July 26, 2017
NEW YORK–– CityMouse, Inc. was honored by Mayor de Blasio and Disabilities Commissioner, Victor Calise with the Sapolin Telecommunications award during a packed reception held at Gracie Mansion on the 27th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The ADA Sapolin Award is named after the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities Commissioner Matthew Sapolin who passed away in 2011.
Signed in 1990, the Americans with Disabilities Act has fostered independence, empowerment and inclusion for millions of Americans living with disabilities. To honor and celebrate the passage of the ADA, each year the City of New York presents four awards in recognition of individuals who have made significant contributions to increasing accessibility for people with disabilities under the Titles of the American with Disabilities Act, known as the ADA Awards.

The ceremony was part of a larger effort by the de Blasio Administration to recognize and support New Yorkers with disabilities. In July 2016, Mayor de Blasio and the Mayor’s Office for People with Disabilities released AccessibleNYC, the City’s first annual report on the state of people with disabilities. The interagency report outlined current and forward-looking efforts to improve accessibility and inclusion in transportation, education, employment and health, as well as City services, institutions and resources.

CityMouse, Inc. was honored by Mayor de Blasio and Disabilities Commissioner, Victor Calise with the Sapolin Telecommunications award during a packed reception held at Gracie Mansion on the 27th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The discussion touched on software, website design, and user experiences in the online world. Conversations also moved into hardware discussions as well, especially in the medical industry (a specialty for Phipps, a neurologist) and how Cognitive Design is playing a role in research and development pertaining to this industry.

Finally, the event turned into a Q&A session with members of the audience. We were delighted to see such enthusiasm from the crowd, with so many interesting questions and comments regarding Cognitive Design.

All in all, this was a productive and engaging experience for everyone involved. We at CityMouse Inc. are immensely grateful to the organizers of SXSW for bringing us on board and allowing us to present our ideas and innovations on this topic. We hope very much that this presentation furthered the issue for everyone.

Next up is SX itself. The show takes place from March 11th to the 20th, coming out of Austin, Texas. We will be proudly speaking on the subject of Cognitive Design, placing a spotlight on the benefits of designing with full accessibility for all users.

Please stay connected to CityMouse for more updates on this exciting development. Follow us on Facebook so you don’t miss any details!

A Call for Entrepreneurship Programs in New York City

Introduction:
This is a guest blog entry from John Kirkwood. USBLN® Certified Disability Owned Business Enterprise DOBE® owner – John Kirkwood, is president of CityMouse, inc. [USBLN® Certified

Disability Owned Business Enterprise DOBE®] which provides universal internet strategy, design, development and marketing services. He is a highly experienced public relations and Internet technology professional with a portfolio that includes the development of the first Official Website of the City of New York. Having become disabled in 2006 from a brain aneurism, he has focused his skills on equal access of Internet media for people of all abilities. His company’s mission has evolved to focus on responsive and responsible design and service delivery for all devices and all people. As an advocate for those with cognitive disabilities he takes a particular interest in the benefits of neurodiversity and universal design in Internet communications.

Importance of Entrepreneurship Programs
Entrepreneurship programs for people with disabilities (PWD) are critically important because they serve to enable this greatly underemployed community to achieve their true potential. These programs capitalize on the disability community’s unique entrepreneurial nature to create a vibrant business community. Organizations like the United States Business Leadership Network, provides access, support and incentives for contracting with certified disabled-owned businesses.

Entrepreneurship in NYS & NYC
Regarding entrepreneurship in New York, there are government services by NYSED.gov –ACCES-VR that focus on disability employment, and provide “self-employment” assistance. Also, the New York State’s Empire State Development has an Entrepreneurship Assistance Program, at various locations in NYC, providing instruction, training, technical assistance and support services to individuals who are starting, or recently started, their own businesses.

