To the Editor:
Island Elderly Housing has put itself in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Massachusetts State fire code with the recent erection of a locked chain fence, leaving certain portions of its Woodside campus inaccessible by vehicle.
Among those impacted by this action are emergency vehicles and the handicapped seeking vehicular access to the Woodside Community Garden.
As the only person ever hauled out of the Woodside garden by ambulance, this development frightens me. Eight years ago the Oak Bluffs EMS showed up in record time, quickly pulled me out of the garden, loaded me into the ambulance, and away we went to M.V. Hospital, sirens blasting. Then on to Brigham by helicopter.
I shudder to think what would happen today, with a locked chain fence standing between an ambulance and the garden. Is Island Elderly Housing [IEH] not interested in protecting its tenants? Is it not interested in protecting itself from being sued by some overeager personal injury lawyer making the case that IEH has violated the fire code?
The Massachusetts fire code requires emergency access to all areas of the grounds of buildings such as IEH campuses. The code furthers requires that such access not be blocked, reduced, or interfered with. Sounds like a reason to lower the locked chain!
We have contacted the State Fire Marshal’s Office about these violations. They’ve asked to be kept informed. Should IEH be unable to clean up its own act, they’d be delighted to come to the Island. What civil servant wouldn’t like a paid trip to the Vineyard?
Access to the garden by handicapped individuals’ vehicles is a privilege enjoyed since the inception of the Woodside garden over a decade ago. Thus, it is an established precedent, and an expectation handicapped gardeners should by law continue to have fulfilled.
Aside from this recent blip, IEH is a superbly run organization and its buildings lovely, comfortable places to live.
Anne Sylvester
Oak Bluffs
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