State audit: Floral Park could improve accessibility at village sites

The Village of Floral Park should consider making dozens of upgrades to its facilities to improve accessibility to programs and services, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office said in an audit.

The comptroller’s office reviewed 575 components of village facilities including parking spaces, doors, restrooms, drinking fountains, and lifts for accessibility. The audit identified 83 components at Village Hall, the library, the Floral Park Recreation Center and building department that could be improved.

Village officials should “assess the feasibility” of taking steps to improve accessibility, the audit, released last week, said.

The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities. In 2012, design standards came into effect to ensure that new or altered local government buildings comply with ADA standards, according to the audit. The comptroller’s office report makes recommendations but states that it makes no determination about compliance with the ADA.

In a Feb. 11 letter responding to the comptroller’s office, Floral Park Mayor Kevin Fitzgerald said that many of the village’s buildings predate the ADA standards by several decades.

“Nonetheless the Village remains committed to providing meaningful access to its programs and services to individuals with disabilities and continually seeks to enhance accessibility,” Fitzgerald wrote.

He also wrote that the village agrees with the report's recommendations and "has focused on incorporating accessibility into its larger scale projects."

The report identified:

36 potential improvements in Village Hall, including installing a chair lift to the second floor that can be operated without assistance;, 26 potential improvements at the library, including installing doors that open and close more easily, and wheelchair access to the second floor;, 14 potential improvements to the parking area and restrooms;, seven potential improvements to the building department, including changes to main entrance.

The audit came as the village is defending a federal lawsuit brought by a disabled woman who alleged that she suffered serious injuries at the village library due to its facilities being out of compliance with the ADA.

The comptroller’s office’s findings were “eye-opening indications that ... the village has not taken the accessibility laws that have been on the books for more than 30 years seriously,” said Jon Bell, attorney at Syosset-based Bell Law Group, who represents plaintiff Nadia Holubnyczyj-Ortiz.

Holubnyczyj-Ortiz was thrown from her wheelchair when it hit a “hidden step” at the library and suffered multiple broken bones, facial lacerations, a dislocated shoulder and internal bleeding, according to the lawsuit that was filed in November in U.S. District Court, Eastern District in Central Islip.

“This case shows exactly what failure to come into compliance could have an effect on the life of somebody with a disability,” Bell said.

The village has denied the allegations of the lawsuit, and the two parties have a conference with the judge scheduled for next week.

Village Administrator Gerard M. Bambrick said the village does not comment on pending litigation and referred Newsday to Fitzgerald's letter.

In November, after Holubnyczyj-Ortiz filed her lawsuit, the village designated two ADA coordinators and adopted a grievance procedure for people to file complaints alleging discrimination on the basis of disability.

In his letter, Fitzgerald also said that the village has hired ADA consultants to evaluate the feasibility of implementing the comptroller's office recommendations.