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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Neal Kalish, Representative of United Ambulette Coalition
1:37:22
ยท
3 min
Neal Kalish, representing the United Ambulette Coalition, testifies about the critical transportation services provided by ambulettes for disabled and elderly Medicaid enrollees in New York City. He highlights the challenges faced by ambulette services due to recent changes in traffic enforcement, particularly the issue of receiving tickets from MTA vehicle cameras when dropping off patients or double parking in bus lanes.
- Ambulettes provide door-to-door service, often navigating non-elevator buildings and carrying wheelchair clients.
- During COVID-19, ambulettes continued working when other transportation services were shut down.
- Kalish calls for an exemption from bus lane tickets for ambulettes, similar to the one given to MTA Access-A-Ride providers.
- He mentions that legislation is being worked on to address this issue and expresses appreciation for the support from Chair Lee's office.
Neal Kalish
1:37:22
Good afternoon, chair Lee, chair Narcisse, and members of the committee.
1:37:26
I really appreciate the opportunity to be with you today.
1:37:29
It's hard for me to do almost anything in two minutes, but I'll try to skim through this succinctly and you've got my written testimony as well.
1:37:36
I represent the United Ambulet Coalition.
1:37:38
My name is Neil Kalish.
1:37:39
And, Shirley, I have to say already your office has been a tremendous help to us.
1:37:43
I got word from John Wani a short while ago that we have 14 sign ons to a letter that will go to DOT, that that could be tremendous help to us, but I believe we also need legislation.
1:37:55
So I'm seeking the city council support therein.
1:37:58
And just briefly, I'll I'll get into the issue itself.
1:38:00
But first, a bit about ambulets and what we do.
1:38:03
We ensure access for New York City's most vulnerable population.
1:38:07
The poor, originally I said handicapped, but I changed it to to disabled.
1:38:12
The elderly Medicaid enrollee traveling to medically necessary care and treatment such as dialysis.
1:38:19
For the population we serve, transportation is a critical barrier or obstacle.
1:38:24
It's not a luxury.
1:38:25
It's a necessity.
1:38:27
We go door to door.
1:38:28
It is not a curb to curb service, that we provide.
1:38:32
We go up and down, in non elevator buildings, flights of steps, escorting patients, carrying wheelchair.
1:38:40
I was again, I was gonna say wheelchair bound, but wheelchair clients residing in non elevated buildings down flights of steps.
1:38:46
During COVID, we worked unfailingly when the city was shut down, when buses, subways, taxis, livery were not working.
1:38:54
We were out there to ensure that our clients could get to dialysis treatment and keeping New York City hospitals operational.
1:39:02
Keep that in mind.
1:39:03
But today, that same commitment that we've shown to New York City's most vulnerable residents is being punished.
1:39:10
And what's happening specifically in the issue that, Chair Lee's office has been very helpful with is, MTA vehicles are now equipped with cameras, video cameras.
1:39:21
As they pass our vehicles when we're in a bus lane or double parked, and forgive me if I can just take a few more seconds here, they're videoing our vehicle.
1:39:30
We may be dropping off a patient inside a facility.
1:39:33
We may be double parked in a bus lane adjacent to a patient's residence.
1:39:38
We all know that curbside parking is a rarity.
1:39:41
We can't be circling around to find those spaces.
1:39:45
And we're receiving tickets that are progressive in nature.
1:39:48
$50 first time a plate is hit, an ambulet.
1:39:51
Second time it's $100 1 hundred 50 dollars 2 hundred dollars Now we're up to $250 We're not big companies.
1:39:57
We're not FedEx and UPS.
1:39:58
We're independent providers and we're getting tickets that amount to thousands of dollars per month.
1:40:06
This is an issue that needs to be fixed.
1:40:08
The MTA Accessoride program has an exemption.
1:40:12
We've spoken to DOT about it.
1:40:13
They said that MTA Accessoride, that that we're independent companies.
1:40:18
Well, Accessoride providers are also contracted with Accessoride.
1:40:23
They're independent companies.
1:40:25
We need that same exemption.
1:40:26
It's the same exemption that we received for congestion pricing based on the services that we provide.
1:40:33
We need the exemption.
1:40:34
It's great that a letter is going to DOT.
1:40:37
I understand from from mister Wani that a that a legislation is also being worked on.
1:40:43
We need that legislation as well.
1:40:45
I appreciate your time, and I'm sorry I went a few minutes over.