Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Philadelphia mother denied accessible parking permit for disabled daughter for 7 years

From NBC Philadelphia:

For years, Nil Sok has applied for a handicapped parking space for her daughter living with disabilities. Each time the South Philly mother's request was denied.

Salina Sok is legally blind, confined to a wheelchair and suffers from multiple seizures per day. The 12-year-old girl resides on Mifflin Street, a busy South Philadelphia road that doesn't guarantee parking.

With Salina requiring constant care, Nil has repeatedly applied for a handicapped space in front of their house with the Philadelphia Parking Authority so she can quickly transport her daughter to and from the car.

The PPA has denied Sok on the grounds that her neighbors have not consented to the space.

The authority requires an applicant's home to be 20-feet-wide to obtain a space without at least one immediate neighbor's consent, but Salina and Nil's home is only 18-foot-wide according to the Daily News.

Salina's mother has filed a lawsuit with the PPA on the grounds that they do not have the right to deny her request based only on neighbor consent. Sok is asking for a judge to grant her the parking space so she can easily move her daughter to and from the car for Salina's frequent doctor's appointments.

Both the neighbor that has refused consent and the PPA declined to comment to NBCPhiladelphia.com Jan. 21.