Handicapped Access to Apartment Buildings

A building doesn't have to accommodate wheelchairs, etc., until a resident requests it.

One co-op just won a case where a resident demanded a ramp at the front entrance rather than the side-door ramp the co-op installed.

NWT - do you recall any details regarding the court case that you mentioned? I live in a co-op and this very issue has come up (whether or not a side entrance ramp can be installed instead of a front entrance)and we have gotten conflicting opinions.

Also some buildings are landmarked and do not have to conform to the wheelchair law vis a vis ramps in the front. However, if first floor apts undergo renovations, the construction plans have to adhere to all wheelchair requirements whether the building is landmarked (meaning steps and no ramp in front) or not. Or at least that was the case when I went through that process over 20 yrs ago.

hhelios, sorry, don't remember the details, except that the judge decided the offered accommodation at the side door was OK and reasonable. Just searched ecourts and www.nylj.com for it, but nothing.

That's helpful to know that a request has to be made before a building will consider this issue. The problem that I've seen with side service entrances is that they are often locked and the resident has to go to the front of the building to ask that the service entrance be opened. If there are several steps to the building entrance, it may be difficult for the resident to get the attention of the doorman because of the distance between the sidewalk and the building entrance.