From a symposium in the majestic Appellate Courthouse in Manhattan, to our fabulous Power List of Queens event, to a concert at Columbia University, it was a powerful week.
As people who read my column know, my firstborn daughter, after five years of marriage, was to be the seminal moment of my life. But sadly, after a 24-hour labor and a cesarean birth, within an hour of my Lara being born, she turned blue in the nursery and suffered irreparable brain damage.
Life changed for me forever!
Lara’s birth led me to become an advocate for children like her who need our help. With hopes for her future, we brought Lara to an infant rehab rehabilitation center on the grounds of Willowbrook in Staten Island. Sadly, within a year, the staff at the center and her caretakers were fired and there were not enough hands to take care of the 5,400 people who lived there — all with special needs.
Shortly after Lara arrived there, my wonderful friends and I formed what is now Life’s WORC to raise money and volunteer for the children and adults living there. With the budget cuts, we became marchers and picketers and demanded the return of the funding.
Geraldo Rivera, a cub reporter for ABC Eyewitness News at the time, snuck in and passionately reported the horrendous conditions for the people living at Willowbrook.
My husband, Murray Schneps, was a lawyer and believed the 375-acre site with dozens of brick buildings could never be fixed and that it must be closed forever!
So, with the help of the New York Civil Liberties Union, we filed a federal class action lawsuit to close Willowbrook. We were successful and Willowbrook today is the College of Staten Island, and group homes replaced the institutional care.
Last week, the Supreme Court of the State of New York Appellate Division’s First Department — led by Justice Dianne Renwick — and the Historical Society of the New York Courts held a symposium, 50 years later, remembering Willowbrook and the Willowbrook Consent Decree that changed forever how people with special needs are given services.
The program reminded us how it ensured justice, dignity and inclusion for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A powerful panel of family members and professionals from the field shared their memories and the impact of the consent decree.
My son Josh and I spoke about our passion and perseverance to see the consent decree signed by Gov. Hugh Carey come to life.
I met, for the first time, Beth Haroules, the director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, whose group originally filed the lawsuit. It is still protecting the rights of the people in the suit all these years later.
It was so impactful to hear from Haroules, Henry Kennedy, a parent and attorney, Leonard Simmons, an attorney overseeing today the original clients still living, as well as Jose Rivera, whose brother lived at Willowbrook, and Marco Damiani, CEO of AHRC New York City, the largest provider of services to people in the class in New York State.
Along with Josh and I, we all reminded everyone that the “Willowbrook Wars” are not over and that services for our special needs boys, girls, men and women still must be fought for.
I’m so grateful to Justice Renwick and her Chief of Staff Lauren Kanfer, who initiated the powerful evening in her majestic courthouse, which first opened in 1900 on Madison Avenue.
What a night it was!
Later in the week, I made my way to Columbia University’s St. Paul’s Chapel for a concert by the flute soloist Nikka Gershman.
The campus off Amsterdam Avenue was alive with people coming and going peacefully and quietly at 5 p.m.
My friend Zhenya Gershman had invited me to hear in the majestic chapel her daughter Nikka making magnificent music with her flute.
Nikka, only 17, is a prodigy who made magic with her powerful and stunning solo performance, accompanied by pianist Matteo Generani. To hear her perform is to be elevated to another world, and I was entranced listening to her brilliant performance!
To cap off the week, I made my way through Thursday’s rainstorm and flooded streets to Howard Beach’s popular Russo’s on the Bay to celebrate the people who were chosen for the honor of receiving the Power List of Queens award.
The packed ballroom recognized men and women who have achieved great success in their work. In Hollywood, winners get an Oscar, and at Schneps Media, we award them a “Vicki.”
Our honorees joyously made their way down the red carpet to receive their recognition from emcee Vanessa Freeman of Pix 11.
What a night it was to see old friends and make new ones!
And what a powerful week it was!
