WASHINGTON, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Michael J. Garcia, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that the United States filed a civil rights lawsuit in Manhattan federal court today against the developers and architects of Avalon Chrystie Place, a 361-unit residential apartment complex in Manhattan, for unlawfully discriminating against people with disabilities by failing to design and construct Avalon Chrystie Place to be accessible to people with disabilities. The Complaint alleges that CVP I, LLC, Downtown Manhattan Residential LLC, Chrystie Venture Partners, LLC, Avalon Bay Communities, Inc., and SLCE Architects LLP violated the requirements of the Fair Housing Act in the design and construction of the complex. This is the Government's first lawsuit in Manhattan alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act in the design and construction of multi-family housing. According to the Complaint filed by the Government:
Avalon Chrystie Place, located at 229 Chrystie Place just below Houston Street in Manhattan, has public and common areas which are not readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities. The complex also lacks accessible routes into and through dwellings, reinforcements in bathroom walls to allow the installation of grab bars, and kitchens and bathrooms usable by a person in a wheelchair.
The Complaint seeks a court order requiring the defendants to modify Avalon Chrystie Place to bring the complex into compliance with the Fair Housing Act and to enjoin defendants from designing or constructing multi-family housing in the future that does not contain the accessibility features required by federal law. It also seeks monetary damages to compensate victims and a civil penalty to be paid to the Government to vindicate the public interest.
"Housing must be available to all Americans without regard to disability," said Mr. Garcia. "We will continue to pursue those who fail to design and construct accessible housing as required by federal law."
This year marks the 40th Anniversary of the Fair Housing Act. Any member of the public who has information relating to the lack of accessibility in multi-family housing or any other form of illegal housing discrimination within the Southern District of New York may use the complaint form available on the United States Attorney's Office's website, http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/nys. Complaints may also be sent to the United States Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York, 86 Chambers Street, New York, N.Y., 10007, attention: Chief, Civil Rights Unit.
Assistant United States Attorneys Sarah E. Light and Brian M. Feldman are in charge of the investigation.
U.S. Department of Justice
