LawFuel.com – US Legal Newswire – LEV L. DASSIN, the Acting United States Attorney for
the Southern District of New York, announced today that the
United States has brought suit against the owners and operators
of five Theater District hotels – the MODERNE, the AMERITANIA,
the AMSTERDAM COURT, the HOTEL CARTER, and the RADIO CITY SUITES
– for violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
(“ADA”).
According to the Complaints filed in Manhattan federal
court:
Although the MODERNE (243 West 55th Street) was
designed and constructed after the ADA was passed, it suffers
from numerous violations of the ADA Standards for Accessible
Design. In particular, its main entrance, registration counter,
and public restroom are inaccessible for people with
disabilities. The Complaint seeks relief against Amsterdam
Hospitality LLC, DKE Realty Corporation, and Jennas LLC, as the
owners and operators of the MODERNE hotel.
The AMERITANIA (230 West 54th Street) also has numerous
violations of the ADA Standards for Accessible Design. In
particular, in violation of the ADA Standards, not one of the
AMERITANIA’s 219 rooms is accessible for people with
disabilities. Nor are its main entrance, registration counter,
and public restroom accessible for people with disabilities. The
Complaint seeks relief against Amsterdam Hospitality LLC, and
Brittania 54th Street Hotel Corporation, as the owners and
operators of the AMERITANIA hotel.
The AMSTERDAM COURT (226 West 50th Street) likewise
suffers from numerous violations of the ADA Standards. In
particular, its main entrance, registration counter, and public
restroom are also inaccessible for people with disabilities. The
Complaint seeks relief against Amsterdam Hospitality LLC, and Ali
Baba Hotel Corporation as the owners and operators of the
AMSTERDAM COURT hotel.
The HOTEL CARTER (250 West 43rd Street) also has
numerous violations of the ADA Standards. In particular, not one
of the HOTEL CARTER’s 614 rooms is accessible for people with
disabilities. In addition, its main entrance, registration
counter, and public restroom are also inaccessible for people
with disabilities. The Complaint seeks relief against Alphonse
Hotel Corporation as the owner and operator of the HOTEL CARTER.
Finally, RADIO CITY SUITES (142 West 49th Street), also
has numerous violations of the ADA Standards for Accessible
Design. In particular, not one of the RADIO CITY SUITES hotel’s
113 rooms is accessible for people with disabilities. In
addition, its main entrance and public restroom are also
inaccessible. The Complaint seeks relief against 49th Street
Hotel Corporation as the owner and operator of the RADIO CITY
SUITES hotel.
Each Complaint seeks a declaration that the hotel is in
violation of the ADA, an injunction requiring the owners and
operators of the hotels to remove all ADA violations, and civil
penalties, which by law may be as large as $55,000.
The United States Attorney’s Office commenced a
compliance review of approximately 50 Theater District hotels in
2005. As a result of that review, the United States Attorney’s
Office has entered into voluntary compliance agreements with 15
of those hotels, and is in the process of finalizing an
additional 29 agreements. The five hotels mentioned above are
the first to be sued in connection with that review.
“Our Office has worked for more than three years with
Theater District hotels to improve accessibility for persons with
disabilities, and numerous hotels have entered into voluntary
compliance agreements that have greatly expanded the number of
accessible rooms in New York’s Theater District. The complaints
filed today demonstrate our intention fully to enforce the
Americans with Disabilities Act in the important area of access
to hotel accommodations.” Mr. DASSIN said.
Assistant United States Attorneys LAWRENCE H. FOGELMAN,
CAROLINA A. FORNOS, DAVID J. KENNEDY, and HEATHER K. McSHAIN are
in charge of the cases.
09-03 ###
