and it leaves people within the disabled community there without access to the park. Lisa Tarricone, TRI Executive Director was interviewed by Spectrum 1 News Hudson Valley. You can view the full video and turn captions on if needed. Click HERE for the article & video.
Category: Media
All media that includes Op/ed Commentaries, TRI in the News and Press Releases written that will be archived indefinitely
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NY ABLE Presentations
NY ABLE Presentation with the NY Comptroller’s Office.
The Achieving Better Life Experiences (ABLE) Account program is a powerful tool for individuals with disabilities and their families. Eligibility for certain services and supports are often bound by resource limits for
individuals with disabilities. An ABLE account allows individuals and their families to save beyond those resource limits, promoting access to a more independent life.
We encourage every person interested in learning more to attend one of our three presentations: Click here for a copy of the PDF flyer
Tuesday, September 12th at 2:00pm
Registration can also be accessed through the Zoom.us with Meeting ID:
824 1983 8429
Thursday, September 21st at 6:00pm
Registration can also be accessed through the Zoom.us with Meeting ID:
875 1816 1113
Tuesday, September 26th at 6:00pm
230 North Rd. (Entrance 1), Poughkeepsie, NY 12601
REGISTER HERE to attend in person.
On June 29th, Spectrum News highlighted TRI’s 2nd Annual Inclusion Festival kickstarting Disability Pride Month, celebrated every July as an opportunity to celebrate the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). TRI’s Executive Director, Lisa Tarricone was interviewed discussing the continued challenges and discrimination people with disabilities face 33 years after the passage of the ADA. You can view the full video and turn captions on if needed. Click on Continue Reading below to access the Video Link.
On May 1, 2023, Spectrum News ran a story on adults with autism. Jennifer O’Neill, TRI’s Special Education Advocate was interviewed regarding her advocacy work at TRI for individuals on the autism spectrum. You can view the full video and turn captions on if needed. Click on Continue Reading below to access the Video Link.
![MEMORANDUM OF SUPPORT Disability Inclusion in Public Bodies Meetings Taconic Resources for Independence, Inc. (TRI) was founded in 1986 and is Dutchess County’s leading disability advocacy organization, dedicated to empowering persons with disabilities to lead self-directed lives in the community. TRI works within the community to provide disability awareness and advocacy for the removal of barriers. TRI strongly supports the Executive budget proposal and Senate’s amending language to provide for virtual meeting flexibility under the Open Meetings Law (OML) to public bodies organized for disability matters, and for officials with disabilities to count in quorums for all public meetings if they are attending remotely. As part of the Governor’s emergency declaration at the beginning of the pandemic, exemptions made to OML allowed public bodies meetings to be held via videoconferencing. This emergency action allowed everyone to participate remotely. The declaration allowed people with disabilities to more fully participate because most physical barriers and other constraints were removed in these virtual spaces. It increased civic engagement by a population that has historically been excluded from government – an important advance for the civil rights of our community. This policy of greater inclusion for people with disabilities must continue. While the current proposal largely impacts public bodies with a focus on disability, it serves as a starting point to make other significant changes that will increase civic engagement by people with disabilities and all New Yorkers. Ultimately, those changes should include making hybrid meetings the standard for all government bodies, along with increased use of American Sign Language and other accessibility accommodations at public meetings. As an important first act, these straightforward changes should move forward as part of the 2023-2024 budget agreement to ensure the civil rights of people with disabilities, who still face major barriers to access. TRI urges adoption of the Senate’s OML budget proposal as included in Article VII (S.4008-B), Part X (see below). Senate Article VII Proposals (S.4008-B): PART X -- The Senate modifies the Executive proposal to provide flexibility under the Open Meetings Law (OML) to public bodies organized for disability matters by advancing language to specify which public bodies would be able to host fully-virtual open meetings, link the term "individuals with disabilities" to the existing parameters set by Human Rights Law, and allow for individuals with disabilities to be counted toward a quorum under the existing hybrid OML system (S.1525--see https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2023/S1525) Amending Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 103-a of the public officers law [OML], as added by section 2 of part WW of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 3. The in person participation requirements of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section shall not apply to (a) public bodies organized for the express purpose of performing a governmental function related to issues specific to individuals with disabilities.](https://taconicresources.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/MEMORANDUMSupportOpenMeetings.4.2023.png)
MEMORANDUM OF SUPPORT
Disability Inclusion in Public Bodies Meetings
Taconic Resources for Independence, Inc. (TRI) was founded in 1986 and is Dutchess County’s leading disability advocacy organization, dedicated to empowering persons with disabilities to lead self-directed lives in the community. TRI works within the community to provide disability awareness and advocacy for the removal of barriers. TRI strongly supports the Executive budget proposal and Senate’s amending language to provide for virtual meeting flexibility under the Open Meetings Law (OML) to public bodies organized for disability matters, and for officials with disabilities to count in quorums for all public meetings if they are attending remotely.
As part of the Governor’s emergency declaration at the beginning of the pandemic, exemptions made to OML allowed public bodies meetings to be held via videoconferencing. This emergency action allowed everyone to participate remotely.
The declaration allowed people with disabilities to more fully participate because most physical barriers and other constraints were removed in these virtual spaces. It increased civic engagement by a population that has historically been excluded from government – an important advance for the civil rights of our community.
This policy of greater inclusion for people with disabilities must continue. While the current proposal largely impacts public bodies with a focus on disability, it serves as a starting point to make other significant changes that will increase civic engagement by people with disabilities and all New Yorkers. Ultimately, those changes should include making hybrid meetings the standard for all government bodies, along with increased use of American Sign Language and other accessibility accommodations at public meetings.
As an important first act, these straightforward changes should move forward as part of the 2023-2024 budget agreement to ensure the civil rights of people with disabilities, who still face major barriers to access. TRI urges adoption of the Senate’s OML budget proposal as included in Article VII (S.4008-B), Part X (see below).
Senate Article VII Proposals (S.4008-B): PART X — The Senate modifies the Executive proposal to provide flexibility under the Open Meetings Law (OML) to public bodies organized for disability matters by advancing language to specify which public bodies would be able to host fully-virtual open meetings, link the term “individuals with disabilities” to the existing parameters set by Human Rights Law, and allow for individuals with disabilities to be counted toward a quorum under the existing hybrid OML system (S.1525–see https://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2023/S1525) Amending Section 1. Subdivision 3 of section 103-a of the public officers law [OML], as added by section 2 of part WW of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows: 3. The in person participation requirements of paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this section shall not apply to (a) public bodies organized for the express purpose of performing a governmental function related to issues specific to individuals with disabilities.