Real Estate & Property Law
DOJ Files 1st Disabled-Access Construction Suit in Manhattan
Posted Aug 13, 2008, 12:15 pm CST
By Martha Neil
The federal government has filed what it bills as the first lawsuit in Manhattan over the construction of a multifamily building that allegedly didn't meet fair housing standards.
The suit was filed by the Department of Justice against one of the largest apartment developers in the country. It contends that Avalon Bay Communities violated the Fair Housing Act by failing to design and construct kitchens, bathrooms and common areas in a 361-unit rental building in Manhattan that were accessible to disabled people, reports the City Room blog of the New York Times.
The suit seeks monetary damages and injunctive relief to prevent the developer from “from designing or constructing multifamily housing in the future that does not contain the accessibility features required by federal law.”