At first, Burlington wouldn’t let wheelchair-bound man fit his home for accessibility
By Michael Bielawski
One of the victims of a triple shooting that occurred last year during the height of tensions during the Israeli/Palestinian conflict in the Middle East had to deal with a rejection – at least initially – by the city for handicapped access modifications for his home.
A story appearing on Reddit from June 13 talks about the Burlington Development Review Board’s meeting for May 7. It states that one of the topics “was the Department of Permitting and Inspections denying a setback variance that would allow Hisham Awartani [the shooting victim] to temporarily install a wheelpad, modular handicap accessible bedroom and bathroom unit and ramp on the side of his home.”
Awartani was one of three shooting victims from the highly publicized triple shooting occurring last fall. He was paralyzed from his injuries.
In the comments section on the story, it is clarified that “this was overturned on May 9th … the owner did speak about getting approved at the Ward 1 NPA.” The minutes do indicate that the denial was ultimately overtuned.
The notion of administrative and bureaucratic hurdles slowing down or prohibiting access to needed infrastructure changes for a handicapped person is not a new notion in America.
According to an American Progress report, “For disabled people in America, barriers to critical, lifesaving safety net programs are too often a part of everyday life. These barriers, known as ‘administrative burdens,’ are roughly defined as any challenge that makes it difficult for someone to access or maintain assistance for which they otherwise qualify.2 Administrative burdens cause real, lasting harm to huge swaths of disabled Americans, making it difficult for them to navigate a system that is supposed to help them cover basic necessities such as food, housing, and medical treatments.”
Public is upset
Folks in the community were not impressed that the local and high profile victim had to push through these hurdles.
“Burlington loves to talk about how inclusive it is, but ignore all the issues it creates for the disabled community,” wrote PronglesDude on Reddit in response to the news.
Another, TrashMoneyXYZ, seems convinced that the Queen City in general is failing handicapped people. He wrote in the same comments section that, “Of people in wheelchairs and mobility scooters driving in the street because the sidewalks are in such bad shape or too narrow and blocked off by people’s huge/large parked cars.
He continued that this forces handicapped people into more difficult situations. He wrote, “So they go into the roadways when there’s no bike lane to go into instead. I’ve also seen a couple people in wheelchairs get stuck in snow or ice patches because the paths aren’t properly maintained.”
Rocked the newswaves
The shooting in Burlington made international headlines during the Middle-East conflict which continues to fill headlines today.
NYMag covered the story when it broke. “Police in Burlington, Vermont, have arrested a suspect in the shooting of three Palestinian men on Saturday night, which state and federal authorities are investigating as a possible hate crime. All three victims are expected to survive, though one is seriously injured.”
Shooter may have been Palestinian supporter
There was contention over whether the shooter, who was found to be 48-year-old Jason Eaton, who lived just near where the shooting took place, in fact could be charged with a hate crime. It was eventually determined that he could not be. After examinations of his social media posts were looked at, it was eventually determined that Easton did not fit the profile to be charged with a hate crime.
According to a Seven Days report, Eaton may have been a Palestinian sympathizer, further eliminating the notion of it being a hate-crime as the victims were alleged to have been wearing clothing of Palestinian nature at the time of the shooting.
The story found at least one X post that outright expressed sympathy for the Palestinian cause. The report states that Eaton wrote, “the notion that Hamas is ‘evil’ for defending their state from occupation is absurd. They are owed a state. Pay up.”
The author is a writer for the Vermont Daily Chronicle