The state’s most recent round of municipal audits included an examination of physical accessibility in Floral Park as the village faces an active ADA lawsuit.
The state audited select village buildings, including the village hall, public library, recreation center and Building Department. It found 14%, or 83 of 575 accessibility components the comptroller’s office audited in those buildings for physical accessibility to programs and services were identified as places village officials could consider taking additional steps to improve conditions.
It’s likely that some of the 26 components the state identified in the library – including an unmarked step and unreliable wheelchair lift – are currently the subject of an active ADA lawsuit against the village.
Nadia Holubnyczyj-Ortiz, who uses a wheelchair, filed a lawsuit against the village last year, which alleges she was injured due to the village’s lack of compliance with ADA regulations in the library.
The complaint, which was filed in federal court, claims Holubnyczyj-Ortiz experienced both embarrassment and injury. She needed her husband to carry her down library steps to access an event for Attorney General Letitia James due to a malfunctioning wheelchair lift and suffered multiple broken bones, internal bleeding, and facial lacerations due to an unmarked step on the outside of the building’s basement door which caused her to fall out of her wheelchair, the suit says. She is seeking $10 million in damages.
“There were no markings, no warnings, nothing that’s required by the ADA codes and regulations,” said Jon Bell, one of the attorneys representing Holubnyczyj-Ortiz, about the step that caused his client’s injury. Bell said that in 2006 another disabled person was injured due to the unmarked step, calling it crazy that the village had not made the necessary repair.
“They don’t take it seriously,” Bell said of Floral Park’s ADA compliance. “As a result, we had somebody who was seriously injured.” The complaint Bell’s firm filed alleges that the village has consistently not made accessibility improvements despite applying for grants to do so.
Other components the state audit identified include 36 at Village Hall, such as the number of accessible parking spaces, the second floor at the library only being accessible by a staircase, 14 at the recreation center, and seven at the village’s Building Department, such as an accessible entrance.
“We are moving ahead with several of the smaller scale recommendations that require minimal planning, such as more signage, improved door handles and door closing mechanisms, and locating ADA parking spaces closer to public facilities,” said Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald. “We are currently reviewing the recommendations with an ADA consultant to address how to implement these and other recommendations from the report.”
Other areas the state identified for recommended improvement include drinking fountains, signs, platform lifts, accessible entrances and toilets.
“The large majority of [the state’s] recommendations relate to smaller items,” the mayor said in a statement. “We agree that addressing these seemingly small items to remove barriers will create an environment accessible to everyone and will have a positive impact for residents and visitors.”
Bell said he thought the mayor’s response to the audit made it seem like the items the village needed to resolve are small and insignificant.
“Making these accommodations is a serious issue and cannot be put on the back burner,” Bell said. “We want to ensure that the village will become compliant so people with disabilities can have access to it as it’s required to under the law.”