In addition to government services, the business community is embracing entrepreneurship through specifically including disability-owned businesses in their supplier diversity efforts as they have with women-owned and minority-owned businesses.
For example, theUSBLN Disability Owned Business Program certifies disabled-owned businesses and promotes the inclusion of certified disabled-owned businesses into corporate supply chains.
New York City does have an aggressive program to support small businesses through the The Dept of Small Business Services (SBS). SBS makes it easier for businesses in New York City to form, do business, and grow by providing direct assistance to business owners, fostering neighborhood development in commercial districts and linking employers to a skilled and qualified workforce.
NYC Business Solutions is a suite of services that SBS provides to help businesses start, operate and expand in New York City.
There is a program to assist Minority and Women Owned Businesses, resulting from a law to provide incentives to MWBEs. Specifically, Local Law 129 which “amends the charter and the administrative code of the City of New York to increase opportunities for minority and women-owned business enterprises in City procurement”. This Law was enacted 2005 and is administered by SBS and the NYC Mayors Office of Contract Services.
At this time the City of New York inclusiveness programs do not specifically recognize disabled-owned businesses and disabled-owned businesses are not tracked or quantified in the MWBE compliance report that the City issues every three months. With awareness and support we are hoping to change that. One of our goals is to get Local Law 129 extended to cover disabled owned businesses and to get their numbers quantified and tracked in the compliance report that SBS and the Mayor’s Office of Contract Services. NYC currently is providing multiple avenues to entrepreneurship but at this time the MWBE program services are not inclusive of people with disabilities. A Burton Blatt Institute Report prepared in 2010 recommended to NYS that MWBE preferences be extended to disabled owned businesses but that recommendation was not enacted in Law. Disability-owned business recognition would allow access to resources and financing opportunities and would allow persons with disabilities to compete in the New York market place.

Conclusion
I feel entrepreneurship programs are a critical path for the underemployed disability community to succeed in business. Not only could this lead to improved rehabilitation and vocational service goals but a healthier disability community within a more accepting and diverse business environment for all. Currently NYC is recognizing the need for programs to help the diverse communities and with your assistance we can level the playing field for those with disabilities in business.

– See more at: http://www.ourability.com/importance-entrepreneurship-programs/#sthash.6Cgqinbh.dpuf

The entire conference kicks off on September 26th until October 1st. We hope to see you there!

What is it?

Responsive Plus+ is one of many facets to the CityMouse experience. Its focus is to provide full accessibility and ease of navigation to the internet. Sites that display the Responsive+ logo are supporting the need to prioritize Universal Digital Design principles while meeting Web Content Accessibility standards for mobile and desktop devices for an effective inclusive internet user experience.

Who is it for?

There is a large and growing community of users and customers who value interfaces and experiences that demand no special training or aptitude – that are intuitive and simple. Baby Boomers, veterans, people with disabilities, and young adults with ADHD, are just a few of the diverse groups that are continually frustrated by the ‘intuitive’ interfaces and experiences that are currently offered.
Bells and whistles too often substitute for editorial focus, logic and flow. Advertisement revenue and fear of screenwhite space too often contribute to cognitive overload and viewer fatigue.

Best practices and design standards are a start, but to reach people’s hearts and minds organizations can take advantage of a deeper understanding of the nature of user satisfaction that ResponsivePlus has garnered from years of first hand experience, and boots on the ground immersion.

A New Focus
Currently, users and customers may be forgiven for thinking that they are at the bottom of the list of things that developers consider when those developers start designing online experiences. It seems that developers are only now beginning to take into account the cognitive, emotional, and functional responses that users and customers with diverse abilities have to their designs.

Even though some of the current best practices, standards, or recommendations seem obvious, it is our contention that a concerted nationwide effort is required in order to satisfy the practical and visceral needs of the vast array of our users and customers.

Frustration is an impediment to customer loyalty, and is therefore anathema to profits. In a sense, removing hurdles will open the gates to increased profits. Frustration, confusion, and dissatisfaction, in the mind of both producers and consumers, are all hurdles on the path to satisfying and long-term relationships between these two interdependent parties.

Why Use It?

The principles of Cognitive Design (CD) allow us to see that the potential market of customers that would benefit from clear, concise, “natural” design rules is not limited to a specific subset of people, for example, people with certain cognitive disabilities. CD addresses how the mind works in general, how it grasps knowledge, and since we all rely on cognition to navigate our environment, and (although we might not think of it often) we all have requirements and preferences when it comes to interacting with that environment, we are all part of the market that can be catered to and ingratiated by means of compelling cognitive design.

* VOTING HAS ENDED *

We would like to thank everyone for their assistance in helping to get CityMouse to SXSW! We don’t yet have

What a weekend! CityMouse was so honored to be a part of the first annual NYC Disabilities Pride Parade. The day began with a great crowd forming at Madison Square Park. From all the various organizations to the NYC Disability Commissioner’s office itself to all the general supporters, flag wavers, and marching bands, it was an amazing day.

Thanks to everyone who cheered us on and supported the cause. It was beautiful and humbling to meet so many of you and hear such positive feedback about CityMouse and improvements in the lives of so many strong individuals.

Most importantly, CityMouse would just like to express our pride and admiration for all the wonderful people who marched along with us on Sunday. You are all a true inspiration.

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