An East Islip man with cerebral palsy is suing the Long Island Railroad because a conductor repeatedly announced over a public address system that he was in a wheelchair. The incident occurred last August when 22-year-old Anthony Faggiani (be mature; he's handicapped) was on his way home from a Yankees game with his father.
In the suit, Faggiani says he notified a conductor as he boarded that he would need a ramp to get off. But the conductor apparently forgot, and when Faggiani arrived at his station, his father had to summon help. That's when they heard the announcement that the train would be delayed because of a "wheelchair patient." Faggiani tells Newsday, "He just kept emphasizing 'wheelchair,' 'wheelchair,' 'wheelchair.' You could just imagine all those eyes staring at me."
Michael Harris, executive director of the Disabled Riders Coalition advocacy group, says it happens all the time: "It's a humiliating ordeal that no one should have to go through. It's blaming the wrong person and it's singling me out as an obstacle. People with disabilities are not obstacles." Got that? The LIRR does; they announced yesterday that employees will no longer refer to the disability of a customer as the reason for a delay. Which probably won't help them fend off this lawsuit, which Faggiani says caused "serious psychological injuries and distress."
