County urged to advance initiative for those with disabilities

CATSKILL―More than 55 million Americans, or approximately 19% of the nation’s population, have a type of disability or special need. Marc Molinaro’s daughter, who lives on the autism spectrum, is one of them.

In 2015, while then serving as the Dutchess County executive, Molinaro founded ThinkDIFFERENTLY—a call to action for municipalities, businesses and communities to foster inclusion and break down barriers for those with intellectual, developmental, and physical disabilities.

The initiative has become a national model that has since been adopted by municipalities across New York and beyond, including Greene County.

Molinaro, a former congressman for the 19th Congressional District and the current Republican candidate for the 102nd Assembly District seat, has lived in Catskill for the last four years. He recently spoke to county legislators about how they could advance Greene County’s implementation of ThinkDIFFERENTLY.

“We treat those with disabilities―and have consistently―as second class citizens,” he said.

ThinkDIFFERENTLY was born out of the concept that counties, under New York State law, are responsible for the delivery of services for those with disabilities, Molinaro explained.

“You know, sometimes we refer to them as unfunded mandates, but it’s one of the things that counties actually do better than the state could ever do because we are closer to those that we are serving,” he said.

“The state created a system that is just so overwhelmingly complicated to navigate. No matter how good your social services department is, how good the ARC of the region is, it is still challenging to navigate,” he added. “And so, creating a more welcoming environment at the county level made sense.”

ThinkDifferently started as a way of changing how Dutchess County government delivered services to those with disabilities by establishing a single point of access website. It lets residents search and filter needed services and contains a calendar of upcoming events like job fairs, support groups, and activities accessible to all.

“But then we realized that it was much bigger than that. We had people coming forward telling us that we needed to do a heck of a lot more,” Molinaro said.

In one example, he explained, local officials used to assume their parks were welcoming to everyone simply because they installed new accessible playground equipment.

“Great? Where do they park? Over there on the gravel. Okay, how do they get from the gravel to the playground? Well, they go across this field. Oh, this field with no walkways? Yeah, that one,” Molinaro said.

“And then they go into the playground that is surrounding by two-by-fours,” he added.

So, Dutchess County’s planning department created a list of guidelines for park development.

“The very first time we used this we were in the Town of LaGrange… our planning department had the park director, town supervisor and a couple board members lay on the ground. Why did they do that? Because at the ground level you are seeing what children see and you are seeing what those in wheelchairs see,” Molinaro explained.

“As they looked up, they realized the platforms, the [Americans with Disabilities Act] accessible platforms, were too high,” he said.

“So, we started to create principals for the public works department, social services department, tourist destinations, municipalities, that they can then use,” he told county legislators.

“It’s not added cost because we have to meet these requirements anyway. It’s just smarter planning and implementation… and what we created was a more inclusive, more welcoming environment,” Molinaro said.

Greene County previously adopted the ThinkDIFFERENTLY principles in 2018, committing to a more inclusive, accessible, and responsive approach to serving individuals with disabilities and those facing mental health challenges.

Molinaro, who presented to legislators this month along with Dutchess County Deputy Commissioner and All Abilities Program Director Dana Hopkins, outlined actionable next steps that Greene County can take. He encouraged county lawmakers to establish a small working group or committee to brainstorm and come up with ideas.

“I can tell you about the family from Ohio that drove to Dutchess County, Rhinebeck, because their son had never been to a fair. They learned about the sensory sensitive day, Thursday. No lights and no sound on the midway. It’s actually beautiful.. it’s nice, it’s friendly and we actually have ambassadors throughout the fairgrounds helping people navigate,” Molinaro said.

Last month, Dutchess County hosted a complimentary, sensory-friendly screening of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” at Roosevelt Cinemas in Hyde Park.

They also have a Think Accessible Community Certification Program that invites businesses and municipalities to evaluate their accessibility practices, implement improvements and earn certification at the gold, silver, or bronze level based on established criteria.

“None of it is going to cost you much money and it’s going to open up a great, great number of opportunities for folks who struggle to be and feel included in the community,” Molinaro said.

Reaction from county lawmakers was supportive.

“The ThinkDIFFERENTLY principles are something we can all get behind for the benefit and inclusion of everyone in Greene County,” said Legislative Chairman Patrick Linger.

Majority Leader Legislator Matthew Luvera of Catskill added that the county has already shown leadership by embracing the initiative.

“We’ve made great progress over the years. This is about what comes next—turning that commitment into real, lasting outcomes for individuals and families,” Luvera said.

“Changing the ways we all think about our neighbors with disabilities only serves to strengthen our communities,” noted Minority Leader Harry Lennon.

“It’s a perfect opportunity to demonstrate our shared values,” Lennon said.