Apartment Building’s Sole Elevator Inoperable Since November 2023, Allegedly Denying Equal Access to Residents With Disabilities

TRENTON – Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin and the Division on Civil Rights (DCR) announced today that DCR has issued a Notice of Violation to Let’s Celebrate Urban Renewal, LLC, the owner of a six-story building located at 503 Garfield Avenue in Jersey City. The Notice of Violation alleges that the elevator in the building has been out of service for more than eight months, denying residents with disabilities equal use and enjoyment of their apartments.

The Notice of Violation announced today alleges that the building’s owner has failed to adequately address the elevator outage or provide reasonable accommodations for residents with disabilities in violation of the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination (LAD).

The LAD prohibits housing providers from discriminating against residents on the basis of an actual or perceived disability. Under the LAD, it is also unlawful for a housing provider to refuse to make reasonable accommodations or reasonable structural modifications necessary to ensure that a resident with a disability has an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.

“No one should face harm from a housing provider because they have a disability. In New Jersey, that’s against the law,” said Attorney General Platkin. “Laws only work when they are enforced, and we’re determined to ensure that our residents benefit from the protections granted by the Law Against Discrimination.”

“Our civil rights laws require housing providers to provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities. That means, at a bare minimum, that a housing provider must work with residents to ensure that they can safely enter and exit their apartments,” said Sundeep Iyer, Director of the Division on Civil Rights. “Combating housing discrimination remains a core priority for our office, and we will continue to expand our efforts to ensure that every New Jerseyan can access housing free from discrimination.”

DCR’s investigation found that 503 Garfield Avenue’s sole elevator has been inoperable since approximately November 2023. Accessing the building’s sixth floor requires taking over 80 steps up. Since the outage, some tenants with disabilities have been unable to leave their apartment floors for over eight months. The investigation found that building management knew or should have known that several tenants required reasonable accommodations during the elevator outage, but that it did not provide appropriate reasonable accommodations for these tenants.

Under the terms of the Notice of Violation, the property owner has an opportunity to contest DCR’s factual allegations or to resolve the matter by, among other things, ceasing and desisting from violating the LAD and paying compensation to individuals harmed by any violations of the LAD.  If the property owner does not wish to resolve the matter, DCR may proceed with a formal complaint against the property owner. A complaint could result in the property owner being required to pay damages to residents who have been harmed, attorney’s fees, and civil penalties against the property owner in an amount not to exceed $10,000 for a first offense, $25,000 for a second offense, and $50,000 for any subsequent offenses.

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To view fact sheets on disability discrimination pertaining to the rights of people with disabilities in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation, on the right to an emotional support animal in housing, and on the right to have a service or guide dog under the LAD, please visit  https://www.njoag.gov/about/divisions-and-offices/division-on-civil-rights-home/division-on-civil-rights-resources/. People with disabilities who believe their rights under the LAD have been violated can file a complaint with DCR by visiting https://bias.njcivilrights.gov/ or calling 1-833-NJDCR4U (833-653-2748).

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The New Jersey Division on Civil Rights enforces the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, the New Jersey Family Leave Act, and the Fair Chance in Housing Act, and works to prevent, eliminate, and remedy discrimination and bias-based harassment in employment, housing, and places of public accommodation throughout New Jersey.

To find out more information, go to www.njcivilrights.gov.

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