The Bus Strike Brings Hardship to Special Ed Kids

Ms. R. has a 9 year old son with Down syndrome. He attends a District 75 school and the travel time to school and back is more than an hour. They have been hit hard by the bus strike which began on January 16th. Because of the lack of transportation, she has kept her son home on some days and has tried using Access-a-Ride on other days.

The school bus strike resulted from a dispute between Mayor Bloomberg and the school bus company owners. Mayor Bloomberg states that school bus transportation costs are way out of control, and is asking for a more competitive bidding process without a job-protection clause that will save the city millions of dollars. The Bloomberg administration wants to request bids for new contracts for 1,100 special-education routes. Bus drivers and matron’s fear that they will lose their jobs if their companies lose their bids and are demanding that the Bloomberg administration guarantee senior drivers will have a job even if the city changes school bus companies. The administration’s position is that they do not have to be legally able to provide employment protection.

It costs about $7,000 per student to transport children every year, but the Department of Education spends about $13,000 a year to bus each special education child annually. The strike has shut down about 5,000 of the city’s 7,700 school bus routes and as a result, more than 110,000 children have had to find new ways to get to their schools. No one has been more profoundly affected than the tens of thousands of special needs children and their parents, who tend to travel the longest distances.

On one recent rainy day, Ms. R. was forced to use public transport when she just missed the Access-a-Ride bus she requested. She started to run after the bus in an attempt to stop it and get her son and herself on the bus. Using public transport places a strong hardship on her because her son occasionally strikes out and hits other passengers. On one occasion, he hit a man who in turn pulled at the young boy’s jacket, which caused a commotion on the bus. The parent is Spanish-speaking and has very little English speaking skills. The school’s parent coordinator does not speak English, but somehow managed to communicate to the parent that she can use a taxi to bring her child to school. The parent however, is unable to use a taxi because she cannot afford the $50 round trip and/or to wait for a reimbursement from the Department of Education.

The Bloomberg administration states that they are offering other options to travel to schools including providing students and parents with Metro cards to use for subway and bus transportation to schools. For parents with cars, the Department of Education will pay them .55 cents per mile for travel to and from school. Some parents said the city has offered to reimburse them up to $200 a day for car services, but many said they did not have the money to lay out.

For more information on how parents can get their children to schools, including reimbursement forms, please visit the NYC Department of Education’s Office Of Pupil Transportation website. In addition, the Department of Education has a website that discusses transportation options for children who have an IEP.
Unfortunately, there appears to be no quick end to the school bus strike and every day that passes without a resolution brings further hardship and misery to all those affected, but particularly to the parents and their children with special needs.                                                                                            (Photo)

Meet our New Director of Development

Sinergia is pleased to announce the addition of Mais Z. Jasser as Director of Development. Ms. Jasser adds to the multicultural staff composition of Sinergia.  She was born in Syria, raised in Lebanon and France and speaks Arabic and French. A recent transplant to New York via California, she has an M. A. in psychology and will be implementing behavioral intervention plans for consumers, as well as providing staff development to the residential habilitation staff. In California Ms. Jasser authored and implemented a clinical behavioral program (R-E-W-A-R-D) for youth designed to address their individual needs, particularly their need to learn positive healthy human behaviors. She has developed and taught classes at the college and university level in the disciplines of psychology, social sciences and humanities. A specialist in cross-cultural mediation, conflict resolution and crisis intervention, she has held the post of professor in psychology for the past twelve years. Her approach to the study of human behavior has focused on human diversity and cross-cultural issues. Ms. Jasser has also held administrative positions and is expert in organizational development. We proudly welcome Mais Z. Jasser to the Sinergia family.

Schools' Have an Obligation to Provide Equal Opportunity to Students with Disabilities to Participate in Athletics

Sinergia consumer enjoys playing baseball during our summer picnic

Students with disabilities have the right, under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, to an equal opportunity to participate in their schools' extracurricular activities. But a 2010 report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that many students with disabilities are not afforded an equal opportunity to participate in athletics, and therefore may not have equitable access to the health and social benefits of athletic participation.

The U S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights issued a guidance letter clarifying school districts' existing legal obligations to provide equal access to extracurricular athletic activities to students with disabilities.

The guidance letter provides examples of the types of reasonable modifications that schools may be required to make to existing policies, practices, or procedures for students with intellectual, developmental, physical, or any other type of disability. Examples of such modifications include:

• The allowance of a visual cue alongside a starter pistol to allow a student with a hearing impairment who is fast enough to qualify for the track team the opportunity to compete.
• The waiver of a rule requiring the "two-hand touch" finish in swim events so that a one-armed swimmer with the requisite ability can participate at swim meets.

