United States Files Fair Housing Act Lawsuit Against Toll Brothers And Related Entities For Failure To Construct Apartments With Features Accessible To Persons With Disabilities https://ow.ly/RJZY50SpBgw
Damian Williams, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that the United States has filed a federal Fair Housing Act (“FHA”) lawsuit against TOLL BROTHERS, INC. and TOLL BROTHERS REALTY TRUST (collectively, “TOLL BROTHERS”), relating to their failure to design and construct new apartment buildings so as to be accessible to persons with physical disabilities. The lawsuit also names certain TOLL BROTHERS affiliates as well as other entities that participated in the design or construction of these residential complexes, as well as a condominium association whose cooperation is essential to ensure retrofits.
The inaccessible conditions at TOLL BROTHERS’ buildings include excessively high thresholds at building entrances and entrances to common use areas, common use bathrooms that lack grab bars, excessively high thresholds at entrances to individual apartments and within the apartments, and bathrooms in individual apartments that lack sufficient clear floor space for people who use wheelchairs. These features in the common use areas of TOLL BROTHERS’ buildings, as well as in the buildings’ apartment interiors, did not meet the specifications set forth in the Fair Housing Accessibility Guidelines, Design Guidelines for Accessible/Adaptable Dwellings.
The Complaint identifies, by way of example, inaccessible conditions at the following five properties:
The Sutton, at 959 First Avenue, New York, New York 10022.
49 North 8th Street, Brooklyn, New York 11211 (“North 8th”). Based upon an investigation by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (“HUD”), the Complaint names several entities as defendants that were involved in the design and construction of North 8th: LENDLEASE (with whom, as noted above, the Government has reached an agreement subject to Court approval); GREENBERGFARROW ARCHITECTS; TOLL LAND XIII LIMITED PARTNER; TOLL NORTHEAST LP COMPANY, INC.; and NORTH8 CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC., which has been named as a defendant not because it created the accessible conditions but because its cooperation is essential to making retrofits to the property.
3000 Goldfinch Boulevard in Princeton, New Jersey (“Parc at Princeton Junction”). The Complaint names TB PRINCETON VILLAGE LLC as a developer of the Parc at Princeton Junction.
134 Plymouth Road in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania (“Parc Plymouth Meeting”). The Complaint names TB-BDN PLYMOUTH APARTMENTS as a developer of Parc Plymouth Meeting.
10 Provost Street, Jersey City, New Jersey 07302.