Advocates urge Andrew Cuomo to add sign-language interpreter to coronavirus briefings

ALBANY – Gov. 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.

Advocates 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.

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.

Cuomo'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.

But 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.

Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo's senior adviser and spokesman, said the governor's office is looking into adding an interpreter.

“It’s something we’re looking at," he said. "We’re looking at the logistics of how we would make it happen, such as whether we would bring someone on staff. I do remind people that there is closed captioning available."

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New York is U.S. coronavirus epicenter

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.

Cuomo'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.

Nanette Harmon, Niagara University's coordinator of ASL and deaf studies, has helped lead efforts to try to convince Cuomo to add an interpreter. 

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In a letter to sent to various state agencies, Harmon noted many deaf students learn to read English as a second language, after ASL.

She noted closed captioning is historically inaccurate for live broadcasts. Often, the text scrolls too quickly to read, she wrote in her letter.

"People who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing are being denied equal communication access in their first language, American Sign Language, during all press conferences and announcements given by Governor Andrew Cuomo," Harmon wrote. 

"As a result, thousands of New Yorkers are not receiving the critical information needed to keep themselves safe and healthy, and as a consequence, put the entire community in danger."

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White House doesn't use ASL interpreter, either

The lack of an ASL interpreter is not just an issue in Albany.

Each day at the White House, President Donald Trump and the White House coronavirus task force have held public briefings without an interpreter, too.

The National Council on Disability and the National Association of the Deaf have both written to White House officials, urging them to consider adding an on-screen interpreter.

In a March 18 letter to White House Communications Director Stephanie Grisham, Council Chairman Neil Romano formally requested sign language be displayed during the nationally televised briefings.

"Millions of people in the U.S. who are Deaf or hard of hearing use American Sign Language to obtain the vital information the Taskforce provides," Romano wrote.

More:Coronavirus in New York: Check our interactive map of cases by county

Jon Campbell is a New York state government reporter for the USA TODAY Network. He can be reached at JCAMPBELL1@Gannett.com or on Twitter at @JonCampbellGAN.

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