"Participation in extracurricular athletics can be a critical part of a student's overall educational experience, said Seth Galanter, acting assistant secretary for the Office for Civil Rights (OCR). "Schools must ensure equal access to that rewarding experience for students with disabilities." To learn more about OCR click here.

Additional reading:

Press Release: U.S. Department of Education Clarifies Schools' Obligation to Provide Equal Opportunity to Students with Disabilities to Participate in Extracurricular Athletics

Blog: We Must Provide Equal Opportunity in Sports to Students with Disabilities Posted on January 25, 2013 by Arne Duncan 

American Psychiatric Association Approves DSM-5 Revision

Earlier this week, the American Psychiatric Association voted to accept the revised fifth edition of its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). This manual is used by clinicians nationwide to diagnose mental health conditions. DSM-5 will be published in spring 2013.

The revision introduces two fundamental changes in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Two distinct autism subtypes, autistic disorder and Asperger syndrome, will be collapsed into one unifying diagnosis of ASD.

The current three symptom domains of social impairment, communication deficits and repetitive/restricted behaviors will become two: social communication impairment and repetitive/restricted behaviors.

These changes have a strong scientific rationale and will have a significant impact on how ASD is diagnosed. It can also affect access to services and influence how the prevalence of ASD is measured.

For more information visit Autism Speaks.
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Sinergia Appoints New Associate Director, and Other Staff News

Sinergia is pleased to announce that on August 20th Dr. Bernice Moro will assume the position of Assoc. Director of Sinergia. Dr. Moro is a committed educational administrator with extensive experience in the field of education for students with special needs. She worked for the NYC Department of Education for 32 years and at New York University, Hunter College and Touro College. She is an educator with a specialty in English Language learners and special education. She has held numerous positions as a Deputy Superintendent of Bronx School District 7, Deputy in the Impartial Hearing Office, Deputy Superintendent for Administration and Student Support, District and High school Placement Officer, among others. We are looking forward to Dr. Moro’s arrival, the knowledge she brings and the many contributions she will make to future programming at Sinergia.

Any Nunez has been a beloved and well respected member of Sinergia’s Fiscal Department for over ten years. She has now taken over the reins as the controller of Sinergia and those of us who value her competency, work ethic, loyalty and dedication are thrilled by this appointment. We welcome Raquel Martinez back to Sinergia who will ably assist her along with Felicia Gomez in fiscal operations. Our best wishes for success to Edwin Barreto our former controller.

Our Nursing team will move to expanded brand new quarters on the second floor sometime in September.  The nurses at Sinergia  are our unsung heroes and we hope you will respond to our special appeal to provide them with a new Nursing Center.

Sinergia's MPC Receives Award from OSEP

The Metropolitan Parent Center received a special award at the annual Office of Special Education (OSEP) Leadership conference that was held during July 30-August 1st in Washington, D.C. The award was for participating in the Voluntary Standards of Excellence for Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIC) and Community Parent and Resource Centers (CPRC.)  The six recipients of this award provided information on the standards in the areas of provision of services to families and management issues for non-profit organizations. In addition, each award recipient discussed how their Centers went about developing their standards and shared ideas and suggestions with the audience that can be used to help other Centers develop their own standards of excellence. The MPC was represented by its Co-Director, Cassandra Archie (above, center), who accepted the award and discussed the process the MPC used to develop their standards of excellence. The conference held an interactive discussion and also featured a question and answer session that focused on effective strategies that Centers can use to improve their work with children with disabilities and their families. Below: Sinergia Director Myrta Cuadra Lash (left) holds the award with Godfrey Rivera, Co-Director of the MPC.

Sinergia Boardmember Joins EICC

On April 18th Paola Jordan, a board member of Sinergia and the parent of twins, received official notification from Governor Andrew Cuomo’s office that she had been appointed as member of the Statewide Early Intervention Coordinating Council (EICC), which is a committee of 27 members who represent families, providers and the New York State Department of Health. This committee assists the Department of Health in administering the Early Intervention program and makes recommendations to the Department on appropriate services for children with disabilities between the ages of 0 to 3 years and their families.

