City's priorities for Phar-Mor improvements are misplaced

City's priorities for Phar-Mor improvements are misplaced
EDITOR:
I'm addressing the Phar-Mor Building (or whatever they've decided to call it now) and its deplorable state relative to accessibility issues.
I use a power wheelchair (I have a type of muscular dystrophy) and work in this building for the Mahoning County Alcohol & amp; Drug Addiction Services Board. I complained about the accessibility problems when the building was owned by the Strouss Building Associates. I complained about the accessibility problems when the building was first purchased by the city of Youngstown under then Mayor George McKelvey. I'm still complaining about the accessibility issues to the city of Youngstown under Mayor Jay Williams. And I'll probably still be complaining about accessibility issues to the city of Youngstown under future administrations.
The straw that finally broke this camel's back came the morning of June 26 when I arrived for work and discovered that a huge trash container was blocking the sidewalk at the corner of Phelps and Commerce streets.
It seems it was placed there over the weekend due to some repairs being effected on a portion of the roof there so the workers wouldn't have had so far to go to dispose of waste materials. The only problem is that it blocked the entire sidewalk that I had to use to get into the only set of doors that I can use to get into the building (generally a security guard sits there and opens the doors for me; otherwise I must rely on the kindness of passers-by in all sorts of weather). So now I'm forced to motor down the middle of Commerce Street, avoiding the cars and trucks, the drivers of which are not concerned with pedestrians. Care to make a bet as to whether the roofing company even bothered to get any sort of a permit to block this sidewalk?
Let me give you a few examples of the problems that are in store for anyone who comes into this building in a wheelchair. There are no accessible restrooms. There are no accessible drinking fountains. There are no wheelchair accessible entrances to the building (the Commerce Street entrance requires both doors to be open because I cannot fit through a single door; no entrance has automatic door openers; no entrance doors are set at the door opening force level mandated by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The buttons on the elevators cannot be easily reached by anyone in a wheelchair. The elevators are often misaligned with the floor stops so that there is as much as 6 to 8 inches difference, making it impossible to get on or off. And scariest of all, there is no plan for any disabled person to escape from the building in the event of an emergency.
I have been deliberately lied to when it came down to the progress (or lack thereof) of minimal modifications for this building.
The city of Youngstown and its officials in the Public Works, Economic Development, Planning and Law departments all are involved in the state of apartheid that exists against he handicapped in this city. Of course we can get quickly and easily installed a fancy chandelier and other lighting in the common areas of the building. But when I ask to be able to use the restroom I'm told that we have to study it some, get some bids out, and then , if we can find the money, maybe we'll be able to do something sometime in the future.
Shame on all of you. Spend a day in a wheelchair; I'll even pay for the rentals. But of course you all would have to have a study conducted first.
GEORGE BERNARD SOFRANKO Jr.
Canfield