Unfair to Disabled

To the Editor:

I'm hoping that you will publish this letter so that I may reach other former New York City Transit Authority employees who find themselves in the same situation as I am.

I called the New York City Employees' Retirement System today looking to see when I would receive my 25/55 pension refund information package. To my utter disgust, anger and frustration, I was told that due to a 2003 cut-off date in Bill A6586, I was not entitled to a refund. I was further informed that there are no provisions in Bill A6586 to include NYCTA employees who had contributed to the pension system, but were retired with a line-of-duty injury to be reimbursed their over-payments.

I retired from the NYCTA on a disability retirement pension in June 2003. How in this day and age of Aquarius and political correctness can it be acceptable to dismiss a whole group of disabled former employees? How can this newly elected Governor see fit to discard all of the former NYCTA employees whose only misfortune was to be injured in the line of duty? How can we be treated as less than that of our former co-workers because we are disabled?

The only difference between us and our fellow ex-coworkers is that they MIGHT be lucky enough to finish their careers uninjured. Why, since we paid the same pension contributions as did everyone else who is getting a refund, should we be denied a refund because we are no longer active employees? If we did not suffer a service-connected injury, we would all still be active employees.

Bill A6586 authorizes the refund of overpayment of pension payments to all active employees. All former NYCTA employees who have retired after suffering a line-of-duty injury should be entitled to the same pension refund as are our working brothers and sisters.

I am asking that all former and current NYCTA employees contact Assemblyman Peter J. Abbate, Governor Spitzer, and all of the elected officials who voted for this bill for some form of explanation. How can we accept or tolerate this form of state-sponsored discrimination against the disabled?

GERARD KAMMERER, Retired Train Operator