“As a representative of the families I am honored and proud to be in this group since my twins have benefited greatly from this program. During the nearly three and half years that my children received therapy services, I learned that the role of parents is crucial and this helps to make a difference in the results,” explains Paola. She is available to all families currently obtaining services from this program to receive and transmit messages to the EICC.

Gov. Cuomo's Justice Center Bill Passes Both Houses

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo's Justice Center Bill passed in both the Senate and Assembly. This legislation establishes the strongest standards and practices in the nation for protecting people with special needs and disabilities through the creation of a new Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs. The initiative will transform how New York State protects over one million New Yorkers in State operated, certified or licensed facilities and programs.

In response to the passage of the bill, Governor Cuomo issued the following statement:
“For too many years, we have heard story after story of abuse and mistreatment in facilities that are supposed to care for those with special needs and disabilities. With the legislation passed today, New York is standing up to say enough is enough. The Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs will ensure that the more than one million New Yorkers with disabilities and special needs receive the proper treatment that they deserve. Protecting the civil rights of vulnerable individuals was one of my top priorities this legislative session, and with this new law, New York State has raised the bar to put in place the strongest standards and practices in the nation for protecting people with special needs. I thank the thousands of New Yorkers, including my colleagues in the Senate and Assembly, who joined in the fight to take action and bring justice to the system. Without their help, the passage of this important legislation would not have been possible.”

For more information about the Justice Center, please visit the Governor's Justice Center Website:
http://www.governor.ny.gov/Justice4SpecialNeeds/home

NY State to Propose a State Seal Of Biliteracy for High School Graduates

Following on the heels of the California law that was signed on October 8, 2011 by Governor Jerry Brown that  created the “State Seal of Biliteracy” which honors high school seniors proficient in English and one or more languages, New York State Assemblywoman Carmen E. Arroyo introduced legislation in May 2012 to create a similar certification for New York State high school graduates. This bill would establish the State Seal of Biliteracy to recognize high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading and writing in one or more languages in addition to English. The bill cites many reasons for why this certification should be pursued, including that biliteracy contributes to a pupil’s cognitive development and to our national economy and security. The demand for individuals to be fluent in more than one language is increasing throughout the US, promoting linguistic proficiency and cultural literacy.

The bill proposed by Carmen Arroyo is designed to encourage pupils to study languages other than English, provide employers with a method of identifying people with language and biliteracy skills, offer universities a way to recognize and give academic credit to applicants seeking admission and  to prepare pupils for the new challenges of 21st century life.

Sinergia enthusiastically supports the biliteracy bill and calls upon parents to support this iniaitive by contacting the New York State Legislature. Ms. Arroyo’s New York City Office is located at 384 East 149 Street, Suite 30, Bronx, NY 10455. Her telephone number is 718-292-2901. You can also contact your assemblyperson by visiting the website http://assembly.state.ny.us/mem/ and entering your zip code.

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Our Deepest Condolences

We are saddened to announce that Jack Haines, husband of Gayle Haines, a long time Sinergia board member, passed away on April 22nd. Throughout the years, Jack was a wonderful host to Sinergia staff and board members at  his home in Captree Island. He participated in many special events and visited Sinergia programs numerous times. Jack was a painter, writer and great supporter of Sinergia’s mission.

Sinergia Executive Director Myrta Cuadra-Lash recently recalled her fond memories of him. "I have known  Jack and Gayle for at least three decades. They were former neighbors at Captree Island and made many visits to my home in Puerto Rico, where they fell in love with the Island. Jack and Dick (Sinergia founder) had so many common interests including their fondness for Captree Island, their intense curiosity for all things and their love of learning. Gayle was a teacher of some of the Lash children when they were in elementary school in West Islip. Our lives coincided in so many ways." The Sinergia family sends our deepest condolences to Gayle. A memorial service will be held in June. May he rest in peace.

Sinergia's Natasha Harris Honored for Excellence

On May 7, the Manhattan Developmental Disabilities Council sponsored the 10th Annual Manhattan Service Coordination Forum at Metro DDSO. During this event, the Forum acknowledged twelve Medicaid Service Coordinators from the Manhattan area for their hard work and dedication to consumers and their families. This year, Sinergia, Inc. was pleased to nominate Ms. Natasha Harris to receive such an honor. Ms. Natasha Harris has been a Medicaid Service Coordinator with our agency for four years. During these years, she demonstrated strong advocacy qualities and great dedication in providing the best quality of services to her consumers. Ms. Harris does not tolerate injustices against her consumers and works extremely hard to get entitlements for her consumers. Her consumers and families celebrate her enthusiasm and code of ethics.  It was a great honor for Sinergia to present this recognition to Ms. Harris.

