Terry Moakley
In this image: Photo of white man with glasses and a mustache, age fifties, wearing dark suit and tie, in a manual wheelchair, holding up a Priority Seating diagram for accessible busses.
Surely one of the most beloved figures in the City’s disability community, Terence J. Moakley was, like Richard Match, disabled in a diving accident. An active-duty Marine at the time of his injury, after his recuperation Terry earned a master’s degree in comparative literature from Hofstra University, then joined Eastern Paralyzed Veterans Association (EPVA). In 1968 he was elected President of EPVA. His projects at the time included seeking housing for disabled veterans, teaching English, and authoring a two-volume work entitled Barrier Free Design: The Law.
Terry proved an effective fund-raiser, and this helped lead EPVA to adopt an ambitious agenda centered on public transportation. Beginning with buses and curb cuts, then moving to subways and commuter rails and finally to accessible taxicabs, starting in the late 1970s Terry (with attorney Jim Weisman) became one of the primary forces in the accessible transit campaign in New York City, regularly in the public eye in lawsuits, ads and journalism.
It is sad indeed that Terry passed away suddenly, on September 5, 2014--less than two weeks before a landmark settlement in federal court that added 7,000 accessible cabs to the City’s streets. The judge who approved the settlement described it as one of the most significant acts of inclusion in the City since Jackie Robinson joined the Brooklyn Dodgers.
by Warren Shaw
