Counselor / Advocate for Physically Disabled
Living and working from a wheelchair, she held jobs to support herself. Away from her employment duties, she fought for accessibility for the differently abled – she did her homework, and her voice would not be silenced!
EP was born on Long Island, New York, one of six children and the only daughter. Her father was an electrician, and her mother was a social worker.
EP was born asthmatic and later developed diabetes. She began using a wheelchair when her asthma became severe, in her late 40s. She lived until age 69 and during her lifetime, became a fierce advocate for people of differently able, more traditionally called “disabled.”
EP attended college, earning her degree in sociology from Stony Brook University on Long Island; then she attended another university in Ohio for more classes.
Her first adult employment was an outreach caseworker at a senior services center, where she was assigned to the Port Authority Bus Terminal in New York City, to conduct blood pressure screenings and help older people apply for city services and other benefits. She later worked with Holocaust survivors and eventually as an aide with a physical therapy center in her neighborhood.
EP joined a club which focused on advocacy regarding disability rights and became its President.
In 2004, the New York City’s taxi fleet had only three wheelchair-accessible taxi-cabs – minivans with ramps – and people like EP had a one in 4,000 chance of hailing one. She said, “They’re like unicorns; you have to be pure to catch one.” Working with attorneys for an advocacy group, she became a plaintiff in class-action litigation resulting in the city’s Taxi and Limousine Commission to make the fleet 50 percent accessible by 2020 (although the deadline was pushed back amid the pandemic and as of March 2021, stood at 30 percent.) She also fought for accessibility on subways and in police stations, restaurants, and public parks. And she fought for issues that didn’t affect her directly, like those that might impede people with mental, visual, auditory, or other disabilities.
When the city held a hearing on banning plastic straws, she gathered a group to present an opinion: there are those who cannot hold a cup and straws are essential tools to their visiting a restaurant. At the meeting, group after group testified in favor of the ban but EP and her colleagues were not called upon. Finally, EP spoke up: “Hey, we’re here to speak. We have an opinion about this bill.” Her group was allowed to speak.
(based on NYT obit)
