Sasha ' s journey to finding his activist voice
By Saada Branker
When talking about ensuring accessibility in public spaces for all people living with disabilities , Sasha Blair-Goldensohn admits there are some people who ’ ll initially push back on the idea . They won ’ t get it . He says we have to therefore keep reframing our arguments . Why ? “ You ’ re helping your future self ,” he remarks , adding , “ Because we ’ re all vulnerable , and some , well , temporarily nondisabled .” Sasha ’ s insight comes from a personal place that ’ s been transforming him into an activist .
Living in New York City , Sasha studied computer science at Columbia University , focusing on language technology . It was a specialization that centered on how computers make code and Algorithms to understand human language and the opinions being expressed in text . That focus would prove useful in the years to come as part of a global movement relying on user-review systems to increase accessibility for all people .
But in the summer of 2005 Sasha interned at Google not really thinking about disability . It wasn ’ t a central part of his life . The next year , he earned his PhD and landed a position at Google as a general software engineer . There , he was able to apply the same natural language techniques he explored in his graduate studies to help people search for reviews and process what the reviews were saying . He had a small team . The work was interesting and fun . Then came an unforeseen turn of events . In the summer of 2009 ,
Sasha suffered a life-altering accident when a tree branch fell on him in Central Park , causing a spinal cord injury and wheelchair dependency .
As he faced his new reality , another turn . Navigating New York City ' s subway system as a wheelchair user exposed Sasha to its shortcomings in accessibility . Soon he was blending in with the multitude of commuters with disabilities who felt the full impact of elevator outages at transit stations — frequent service disruptions that left them stranded . As many as 25 elevators would be out of service daily in New York City ’ s famous subway system ; put out of service with little or no effective notice or guidance from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority ( MTA ).
Exterior of subway station ; elevator out of service
Elevator rescue with FDNY and NYPD in 2018 . People are helped out of Elevator 277
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