Landlord Must Accommodate Tenant's Request for Wheelchair-Accessible Apartment Doorway

Tenant, unable to enter or leave her apartment without being carried, asked landlord to install a wheelchair-accessible entrance to her unit by converting a window to a door. Landlord claimed that it couldn't do so without undue hardship, and tenant complained to the NYC Human Rights Commission (HRC) that landlord failed to provide a reasonable accommodation for her disability and had unlawfully discriminated against her. The HRC ruled for tenant, and landlord filed an Article 78 court appeal. The court ruled against landlord, the appeals court reversed, and HRC then sought a ruling from New York's highest court. The Court of Appeals ruled for HRC, finding that its conclusion that landlord failed to show undue hardship was supported by substantial evidence. Landlord had carried out a window-to-door conversion elsewhere in the building complex, and landlord presented no proof that the proposed conversion would require alterations significantly different from the previous one. 

Marine Holdings, LLC v. NYC Commission on Human Rights: 2018 NY Slip Op 03303, 2018 WL 2113699 (Ct. App NY; 5/8/18; DiFiore, CJ, Stein, Fahey, Wilson, Garcia [dissenting], Feinman [dissenting], JJ)