New York State Emergency Alerts Must Be Made Accessible to Blind Residents, Class Action Says

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The New York State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services (DHSES) faces a proposed class action over its apparent failure to make its Mass Notification System (NY-Alert) accessible to blind residents who rely on screen-reading technology to consume visually displayed digital information. 

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) lawsuit, which names as defendants DHSES Commissioner Patrick A. Murphy and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, claims the inaccessibility of the real-time NY-Alert system places an unfair burden on blind individuals left to rely on the assistance of a third party in order to timely consume emergency information on hazardous conditions, severe weather, public health and traffic.

“As a result of the barriers on Defendants’ NY-Alert website, New York residents and others who are blind cannot register to receive live-saving alerts privately, independently, and on an equal basis with other individuals,” the suit alleges. 

The complaint, filed by a New Rochelle woman and the American Council of the Blind of New York, stresses that many blind New York residents may not have quick access to a third party in the event of a NY-Alert, meaning they may be putting themselves at risk in potentially critical situations.

“Effective emergency preparedness and planning must include certain essential components, such as public notification and communication before and during emergencies,” the 14-page complaint reads. “The failure to notify blind individuals about such emergencies via NY-Alert creates severe hardships for blind individuals and can be life threatening to them during these emergencies.”

Blind individuals must be warned of emergencies in advance and receive information on how and if they will be evacuated, where they will be sheltered and how and if they will be transported to a shelter, the lawsuit states. Moreover, given the fact that many blind individuals walk and/or rely on public transportation, they may face a distinct disadvantage in the event of sudden road closures or other transportation interruptions that require them to deviate from routes with which they’re familiar, the complaint says. 

Unfortunately, unnecessary barriers on the defendants’ NY-Alert website prevent blind residents from having meaningful access to the service’s features, which, in addition to weather, public health and traffic information, include AMBER and missing child alerts, consumer protection alerts and sex offender re-location information, the lawsuit relays.

Specifically, the case states, the absence of the following features, among others, on the defendants’ NY-Alert website is problematic to blind residents looking to navigate the site:

• Keyboard focus indicator;
• Accessible toggle buttons and check boxes;
• Consistent heading structure;
• Clear heading titles;
• Meaningful link names; and
• Audio feedback.

“In general, these barriers prohibit blind users from navigating the website and signing up for alerts,” the case reads. “In particular, blind users are unable to, among other things: (1) locate the specific alerts they would like to receive, (2) check the correct boxes for the specific alerts they would like to receive, and (3) enter their phone number and click the correct buttons to receive text message alerts.” 

Whereas technology can be an important tool to improve access and inclusion for those with disabilities, it can also serve as an exclusion mechanism in the event that a public entity fails to comply with its obligations under the ADA, the lawsuit argues. The case contends that although the New York DHSES has the means readily available to ensure the NY-Alert system is accessible to individuals with disabilities, the defendants “have simply failed” to do so.

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