Government meetings in Huntington will be shown with closed-captions on government access television and the town’s website.
Councilwoman Joan Cergol said real-time captioning will be available for Town Board, Planning Board and Zoning Board Appeals meetings
“This is an important expansion of both the Town’s transparency of. government actions and its ability to better serve the disabled community,” said Cergol, whose initiative in early 2018 first began live-streaming of the meetings.
“As a member of the Huntington’s Citizens Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities, I want to thank Councilwoman Joan Cergol and her staff for meeting with us and quickly acting on the committee’s suggestion to add closed captioning to town meeting videos,” said committee member Len Urban. “People like myself with a hearing loss depend on closed captioning to enjoy television, movies and also to keep informed. We can now follow the comments, conversations and debates at Town Hall easily at home without the frustrations of not hearing clearly.”
After a search of closed-captioning systems around the country, Cergol’s office found that a device manufactured in Farmingdale fit the accuracy and real-time requirements. The equipment was purchased using franchise fees paid to the Town by Altice and Verizon.
The meetings can be viewed on the Town’s government access channels, Optimum Channel 18 and FiOS Channel 38, or on the Town’s website at www.huntingtonny.gov/meetings