About Us:

We believe that full integration can only be accomplished by demanding ADA compliance and work with our colleagues and representatives in public office to effect positive change. In the political arena and in society at large, all must come to understand that anything less than an equal place at the table for disabled people is unacceptable.

Our History:

The 504 Democratic Club was founded in 1983 by disability rights activists in the New York City metropolitan area. We were the first political club in the country focusing on the issues of concern to the community of people with disabilities. We remain the only citywide political club dedicated to the civil rights of people with disabilities.

Our name comes from “Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” the first piece of legislation that mandates civil rights to our community. It said that people with disabilities cannot be subjected to discrimination in any federally funded program. Until that point, laws for disabled people focused on medical treatment and rehabilitation services. Section 504 guaranteed civil rights almost 2 decades before the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Our Mission: