Department of Motor Vehicles in Bayonne, New Jersey... A Very Bad Place...

DMV NJ of Bayonne, NJ

1347 Kennedy Boulevard & Route 440

Family Dollar Plaza

Bayonne, NJ  07002

Discrimination because of Wheelchair.

At approximately 6:00 pm on April 26th, a Tuesday night, I arrived at the DMV in Bayonne, NJ.  I was in need of acquiring a Handicapped ID Card in place of my NJ Driver's License as I have become permanently disabled in the last four years.

Upon arriving at the location the man who was guarding the door at the front was heard making a disparaging remark about  my being in a wheelchair.  Then the person in front of us, who was there for an ID Card also, was allowed to enter.  When we told the man at the front that we were there for a Disabled ID Card, he was very rude and asked a lot of questions regarding a placard for the car which we explained we didn't need but were in need of an ID Card in place of my driver's license from the DMV.  He then told us they weren't doing ID Cards anymore, even though he had just admitted someone for an ID Card. 

He was extremely rude.  My husband asked for a supervisor and the man just stood there and said there were too many people and they couldn't get to me.  When we finally ended up turning to leave, a kind woman in line began telling the man he was rude and they should have made an exception for me.   The man then said he was going to get a supervisor for us but the lady pointed out that he clearly had no intention of getting a supervisor or he would have done it by now.  She said if you are going to get a supervisor then go and stop the gentleman from leaving, of course, the man at the front didn't do that since he had no intention of allowing us to entered due to my being in a wheelchair.

After we began to walk away, he was questioning our daughter, also there for an ID card and he was more than willing to allow her to enter until he realized she was with us.

This was blatant discrimination against someone with a disability.  I have not been able to get out of the house in more than two months because a car ride is so difficult on me.  We made this trip because it was important to have the ID Card even though it was painful on me to make the trip and the man would still not allow us to enter.

Since when does the New Jersey Department of Motor Vehicles discriminate so blatantly against someone in a wheelchair?!!!!   We will be following this up with the proper authorities but I would hesitate to bring someone with a disability to this location.

Shame on you DMV of Bayonne, NJ.


UPDATE:  After about three weeks, we received a call from the manager of the DMV at Bayonne, NJ who apologized for the situation and assured us the person responsible was reprimanded.  They offered to help us through the process if we returned.  We hope through our difficult situation this will never happen to another disabled person and a sensitivity lesson was learned.