MSC News/Developments

• Medicaid Service Coordination (MSC) completed online training for CHOICES (the electronic individual case records management system).
• Excellent Home Care will host a presentation for all our MSC and Family Support staff on June 13, 2012.
• The MSC department, in collaboration with The Metropolitan Parent Center, is launching the MSC Core Pilot Training on July 18, 2012. In this training MPC, MSC and Family support staff will participate in the training and provide constructive feedback to the trainers. This exercise will help trainers to prepare and improve their training methods before they provide this service to external providers.

New Improvements in Accessibility for the Disabled

“People with disabilities should have the opportunity to participate in American society as fully and equally as those without disabilities.”   --Thomas E. Perez, Assistant, Att Gen for the Civil Rights Division

The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design went into effect on March 15, 2012, as announced  by the Justice Department. These standards were adopted as part of the revised regulations for DA Title II and Title III of the ADA of 1990 and will make buildings and facilities accessible to more than 54 million Americans with disabilities. 

Title II protects people with disabilities from discrimination on the basis of disability in services, programs and activities provided by state and local government entities. Title III prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability by places of public accommodation (businesses that are generally open to the public and that fall into one of 12 categories listed in the ADA, such as restaurants, movie theaters, schools, day care facilities, recreational facilities and doctors’ offices).

The department encourages businesses and governments around the country to help break down barriers for people with disabilities so that every individual has access to equal opportunity and equal justice.

The 2010 Standards will set new requirements for fixed or built-in elements in facilities such as detention facilities and courtrooms, amusement rides, boating facilities, golf and miniature golf facilities, swimming pools and play areas. These rules also clarify and refine issues that have arisen over the past 20 years, including reach ranges, toilet room dimensions and accessible routes. The 2010 Standards provide clarified requirements for dispersal and lines of sight for accessible seating and companion seating in assembly areas such as stadiums. The 2010 Standards also address dispersion of accessible hotel rooms among the different classes of rooms provided, as well as the overlap between wheelchair accessible rooms and rooms with communication features.

The standards can be found here. If you are interested in finding out more about the ADA or the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, you can call the ADA Information Line at 800-514-0301 (Voice) or 800-514-0383 (TTY), or access the ADA website at www.ada.gov.
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Recap: 507 Plan & 1115 Waiver Presentation

On December 7, 2011 Sinergia was very pleased to welcome Katherine Bishop (above) from the Office of People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), People First Waiver Unit.  Ms. Bishop made a comprehensive presentation to a standing room only audience on the 1115 Waiver at Sinergia's Metropolitan Parent Center. In collaboration with the Manhattan Neighborhood Network, the presentation was taped and it aired on January 1, 2012 on their cable channels. The forum was simultaneously translated into Spanish and power point presentations were available in both languages.

Ms. Bishop led the discussion of the major redesign of the OPWDD system to better support people’s health, life skills and personal outcomes through increased flexibility, person centered services, care coordination and modernization of the financial platform. The lynchpin of the transformation will include development of entities that will be called Developmental Disabilities Individual Support & Care Coordination Organizations (DISCO).  They will be not-for-profit fiscal intermediaries and providers of care coordination, which receive all payments and may be direct providers and/or subcontract all needed services, including health care.

There was an extensive question and answer period where parents and providers were able to ask key questions about this future waiver which will have a major impact on the way that services will be delivered.  To get more information on People First Waiver visit their webpage: www.opwdd.ny.gov/2011waiver. Our appreciation is extended especially to Katherine Bishop and to MNN, the interpreters and staff at Sinergia for making this event possible so that both English and Spanish speaking parents become aware of these significant changes in the OPWDD system and how they will affect their children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Busing Issues for Special Needs Children

The Office of Pupil Transportation (OPT) announced that on September 8, the first day of the school year, yellow school buses will take 150,000 children to their schools and back home. For children with special needs who will be transported in a mini-van, parents can expect a letter confirming the bus route and pick-up time by August 29th.

