by eila in Accessibility, Civil and Human Rights
Posted on March 2, 2011 at 8:58 pm
Last Modified on March 8, 2011 at 9:47 pm
loading…
The Somerville Arts Council has made plans to discriminate against residents with disabilities again. This Federally-funded (National Endowment for the Arts), State-funded (Massachusetts Cultural Council) and local-funded Somerville cultural council will again hold it’s annual indoor picnic at the wholly-inaccessible Somerville Museum, on March 30th.
It’s not like the City planners and deciders don’t realize this is against the law- and more importantly: really, truly unwelcoming, insulting and demoralizing for people who don’t use stairs.
It’s like this: they just don’t care, with impunity.
The Somerville Museum owners, by the way, like to claim that the Museum is ”a reflection of this community’s diversity.”
They state that the Museum is located in the “literal… heart of Somerville’s residential neighborhoods.”
I’m not sensing any heartfelt opportunities here. What about you?
loading…
The old building, as the website reports, “officially became the Somerville Museum in 1988 after generous donations allowed for renovations.”
I wonder how the museum was allowed to spend a lot of money “renovating” the building without installing an accessible entrance?
Do they claim to have an historic society exemption or something?
And how can an Arts Council receive state and federal money without providing programmatic access?
loading...
1988 was two years before the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Of course the building should be made accessible, but that’s going to require a substantial fundraising effort, given that no attention was paid to such issues when it was first built in the 1920s. The Museum is an all-volunteer organization with almost no money, which is trying right now just to repair its roof and windows. See http://www.somervillemuseumbuildingfund.org and http://www.somervillemuseumbuildingfund.org/about_the_project/building_repair_needs .
loading...
It is good to see someone watching the machinations of government. When it comes to accessibility, there appears to be no interest on the part of the city, when it knows that renovation mandates including an accessible entrance. I say the city, because the Arts Council receives government money and that means that access is not a choice: it is a requirement.
loading...
The Somerville Arts Council really should be embarrassed to be holding their events in this location, and cutting off Individuals with Disabilities from enjoying all that the Arts have to offer. The Americans with Disabilities Act just turned twenty years old last summer, but when you see things like this one would think discrimination was as fresh and real as if the ADA never existed.
loading...
Ron, why wasn’t an Accessible entrance completed during the renovations?
loading...
You’ll need to ask the Museum folks, not me — I have no association with the Museum other than as someone who attends events there. The ADA did not yet exist when this 1988 renovation occurred.
loading...
Ron: Massachusetts Architectural Accessibility regulations date back to 1968.
loading...
I would be interested in a response from anyone to the point that the Architectural Accessibility regs are over 40 years old.
loading...
Hi Karen, I’m not sure I understand your question, but I will state that the applicable regulations under the authority of the MA AAB are from 1975 to current (2006) The AAB promulgated regulations starting in 1968, which would make the MA AAB 43 years old. It has gone by a different name, or two. I’m not sure as I type this, when the name change was applied.
loading...
Hi Scott, I was simply agreeing with the idea that basic access did not just happen recently.
loading...
This page has Massachusetts accessibility regulations from several different years. Presumably the 1987 rules would have been in effect when the Museum renovations occurred.
I do not know anything more about it — you’ll need to find and ask people who were around and actively involved with the project at that time. One of them was State Rep. Joe Mackey, but unfortunately he is no longer with us. Maybe one of these people can help more.
Anyone who wants to press the issue further will probably have to help raise the funds to do so, as the current capital campaign only covers basic repairs to the roof and windows.
loading...
Ron, why would someone with a disability, who has been denied the simple opportunity to “get in the door” “have to help raise the funds to do so” as you have stated? I do not see people with full mobility, being regularly required to do fund raisers to get into town halls, or Wal-Mart, or any other public invite location! It is, and has been our Civil Right forever as far as I am concerned, to be included, and welcome into every single door that millions & millions of other members of the public walk through every day in this country.
I am very interested in looking at the documents surrounding any/all renovations completed for the last 35 years. When/if those documents indicate that something was completed/renovated that triggered the requirement for an Accessible entrance, it will be clear the Somerville Arts Council ignored this issue, and decided it was easier, and cheaper to leave Individuals with Disabilities sitting on the outside, trying to figure out why, in the year 2011, Discrimination is so obviously visible in some Massachusetts communities. If the Arts Council were truly committed to opening its doors to everyone, they would have embarked on a fund raising campaign for this purpose years ago, but they didn’t, did they!
