A point person to help New Yorkers with disabilities will soon be added to Gov. Kathy Hochul's administration. Advocates for the community call it a building block for the future. 

The chief disabilities officer is an official who will be overseeing policies affecting vulnerable New Yorkers across the state. Zach Garafalo, of the Center for Disability Rights, called the move a good first step. 

"Actually having peple with lived experience at the table sharing their stories, bringing other people's stories to the forefront, that's what so powerful and impactful about this," he said. 

Hochul recently signed into law a measure creating the position as advocates called on state officials to offer more comprehensive support for people with disabilities on issues like housing and employment. 

"That's where this office comes in to begin to coordinate systems and improve services so individuals and families get what they need," Garafalo said. 

States and cities around the country have created similar positions in recent years. 

"Those have all been very useful in basically centering the experience of people with disabilities and we hope that that is a model we can build upon to make sure our community is represented in state government," Garafalo said. 

But the measure initially proposed by state lawmakers was more expansive, and would have led to the creation of a disabilities advocate within state government. 

"This is more as reformulated more of a policy position to make sure people with disabilities are adequately served by state agencies," said state Assemblyman Phil Steck. 

As envisioned by lawmakers, the disabilities advocate would have served as a clearinghouse for linking peple with disabilities to state services and programs. And Steck says he hopes this official in the governor's office will lead to more action and legislation in the future. 

"I think it's going to help in the policy area, but I think there still is a need for a place where people with disabilities can go to find information about what's available to help them," Steck said.