A Tale of Courage

This letter was sent to the site by Julie Sullivan of Bronxville: Dear Scarsdale10583: I broke my neck in a car accident 16 years ago and became permanently quadriplegic. I had to start a new life in a wheelchair. There were many things that I would never be able to do. Other activities, such as driving, took a bit of courage but were possible. Driving is a treasured privilege. It gives me freedom, independence, and a sense of normalcy.

When I moved to New York, driving became an expensive hassle. Like many disabled drivers, I can’t put money in a meter. Although I had a disabled permit, I was constantly ticketed because the state had no law governing disability parking meters. Rain and snow compounded my aggravation because I can't reach my windshield. Wipers don't work with a ticket stuck to them and it is impossible to respond to a ticket that has been eviscerated by windshield wipers.

My pleas to State administrators for a meter exemption received this absurd response: We won’t help people who can't put money in a meter because it would be unfair to people who can. I felt like Alice in Wonderland. Defeated, I collected parking tickets. Every ticket was a reminder of my limitations.

Fortunately, while serving on the Disabilities Committee for Eastchester, I met Assemblywoman Amy Paulin. During one of those meetings, we discussed the absurd parking situation. Amy and her team quickly created and drafted the solution: a law that provides a statewide parking meter exemption for disabled drivers who can prove that they are physically incapable of feeding a meter. Although it is a common-sense measure, Amy had to fight tooth and nail and overcome opposition from New York City to win passage for the bill.

Passage of that law did not affect your taxes or curb government waste. It wasn’t headline news. It did, however, make an enormous difference every single day in the lives of ordinary people who face extraordinary challenges.

Assemblywoman Paulin's opponent refers to Amy's legislative accomplishments as "nice little bills" implying that they are unimportant. What she doesn't understand is that good government means that sometimes we have to pass nice little bills for nice little people like me who need them. During her tenure, Amy has tirelessly worked on big issues and small for the state, for the communities she represents, and for her constituents. Please consider her impressive record when you vote. Amy Paulin is an incumbent we need to keep in Albany.

Julie Sullivan
Bronxville