FISA-OPA Grievance Procedure for Members of the Public under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act and City Human Rights Laws in Access to City Service

This grievance procedure may be used by any member of the public who wishes to file a grievance alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs of benefits by FISA-OPA.

The grievance should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as the name, address, and telephone number of the grievant, as well as the location, date, and description of the complaint or alleged violation of the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, the New York State Human Rights Law or the New York City Human Rights Law.

Alternative means of filing grievances, such as in-person interviews or an audio recording of the grievance may be made, as needed, to persons with disabilities upon request.  The grievance should be submitted as soon as possible but no later than sixty (60) calendar days after the date of the alleged violation of the ADA, the Rehabilitation Act, the New York State Human Rights Law or the New York City Human Rights Law to:

Disability Services Facilitator
FISA-OPA
450 West 33rd Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10001
212-857-1160
dsf@fisa-opa.nyc.gov

Within thirty (30) calendar days after receipt of the grievance, the Disability Services Facilitator (DSF) will contact the grievant to discuss the grievance and any possible resolutions. Within fifteen (15) calendar days of the contact with the grievant, the DSF will respond, in writing or, where appropriate, in a format accessible to the grievant, such as large print, Braille or audio recording. This response will explain FISA-OPA’s position and offer options for substantive resolution of the grievance, where applicable.

The grievant or their designee may appeal the agency’s decision within fifteen (15) calendar days after receipt of the response by mail to:

Executive Director
FISA-OPA
450 West 33rd Street
New York, NY 10001

The grievant or their designee may also submit their appeal to the Executive Director by sending an email to: webmailopa@fisa-opa.nyc.gov.

The appeal should be submitted explaining the disagreement with the agency’s decision. Alternative means of filing an appeal, such as an in-person interview or an audio recording of the grievance may be made available for persons with disabilities upon request. FISA-OPA’s response to the appeal will be provided to the grievant within thirty (30) calendar days following receipt of the appeal in a format accessible to the grievant.

As required by Local Law 27, all written grievances, appeals and responses received in connection with a grievance made to FISA-OPA will be retained for at least three (3) years.

Additionally, disability complaints and questions can be made at other City, State and Federal agencies, including but not limited to the following:

NYC Commission on Human Rights
22 Reade Street
New York, NY 10272
(718) 722-3131
http://www1.nyc.gov/site/cchr/about/submit-a-tip.page

NYS Division of Human Rights
One Fordham Plaza, 4th Floor
Bronx, NY 10458
Telephone: (718) 741-8400
https://dhr.ny.gov/contact-us

U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section – 1425 NYAV
Washington, D.C. 20530
1-800-514-0301
https://www.ada.gov/filing complaint.htm

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
451 7th Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20410
1-800-669-9777
https://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/programoffices/fairhousingequlaopp/online-complaint