On Tuesday, November 30, at 10:00 AM, the Metropolitan Beaches Commission and Save the Harbor/Save the Bay convened a Virtual Public Hearing focused on improving access for people with disabilities on the Commonwealth’s public beaches in Lynn, Nahant, Revere, Winthrop, East Boston, South Boston, Dorchester, Quincy and Hull.
“The legislative and the community members of the Commission hope that this hearing will help us better understand the challenges facing people with disabilities on the metropolitan beaches,” said Chris Mancini, Executive Director of Save the Harbor/ Save the Bay as the hearing began. “We are looking forward to working together with DCR - and all of you here today - to develop strategies to improve access to these spectacular urban natural resources for everyone.”
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| Among those who testified at the virtual public hearing, which was Co-Chaired by Sen. Brendan Crighton of Lynn and Rep. Adrian Madaro of East Boston, were Stephanie Cooper, Acting Commissioner of the Department of Conservation and Recreation, Andrea Gayle-Bennett of Lynn, Third Junior Vice Commander of the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts, Kristen McCosh, Commissioner of the Boston Disabilities Commission, and Chris Mancini, Executive Director of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. |
"For those of you who don't know me, I'd like to let you know that I use a power wheelchair due to a disability I acquired as a teenager," said Commissioner McCosh, who leads Boston's overall effort to ensure accessibility and inclusion for persons with disabilities. "But we don't all only strive for meeting bare minimum requirements. We strive for ideal accessibility, which really goes from accessibility to inclusion." According to McCosh, though there are still challenges to overcome, "we do have the political will and great staff and our city agencies and our state partners. The ADA was signed into law over 30 years ago. How can we go to the next step and really make sure that people with disabilities are included in every aspect of life?"
According to Acting DCR Commissioner Cooper, the pandemic "has taught us what we knew in our hearts: The critical importance of getting outdoors for our collective physical, mental and spiritual health." She underscored the Baker-Polito Administration's commitment to equity and inclusion, and pointed out that "DCR's Universal Access provides adaptive programming and equipment at our pools, skating rinks, beaches, of course, lakes and ponds. The idea is that everybody of all abilities can participate and enjoy themselves at our properties."
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| Investments in ramps, mobility mats and beach and floating wheelchairs are critical to improving beach access for people with disabilities. |
The Commission also heard from experts and advocates serving people with disabilities, including Tom McCarthy, Director of DCR’s Universal Access Program. Coleman Nee, CEO of Triangle Inc., Kathy Lafferty, Executive Director of the South Boston Neighborhood House, Alex DeFronzo, Executive Director of the Piers Park Sailing Center in East Boston, Ellice Patterson, Executive Director of Abilities Dance Boston, and Andrea Gayle-Bennett, Third Junior Vice Commander of the Disabled American Veterans Department of Massachusetts.
Coleman Nee, CEO of Triangle Inc. who has hosted "Beach:Ability" at Constitution Beach in East Boston as part of Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's Better Beaches program partnership with DCR thanked the Commission and Save the Harbor/Savethe Bay for their leadership on this issue. "I cannot stress enough the positive impact on mental health and spirits of those who attended Beach: Ability...our program participants love the beach and they love the ocean," said Nee. "In truth, these beaches are public assets and they shouldn't only be available to the disability community during an event once a year, they should be available all the time. We need additional investments, we need more walkways and ramps, we need proper equipment, we need mobi-mats, we need floating wheelchairs at every beach, and we need all bathrooms and snack stands to be ADA compliant."
Ellice Patterson, Executive Director, Abilities Dance Boston said building cultural understanding is "just as important as the physical access and the equipment to enjoy these beaches. Diverse and disabled beachgoers shouldn't have to fight to explain themselves. We should be able to participate in these spaces like everyone else."
Alex DeFronzo, Executive Director of Piers Park Sailing Center, whose Adaptive Sailing program is a national model, stressed the importance of inclusive programming. "The hard infrastructure for making the beaches accessible is extremely important, but perhaps more important is the human infrastructure of actually programming the beaches and getting groups of people out there. When there are Better Beaches or Universal Access programs running, that's when the beaches feel most welcoming, most successful and most inclusive"
Kathy Lafferty, Executive Director of the South Boston
Neighborhood House agreed, saying "When we offer a program
on the beach, we want everyone to be able to participate. That
means getting on the sand, near or in the water, and not just on
the pavilion to watch. We are in this conversation because we want
to be a part of the solution”
"No one should ever be prevented from sitting on a public beach on a summer day, hearing the crash of the waves or the call of hungry seagulls, especially not because of a disability, much less someone who incurred that disability in service to our country," Gayle-Bennett said. "Public beaches should be for everyone to enjoy."
As the hearing drew to a close, MBC Co-Chair Sen Brendan
Crighton of Lynn thanked Save the Harbor/Save the Bay and
the dozens of community members who took part in the hearing,
saying "The powerful testimony we heard today will help shape
necessary improvements on the Commonwealth's public beaches to
ensure that these resources are always accessible for all."
MBC Co-Chair Adrian Madaro shared that sentiment. “Our
state beaches are public treasures that belong to all of us,” said
Madaro. “We need to advance environmental justice and center
diversity, equity, and inclusion so that people of all
backgrounds, conditions, and abilities can enjoy them for years to
come."
The Metropolitan Beaches Commission welcomes public participation and will gladly accept written testimony from all interested parties. Please email your comments to rodriguez@savethe harbor.org.
For more information about the hearing contact Save the
Harbor's Executive Director Chris Mancini by email to
mancini@savetheharbor.org
or on his cell at (617) 909-6667, or their Director of Strategy
& Communications Bruce Berman by email to
bruce@bostonharbor.com
or on his cell at 617-293-6243.
About the Metropolitan Beaches Commission
The Metropolitan Beaches Commission is a permanent Commission
charged with making findings and recommendations to the
Legislature and the Department of Conservation & Recreation
(DCR) on ways to improve the metropolitan region's public beaches.
It was established by the Massachusetts Legislature in 2006 and is
led and managed by Save the Harbor/Save the Bay. You can find
more information about the MBC on Save the Harbor/Save the Bay's
website, and download copies of our previous reports at
https://www.savetheharbor.org/mbc-archives.
Late last spring the Commission decided to focus attention on ways
to increase diversity, equity and inclusion on the Metropolitan
Region’s public beaches, to improve access for people of color,
people with disabilities, and people who may not speak English as
their primary language. In May, we heard from a diverse group of
civic leaders and community members about ways in which we could
increase diversity on the beaches and in our beach programming.
After the November 30th hearing on improving access for people
with disabilities, in January of 2022 the MBC will hold a hearing
on language barriers that affect public safety and enjoyment on
our region’s public beaches.
Following that hearing, the Commission will host a Virtual Summit,
at which they will present their preliminary findings to a broad
and diverse audience of beach users to get their thoughts and
input. Following the Summit, the Commission will share a report of
their findings and recommendations with the Legislature, the
Administration, DCR and the public. It will serve as a roadmap
for improving access and increasing diversity, equity and
inclusion on our public beaches going forward.
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