The architects of multiple residential buildings in Battery Park City have settled claims brought by United States prosecutors that their work on one of them violated the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) by failing to include adequate accommodations for disabled residents.
SCLE Architects are credited with working on the designs of at least three buildings in the community: the Verdesian (211 North End Avenue), the Solaire (20 River Terrace), and the Hallmark assisted living facility (455 North End Avenue). (The firm is also part of the design team for 50 West Street, now nearing completion across the West Side Highway, alongside the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel.) But federal prosecutors allege that the firm’s work in the Verdesian violated 19 of the FHA’s accessible design and construction requirements. Among these were “insufficient clear opening widths of bedroom, bathroom, terrace, and closet doors,” ” kitchens [that] lack sufficient width to accommodate persons who use wheelchairs,” and “insufficient clear floor space within bathrooms… for maneuvering by persons who use wheelchairs.”
In a settlement announced on May 26, SCLE had agreed to pay a fine of $30,000, and contribute another $15,000 to a fund intended to compensate any disabled person who alleges they were discriminated against by the design of the Verdesian. SCLE has also promised that its future design work will be fully compliant with the FHA’s Accessible Design Requirements, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The resolution with SCLE architects announced on May 26 follows a larger settlement in a related complaint, announced in February, in which the Albanese Organization (the developer of the Verdesian and the Solaire rental buildings), agreed to make extensive retrofits at the Verdesian to cure the accessibility issues cited by prosecutors, while also inspecting the Solaire to identify similar shortcomings and make retrofits wherever necessary. Additionally, the Albanese Organization agreed to pay a fine of $45,000 and to contribute an additional $500,000 to a fund that will compensate any disabled person who alleges that design flaws in the Verdesian or the Solaire had a discriminatory impact upon them.
The funds to which SCLE and the Albanese Organization are contributing will benefit people who were, “discouraged from living at The Verdesian or The Solaire because of the lack of accessible features;” who have, “been hurt in any way by the lack of accessible features,” at the buildings; or “paid to have an apartment at the Verdesian or the Solaire made more accessible to persons with disabilities.”
Joon H. Kim, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (the office that brought the actions against SCLE and the Albanese Organization, said: “through this lawsuit, the Office continues its efforts to require not only developers, but also architects, to comply with the law by creating rental properties that are accessible to New Yorkers with disabilities. This settlement ensures that future projects designed by SLCE will comply with the FHA and can be fully enjoyed by individuals with disabilities.”