On February 16, 2008, as Scotty was leaving a late night session at his Brooklyn studio, a stolen car broadsided the taxi he was traveling in, paralyzing him below the chest. After complicated spinal reconstruction surgery and seven-months of hospitalization, Scotty, remarkably, returned to the music world ten months later by mixing the Red Hot and Rio shows at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Opera House.
Now back in the studio, Scotty is working steadily on music part time in his specially constructed facility in Brooklyn, and is living nearby in an ADA wheelchair compliant public housing facility. While his main focus has been on rehabilitation and physical therapy, which takes him to NYU's Rusk Institute three days a week, Scotty?s keen insight and motivation as a creative artist remain as strong as ever.
The Scotty Hard Trust allows people to donate money to Scotty without disqualifying him from the limited social benefits he receives. Created by close friends, it helps provide Scotty with immediate and long-term financial support. Monies donated to the Trust recently paid for Scotty's new, super-light wheelchair, which has improved his comfort and mobility immeasurably. Past and ongoing fundraising efforts have included benefit concerts, dinners, art auctions, t-shirts, and records, all of which have managed to raise needed funds. The Scotty Hard Trust is open to all suggestions and donations. Please join us now and help out in any way that you can.
