LEGISLATIVE RESOLUTION commemorating the 25th Anniversary of New York
Relay

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body to recognize that the
quality and character of life in the communities across New York State
are reflective of the concerned and dedicated efforts of those organiza-
tions and individuals who would devote themselves to the welfare of the
community and its citizens; and
WHEREAS, Attendant to such concern, and in full accord with its long-
standing traditions, this Legislative Body is justly proud to commem-
orate the 25th Anniversary of New York Relay; and
WHEREAS, Established in 1989, New York Relay service provides service
to facilitate communications between thousands of New York's deaf, hard
of hearing, speech disabled and hearing disabled citizens; and
WHEREAS, New York Relay was the second statewide relay service estab-
lished in the country that provides real time translation service using
specially trained Communications Assistants between callers using TTY's
and hearing callers using standard telephones 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week without charge to callers; and
WHEREAS, New York's regulated telecommunications carriers and their
customers have funded the service during the past 25 years in order to
provide this valuable service in New York and affording deaf, hard of
hearing, and speech disabled callers equal access to the telecommuni-
cations network; and
WHEREAS, New York Relay has facilitated millions of calls over the
past 25 years and has grown to provide increasingly advanced services
such as 711 dialing access to relay services, including speech to speech
service for speech disabled individuals, Voice Carry-Over service, Hear-
ing Carry-Over service, and Captioned Telephone service; and
WHEREAS, The New York Relay Service Advisory Board, composed of indi-
viduals from the deaf, hard of hearing community, the telecommunications
industry, the New York Department of Public Service, the Targeted Acces-
sibility Fund and the New York State Telecommunications Association has
provided leadership and guidance for New York Relay during the past 25
years; and
WHEREAS, New York Auxiliary Relay service has provided outreach and
education and assisted thousands of New Yorkers with training on the use
of New York Relay service; and
WHEREAS, New York Relay was originally provided from the New York
Relay center in Clifton Park, New York, under contract with AT&T from
1989 until 1997 and has been provided since 1997 in Syracuse, New York,
under contract with Sprint Communications; and
WHEREAS, The efforts of hundreds of specially trained Communications
Assistants have enriched the lives of millions of New Yorkers though
their dedication to providing high quality, discrete assistance to the
personal communications of users; and
WHEREAS, It is the custom of this Legislative Body that those who
enhance the well-being and vitality of their community and have shown a
long and sustained commitment to excellence certainly have earned the
recognition and applause of all the citizens of this great Empire State;
now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
commemorate the 25th Anniversary of New York Relay; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be tran-
smitted to the New York Relay Service Center, Syracuse, New York.