AFDA Victorious in Highstown

TRENTON — An appellate court has ruled in favor of the Advocates for Disabled Americans in a suit filed against Hightstown Borough.
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Wheelchair-bound Gregory Lasky and the AFDA filed suit against the borough, claiming some curb cuts and access to buildings failed to meet New Jersey Law Against Discrimination guidelines.
AFDA National Director Darren Aquino, of New York City, was pleased with the ruling.
“Whenever there is a favorable ruling from a court it brings back the freedom that was taken from us by our own debilitating condition. That’s why the Congress made the ADA,” Aquino said. “It brings greater awareness to those in the country that lack of proper facilities means an interruption of service.”
Lasky, a Florida resident who frequently travels to New Jersey to visit friends and as an Americans with Disabilities Act “tester” for AFDA, tried in his wheelchair to access such places as city hall, Hightstown’s library and some sidewalks and curb cuts around town, according to the decision recently released by the Superior Court of New Jersey Appellate Division.
He is a former firefighter who was confined to a wheelchair after he fell down a flight of stairs.
He found that there were “acute slopes and cross slopes” on the curb cuts, making it difficult or impossible for him to maneuver, according to the decision.
“I was unable to be a patron at the library, museum, Army Navy Memorial, and my ability to use the routes on Bank Street and Main has been impaired because of the slopes and cross slopes,” Lasky said in the lawsuit.
Lasky and the AFDA hired an expert to identify the areas of town in noncompliance.
The trial court ruled against Lasky, saying “the plaintiff’s LAD complaint because (he) did not request an accommodation (for help) prior to filing suit.”
“There’s no indication that those requests were made, they were put on notice, so there’s no way to see whether or not they would have been reasonably accommodated. I think that notice is required before you can see whether or not they had the opportunity to accommodate,” the trial court ruled.
The AFDA and Lasky contended that “a prospective patron would not likely know whether a public facility is accessible, thus obligating a public entity to provide access in the absence of a request.”
The appellate court reversed the trial court’s decision and said, essentially: how is he going to know what help he is going to need until he gets there?
“Under the LAD, public entities are required, to the extent reasonable, to accommodate disabled persons in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of that person. ...We find nothing in the language of the LAD itself or its legislative history to suggest that notice is an element of the claim in the public accommodation context,” the appellate court said in its decision.
The case was remanded back to the trial court to create a more complete record, after appropriate research, to reach the precise nature of the claim.
The AFDA and Lasky are seeking less than $75,000 in damages, according to the decision.
Hightstown Borough Administrator Michael Theokas did not immediately return calls for comment.
The borough does offer the handicapped help during emergencies and are advised to call 211 or log onto www.registerready.nj.gov.
“It has been determined that it is up to a jury to decide if meaningful public access is denied,” said Hightstown attorney Eric Harrison. “Some of this case will proceed to trial. Hightstown has its faith in the jury system.”
He declined further comment because the case is pending.Aquino, who has polio, said disabled veterans are high on his list of those who need advocates .
“The paramount issue are the veterans who go out and fight for our freedoms and return from service disabled,” Aquino said, adding that he has advocates in every state. “We will not stop until we reach the highest levels of government in every state and local municipality to see that the disabled are provided for without asking. We want to make leaders aware, as they can lose sight of the real issues.”

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