They are the ones responsible to every single member of the public, which walks, strolls or rolls by this facility! Please stop making excuses for this irrefutable dropping of the ball, towards full Inclusive purpose by the Arts Council. As soon as the Americans with Disabilities Act was in full effect for all public programs (1995), all were required to make Equal Access available at every public building or facility under their control, why wasn’t this done? Why wasn’t an Accessible means of Access created when the economy was booming, and money was flowing like water back in the 90s? It is a very deeply rooted cultural divide that has played itself out for decades & decades. Priorities are rarely on the side of the Disabled surrounding this, and it truly burns my a** when I see flippant, and dismissive excuses for it. Sorry my fellow Advocates, but I’m just tired of hearing the excuses
loading...
I think some of those commenting here assume the Somerville Arts Council is somehow responsible for the Somerville Museum. In fact the SM is owned and run by the Somerville Historical Society, a private charity with no special tie to the SAC. The main connection is that from time to time the SAC holds events there (as do many other groups).
loading...
The big difference here is that the SAC is an agency of the city. The very city that is supposed to enforce compliance with all ADA regs. I don’t blame the Museum, I put the blame squarely on the city. They should not use any out of ADA compliance building, and that includes the Armory, for any city sponsored event.
loading...
This event has been moved to the Armory, which has a few ADA issues that still need addressing, but is still lots better than the Museum.
loading...
Ron, do you know why the event was moved and whether it was in response to concerns about accessibility?
loading...
I know only that it was moved, not why it was moved. Sorry.
loading...
Thanks for the good news, Ron!
Today i talked with the lovely owner of the PA Lounge (where last week’s Arts Council event was held, in Union Square). Tony, who’s been there for 39 years, is interested in finding out how to finance making the bathrooms accessible at that venue. Perhaps in the coming year we’ll have more venues that will be adequately accessible for community events.
As for the Somerville Armory, that facility is scheduled to be Accessible by May 15, 2011 (see http://www.somervillevoices.org/2010/12/16/arts-and-culture/somerville-armory-to-be-accessible-by-may-15-2011/)
loading...
Are there stairs to get into the PA Lounge or its bathrooms? I have to admit that I didn’t really look around when I went to their event last week.
loading...
I didn’t do a detailed architectural access survey (which involves measuring tools, checklists, and taking photos and notes, covering the full scope of interior and exterior elements attached to the space) so, all I can report about PAs at the moment is:
there is a slightly sloped street level access,and two fixable thresholds before entering. The bathrooms (an essential feature for a bar!) are not yet wheelchair accessible. But it is a hopeful start.
loading...
From the little I have been able to glean about the Museum recently- and please correct me if I am wrong- someone was awarding grant money. Not sure if it was on the local, state or federal level, but money was being offered, I think, by a historic preservation group. The Museum applied for this grant money, stating its need for it, proposed use(s) of the money, etc. I read this in a short news piece somewhere, & it was 1 or 2 paragraphs long. There were local competing interests, and as has become fashionable these days, the public is invited to cast a vote for the entity they feel is most worthy.
I remember another such contest that took place statewide, and one of the cultural institutions vying for the funding was a beautiful church with a proud history of social justice leadership. This lottery was for capital funds to enable expanded use of the space to help the church insure its financial survival. I was encouraged to vote often. I did give them a vote, but once I had seen the list of contenders, I jumped ship.
Does anyone else recall a recent competition for grant funding in which the SM had its hand out? The funding was related, I think, to capital improvements, and the architectural modifications needed to bring the Museum up to standard was considered legitimate use of the funding. What jumped out at me was that a spokesperson for the Museum- in her/his public appeal for supporting votes- named several proposed uses for the money, at the end of which list was a footnote. The quote started something like: “If there’s money left over, we might begin to install a ramp…” I don’t really remember exactly what kind of modification was referred to, but I am certain that what was offered was a bone. I recognize bones. I remember being furious, getting ready to take some action or another, and my attention was pulled away. I hope someone can fill in the blanks; I’m quite sure I wasn’t dreaming this. And, there was nothing Pre- ADA about it. More like within the past several months.
loading...