In the Spring of 2005, The CogniTech Cafe became the first, and only, fully accessible Internet cafe in the City of New York. The creator of this Cafe was Mark Surabian, an assistive technology consultant, who wanted to build an inclusive community space for the individuals he served who had disabilities. During the Summer of 2006 Mark invited his 12 year old nephew, Gustavo Toral, to intern at the Cafe and assist customers. He was a natural.
The Cafe was funded by sales of food, Internet use, and educational and assistive technology products. This fully accessible internet cafe welcomed over 150 walk-in customers a day, and directly served over 100 customers with disabilities with free assistive technology support. Located on Broadway in Harlem, it soon became an inclusive haven for an incredibly diverse community of patrons of all ages.
After one and half years, the actual Cafe unfortunately had to close its doors due to unfair alterations to their lease. Wanting to keep the "mission" alive to serve individuals with disabilities for free, The CogniTech Cafe and the Marlene Meyerson JCC of Manhattan united on a grant-funded project to create a free assistive technology clinic, called "ATHelp" which has since served the needs of over 6000 people for free over the years. (NOTE: Mark still runs the free online A.T. clinic two days a week while he teaches at local universities and privately consults on the side. Anyone of any age needing free support/advice on communication, vision, physical access, or learning tools for themselves or others can contact him at ATHelp@me.com and he will work with you virtually, or when essential, in person.)
Back to our story. 20 years later, after traveling the world honing his skills as a teacher, Gustavo returned to the commercial side of the assistive technology field, promoting and training professionals in the use of products for learning, communication, and sensory supports. In 2025 Mark and Gustavo decided to unite once again and reboot the second mission of the original CogniTech Cafe, by selling and promoting the A.T. and Ed Tech products together. This new iteration, Access Point A.T., has the same goals as the original—to provide free advice to anyone who is experiencing access challenges in their daily lives, while funding such support through the sales of technology.