UTICA, N.Y. (Legal Newsline) – An organization alleges it has been refused voting membership in New York’s Developmental Disabilities Planning Council.
Disability Advocates, doing business as Disability Rights New York, filed a complaint on Jan. 16 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Commissioner of the Executive Department of the Office of General Services Roann M. Destito citing the U.S. Constitution.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff is the federally designated protection and advocacy system for New York and is seeking to be a voting member of New York’s Developmental Disabilities Planning Council (DDPC). The plaintiff alleges the defendants have "unlawfully refused" to permit it from serving as a member of the DDPC and that this refusal "jeopardizes federal funding for persons with development disabilities in New York state."
The plaintiff seeks declaratory judgment that it is a member of the DDPC, award of attorney fees, costs, and such other relief as justice requires. It is represented by Cliff Zucker of Disability Rights New York in Albany, New York.
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York case number 1:19-cv-00059-DNH-CFH