![]() So are his beloved PowerPoint slides during the coronavirus crisis. Nanette Harmon, Niagara University's coordinator of ASL and deaf studies, has helped lead efforts to try to convince Cuomo to add an interpreter. New York state - and particularly the New York City area - has become the epicenter of the nation's coronavirus outbreak, with more than half the nation's total confirmed cases found in the Empire State.Ĭuomo's daily briefings have garnered him the largest audiences of his career, with hundreds of thousands of people watching on his social media accounts and website and many more watching on cable news stations. More: Andrew Cuomo: Apex of coronavirus outbreak in NY two or three weeks away New York is U.S. I do remind people that there is closed captioning available." "We’re looking at the logistics of how we would make it happen, such as whether we would bring someone on staff. “It’s something we’re looking at," he said. Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's senior adviser and spokesman, said the governor's office is looking into adding an interpreter. New York is one of just three states without an ASL interpreter at its recent coronavirus news conferences, according to a tally kept by David Wantuck, a community engagement specialist for Deaf Access Services, a Buffalo-based nonprofit.Ĭuomo's briefings do offer closed-captioning service, both on the governor's website and on the various broadcast and cable-news networks that have carried them live each day.īut advocates for the deaf say that's insufficient: The closed captioning is often inaccurate, and ASL is the primary language for many who are hard of hearing. Andrew Cuomo is facing increasing pressure from the deaf community to add an American Sign Language interpreter to his daily coronavirus briefings, which have garnered a huge viewership across the state and nation.Īdvocates for the deaf and hard of hearing have sent emails and letters to the Democratic governor in recent days, urging him to have a qualified ASL interpreter within view during each of his public broadcasts. Watch Video: Cuomo on White House response: 'We're working on a common challenge'ĪLBANY – Gov. ![]()
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