Everyone knows about New York City! The Big Apple, home to the Statue of Liberty, Broadway, and movie theaters that are so important to the industry that if studios can’t release in New York City, they will hold back movies from being released.

Now, New York City has a bill – known as an ordinance in a city – for open captions in movie theaters! This is HUGE, and if it passes, it will impact everyone in the United States and internationally too because New York City is a primary tourist destination for both Americans and international visitors.

What is New York City’s ordinance? It is ordinance number Int 2020-2020.  What does it do?

·      Theaters with more than 2 screens and more than 10 screenings/week would have to provide open captions for at least 50% of the screenings of each movie/week.

·      At least half of those would have to be during "prime time" hours: between 6 and 11 pm Fridays, between 12 pm and 11 pm on Saturdays and Sundays.

·      Non-prime time screenings would be between 6 and 11 pm from Monday to Thursday.

The New York City council members need to hear from YOU so this bill (ordinance) can pass.

·      If you live in New York City: go to https://council.nyc.gov/districts/ to find your council member(s) and email them

·      If you do not live in New York: call or email Speaker Corey Johnson at: 212-788-7210 or 212-564-7757 or e-mail: SpeakerJohnson@council.nyc.gov

This would benefit:

Deaf and hard of hearing* autism*auditory processing disorder* down syndrome* attention deficit disorder*down syndrome*attention deficit disorder*learning disabilities*veterans*Meniere’s disease*dyslexia*parents whose kids are learning to read*adults learning English*people with sensitivity to noise*people with challenges understanding actors’ accents or mumbling