OPT has come under fire in recent years because of budget-cutting measures that affected many of the city’s children. Students from multiple schools now share the same bus, bus routes were consolidated and lengthened, and students with special needs were required to provide medical documentation to qualify for a seat in a mini-van. There have been on-going transportation problems with the 60,000 special needs children who ride the smaller mini-van and have often suffered from inferior service, according to Maggie Moroff, special education policy coordinator at Advocates for Children. “In past years we have heard from too many families about children not picked up at all and missing hours, sometimes days, and sometimes more, of critical school time,” she said. In addition, students with limited travel time requirements have been on the bus for way too long. OPT responded that it promises to do better and added that “we are making a big effort to communicate with parents about how the OPT system works, what they should do when there’s a problem and what documentation, including medical documentation, is needed to match the right bus service to each child.”

For more read "DOE answers parents' busing questions."

Do you have a child that needs to travel on the mini-vans? What problems have you encountered with OPT? What suggestions do you have to ensure that children have a safe and speedy trip to school and back home? We would love to hear your comments.


Photo source

Sinergia Participates in People First Waiver

The New York State Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), in consultation with the State Department of Health and other stakeholders, has begun to seek programmatic and fiscal reforms to the service system through the development of a new 1115 demonstration waiver, the “People First Waiver”. There have been Listening Forums and  Public Hearings throughout the state to gather input from individuals, family members, providers and stakeholders on how to restructure the current system of care for individuals with developmental disabilities. A steering committee and five design teams have been established to make reform recommendations, and to help plan the roll out of the waiver and its implementation. Myrta Cuadra Lash, Executive Director of Sinergia, has been nominated to serve on the Benefits Design Team that is charged with “making service and supports reform recommendations that enhance person centered planning and service delivery and increase the system’s capacity to serve people in the most appropriate community setting with an equitable level of resources based on the needs assessment process.”  She will contribute to this team’s discussion on specialty populations and the service needs that should be added for people/families who are underserved to successfully participate in the 1115 Waiver. The waiver will transform New York State’s total system of care for persons with developmental disabilities within the next five years. We encourage you to visit the OPWDD website to keep abreast of developments in the People First Waiver and find ongoing information from the design teams.

Sinergia's 2011 Summer Benefit

Beautiful setting, beautiful sounds, beautiful people! That's how we would describe our Summer Benefit on June 12th, where we had a chance to pause for a moment and take stock of our accomplishments. Everyone was looking their best and in a celebratory mood as the music of the Ray Santos Orchestra filled the space at the historical Museum of the City of New York.

The event gave us the opportunity to honor Dr. Pedro Noguera (above left), who is the Peter L. Agnew Professor of Education at New York University, for the work he does to champion children and promote student achievement. His immense scholarship and research on urban education prompted us to recognize him with the first ever Dr. Sally Romero Award for distinguished service to children, which was presented to him by Dr. Romero's daughter, Norma Romero-Mitchell.

We also honored New York State Assemblyman Robert J. Rodriguez (above right) with the Community Service Award for his tireless work in building the infrastructure that will ensure access to housing and business development, as well as cultural and social services in East Harlem. Yolanda Sanchez, an institution in the Latino community who has spent over thirty years in human services, presented him with the award. Both honorees also received a citation from the NY State Assembly.

The evening was dedicated to two of our very own heroines who are no longer with us. Dr. Sally Romero was President of Sinergia's Board of Directors until her untimely passing last summer. Christine Cuadra was a beautiful young woman who stood out in her vibrant red dress at our last gala in 2008. She too has passed on but we will never forget her dedication and hard work with the homeless families at Sinergia and her unwavering support to her mother, Executive Director Myrta Cuadra-Lash.

We were also thrilled to announce that June 12th was proclaimed Sinergia Day by the Council of the City of New York. The current President of Sinergia's Board of Directors, Dr. Len Torres (above), read the inscription, which says in part: "On behalf of all New Yorkers we commend Sinergia for its leadership, vision, faith in families and its abiding commitment to and advocacy for children and adults with disabilities." We want to thank the office of New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito for arranging this proclamation. As we approach our 35th year, we will continue to build on our achievements.

The Ray Santos Orchestra (above) played a mix of Latin salsa and romantic boleros which had everyone congregating on the dance floor.

One of the items in the silent auction was a gorgeous oil painting (above) by artist Dianne Smith, former boardmember of Sinergia.

Dr. Gayle Haines (above left), who organized the silent auction, chats with Myrta Cuadra Lash and Beth Torres (above right).

 Zenaida Mendez of the Manhattan Neighborhood Network (far left) and Dr. Marta Moreno Vega of the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora (3rd, l. to r.) pose with the honorees.

