I have recently lost my hearing. Is there any way that I can use a telephone?
Yes. There are devices known as Text Teletypewriters (TTY’s), that are small portable units consisting of a keyboard and an LED print-out screen which can be used with any standard telephone by hooking the handset onto an acoustic coupler. The deaf person types the message onto the keyboard to a person with a similar machine, who receives it. For those who do not have a TTY, there is a statewide relay service that can be reached by dialing 711. Contacting the relay service then allows a deaf person to call anyone, and the message is relayed back and forth through the relay operator, who speaks to the hearing person and then types the message back to the deaf person’s TTY. Persons in Suffolk County can go to their local public library and borrow a TTY to see how it works before they decide to order one. Verizon customers may be eligible for a free one through their telephone company. For information, call the number for the disabled services on your telephone bill.
As a disabled person, do I get any discounts at Suffolk County Parks?
As a resident of Suffolk County, if your physician certifies you as disabled on an application form for a Suffolk County ID card for the disabled, the answer is yes. With this ID card, you then go to the Suffolk County Parks Department and you can get a “Green Key” card at a reduced rate. Then with both of these cards, you are entitled to free, Monday through Thursday admission at Suffolk County Parks, as well as reduced fees on some activities for which there is a charge. For information, call the Suffolk County Office for People with Disabilities at (631) 853-8333 (voice) or 853-5658 (TTY), or Suffolk County Department of Parks, Recreation & Conservation at (631) 854-4956.
Can I park at metered parking spaces without putting coins into the meters, providing I display my New York State Handicapped Parking Permit?
Some towns and villages, such as the Town of Huntington, have adopted local laws that allow the individual, to whom the state parking permit or handicapped license plate has been issued, to park at metered spaces without depositing money into parking meters. This varies by jurisdiction and it is up to each municipality to decide whether or not such a privilege would be granted in their own jurisdiction. For example, in Huntington Town, this local town law does not apply to areas within the four incorporated villages i.e., Asharoken, Huntington Bay, Lloyd Harbor, and Northport. Of course, in the rest of the town, these rules only apply when the disabled person to whom the permit or license plate was issued is being transported. It is best to check with the municipality in question before you attempt to park in a metered space without putting money into the parking meter.