Landlord Fined $185,000 for Not Accommodating Wheelchair-Bound Tenant

Disabled tenant complained to the New York City Commission on Human Rights (CHR) that landlord failed to provide a reasonable accommodation, in violation of the city's Human Rights Law. Tenant was permanently wheelchair-bound following a car accident. She lived in a first-floor apartment in Astoria. Her husband or someone else had to carry her up and down the five stairs between the first floor and the building lobby whenever she went in and out. Tenant refused landlord's offer to relocate elsewhere in Queens where their buildings had ramps since she would be removed from her Greek-speaking community and would be unable to obtain Section 8 benefits. CHR proposed that, if the front entryway couldn't be altered, then landlord could replace tenant's kitchen window with a door and rampway leading outside. Landlord claimed that both options were structurally infeasible.

Although, after a hearing, the Commission's ALJ agreed with landlord, CHR's commissioner didn't adopt the ALJ's findings and ruled for tenant. Landlord was ordered to pay $125,000 in civil penalties and to pay tenant $75,000 for mental anguish. Landlord filed an Article 78 appeal, claiming that HRC's decision was unreasonable.

The court ruled against landlord, for the most part. Landlord was required by law to reasonably accommodate tenant's disability unless it could show undue hardship. Landlord didn't claim financial hardship, only structural infeasability and didn't submit any financial information. CHR reasonably determined that landlord could accommodate tenant by converting the window to a door even though there was some disagreement on how difficult that would be to accomplish. The court found that imposition of the full civil penalty was reasonable given that landlord had willfully and without explanation installed video cameras at the building to monitor tenant's entry and exit from the apartment. But the court reduced the damages for mental anguish from $75,000 to $60,000.

Marine Holding v. NYCCHR: NYLJ 1202598611806, Index No. 10951/12 (Sup. Ct. Queens; 3/14/13; Frederick, J)