Essential Services Restored as NYC Budget Passes

The City Council passed New York City's budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (July 1, 2011 - June 30, 2012). Overall, this budget preserves essential services, preventing teacher layoffs, restoring fire companies, day care slots, and library services.  A few of the highlights are below, but please click here for more detailed information.

Restoring Essential Services

In his Executive Budget proposal in May, Mayor Bloomberg proposed a wide range of cuts that would have impacted essential services. The City Council  worked with the Bloomberg Administration to restore many essential services:

• No teacher layoffs, thanks to an agreement between the Council, the City, and the UFT.
• No fire company closures
• Substantial restorations to child care and thousands  of “Priority 5” after-school vouchers for families, albeit at a lower funding level
• Neighborhood public libraries will continue to offer 5-day-a-week service
• Restorations to the Parks Department will mean public pools are open all summer, and we’ll still have playground associate
• The Council also restored many smaller, but still important, programs – like those that help immigrants learn English, prevent homelessness, and offer legal and social services.

Also we are happy to report that the Council’s Autism Initiative was restored, which means Sinergia can continue its services to parents with children with autism. Sadly, even with these restorations, there will still be many painful cuts citywide, including the loss of over 2,500 teaching positions through attrition and the elimination of several thousand summer youth jobs, after-school program slots, small-dollar scholarships to CUNY students and day care slots for low-income working families.

Sinergia's New Website

Sinergia has just upgraded its home on the web, www.sinergiany.org, which will also be available in Spanish soon. Our Metropolitan Parent Center, which is a federally funded Parent Training and Information Center, has a section all to its own. Under the "IDEA" tab you'll find information on:

• Laws and Regulations
• Advocacy Skills for parents
• Individualized Education Plan & Family Service Plan (IEP/FSP)Dispute Resolution
• IDEA Disabilities categories
• Infants and Toddlers and Early Intervention

Under "Information" you will find the following:

• State Annual Performance Plan
• Annual Performance Report
• District Report Cards
• ARIS Achievement Reporting and Innovation System

Back on the Home page, under "Services" you will find information on:

• Medicaid Service Coordination
• Family supports Services
• Family Care Program, 
• Day and Residential and Respite Services
• Community Habilitation
• Home Care
• Housing Assistance Services 

Issues of the monthly Newsletters are currently being posted in the Archives in English and Spanish for your review.

Please bear with us as we complete the Spanish translations, tweak content and continue to work on our website to make it as reader friendly as possible, bringing you valuable information and helping individuals and families access the services they need. We hope you'll stop by for a visit soon!

Map of Tomorrow

The face of America is changing.

By 2042, the nation will be a majority people of color.

This decade, the majority of young people will be people of color.

From Southern California to rural Iowa, every corner of America is seeing these changes.
What does this map say about the future of America?

To see how we'll get here visit America's Tomorrow from PolicyLink.

Rusk Institute's Glass Garden to Shut Down

It's Spring, and for gardeners, this means planting season! To get geared up, Erin McSorley, Day Habilitation Specialist at Sinergia, recently attended a gardener's club meeting, where she met Gwen Fried, a horticultural therapist at the Rusk Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine at NYU Medical Center. She told Erin all about the Institute and their Glass Garden, a 1,700 square-foot conservatory that was built in 1959, the first facility of its kind to be fully accessible to people using wheelchairs.  

The garden also includes around 15,000 square feet of outdoor garden space that includes a children's PlayGarden and perennial flowers. Aside from being a beautiful public space (open seven days a week), the Glass Garden functions as a rehabilitation and education center. They have a wide variety of programs available ranging from preschool nature classes to cardiac rehabilitation to therapy for individuals with Alzheimer's disease, HIV/AIDS, brain injury, epilepsy, and mental illness. Sinergia's Day Habilitation has plans to visit the Glass Garden very soon and investigate what we might learn through the prevocational training offered there.   

Unfortunately, Glass Garden's days are numbered. NYU has plans to bulldoze the area to make room for a new research center. While Gwen and her associates at the Rusk Institute can't do much to fight these changes, there are friends of the garden working hard to gain support to either save or rebuild the greenhouse and gardens. You can show your support for the Rusk Institute and Glass Garden by writing to Mark Thompson, chairman of Community Board 6, and urging him to do what he can to preserve this special place. You can also contact Erin McSorley, 212-643-2840 ext. 343 for copies of a pre-written letter to sign or a list of additional people in office to contact.Visit the Glass Garden as soon as you can, and to check out their programs and calendar of events go to www.med.nyu.edu/rusk/glassgardens.