In 2006, Adam Fairbanks, a regular fixture at our annual state convention, decided to enter the Business Enterprise Program (BEP), operated by the Board of Education and Services for the Blind (BESB). BESB currently has 47 vendors working in the BEP program, which takes advantage of the 1936 Randolph-Sheppard Act and allows blind vendors the first right of refusal to operate a concession facility on state, federal and some municipal properties. He went through the training program, and along with his father, Dr. Richard Fairbanks, and Ed Owens, head of the BEP division, began the search for a suitable site.

It seemed providential to find that there was an indoor concession facility at the train station in Old Greenwich, less than a mile from where the Fairbanks live. Upon investigation, it was discovered that a couple, Greg and Mary Maher, was operating in that facility. However, the couple, who live in Milford, had no contract, no lease, and were essentially squatters selling coffee, doughnuts and newspapers to the morning commuters. They were using city electricity and water, for free. After meeting with city officials, BESB decided it would make a suitable BEP location, and the Mahers were given two months to vacate. They weren't happy - after all, they were making fifty thousand, tax-free dollars per year at that site, in addition to income from Greg's full-time job. They decided to fight the legal-right of the blind in the press.

On December 20, 2006, The Greenwich Times and Stamford Advocate quoted Greenwich First Selectman Jim Lash as saying, "I think this is very unfair to these people who have given very good service for a long time." Lash continued, "What you just quoted to me is a beggar-thy-neighbor policy. It's a terrible public policy, particularly in this day and age."

Advocates for the blind disagreed. "This is not a new statute. It's been around for decades. Here we have a chance for a blind person to offer a real good service for commuters on the train," said Brian Sigman, executive director for BESB. "How can anyone say that people with disabilities in this day and age have acquired a level playing field with unemployment statistics as high as they are?"

On December 29th, The New York Times weighed in with an article titled, At A Railway Station, A Battle Over What's Fair. The article claimed commuters were outraged. "To me, it seems unconstitutional," Ralph DellaCamera, a hedge fund trader passing through the station about 6:30 a.m. was quoted. "That's not the capitalistic system."

"Preference is one thing when you award a contract for the first time," another ignorant commuter said, but taking it from an existing operator is "like telling someone who owns a house: 'Guess what? We have someone better for it.' "

When the AP News reported that the Mahers were organizing a protest on Mr. Fairbanks opening day, the Connecticut affiliate of the National Federation of the Blind contacted our National Center for their guidance and support. We dialogued with Brian Sigman of BESB and John Pare and Chris Danielson from Baltimore, and decided a counter-protest was called for. On Tuesday, January 16, Adam's first day on the job, Connecticut NFBers Betty and Bruce Woodward, Beth Rival, Chris Kuell, Carolyn Dodd, Rich 'Knuckles' McGaffin, June Rose and Jim Killian, and Joyce Kane gathered with Mr. Pare and Mr. Danielson from our National Center and several BESB managers for what was essentially a celebration, with excellent coffee, donuts and other morning pastries. At the eleventh hour, BESB was able to reach a deal with the Mahers in which they would cancel any protest and report to the press that they were supportive of the new venture, in exchange for two other, smaller train station sites which were deemed unsuitable for a blind vendor anyway.

In the end, diplomacy worked. One more blind person in Connecticut is making a living, while the Mahers remain happy operating at other sites. Perhaps the President of the United States could learn a lesson from the events at the Old Greenwich Train Station, but of course, that might require reading.

For more information, E-mail us at: info@nfbct.org