# Lawsuit claims real estate developer's South Philly bar violated ADA



## jar546 (May 5, 2016)

He says he talked with officials.  Was that an official meeting?  Did one of the inspectors stop by for a beer and they talked?  Who knows.

A Philadelphia real estate developer was surprised with a lawsuit Tuesday that claims he failed to correct violations of the Americans with Disabilities Acts at the popular South Philly bar he owns.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Zane David Memeger, brought the lawsuit against John Longacre for allegedly failing to correct issues – like an entranceway that is too narrow for a wheelchair – *spotted at the South Philadelphia Tap Room at 1509 Mifflin St. in 2015*.

Longacre, however, said he spoke to officials last year about the issues and was caught off guard by the lawsuit.

"We're more than happy to comply in any regard they see fit. We are certainly not fighting anything," said Longacre, who added he and his companies – including LPMG Properties – have a "track record of ADA compliance."

The suit says the main customer entrance is on a corner of the building, has an approximately 6-inch step up from the sidewalk, doesn't offer a clear width of 32 inches, does not have a sign indicating a different accessible entrance and has a latch that is difficult to grasp.

Issues with the bathroom are also mentioned in the complaint. Memeger said the door handles for the stalls, the sink and mirror placement, the size of the stalls and position of pipes are violations, court documents show.

The suit also alleges documents regarding ADA compliance were never returned by a Tap Room representative, even though a bar employee and later Longacre received the forms.

But Longacre said he returned all the requested forms and pointed out many of these issues were discussed in a conversation he had last year with officials, and he believed the matter had been resolved.

"We have people in wheelchairs in the Tap Room all the time," he said.

While the developer, who also owns American Sardine Bar, said he was surprised to learn of the lawsuit, he said the necessary corrections will be made to bring the Tap Room into compliance.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...uth-philly-tap-room-ada-lawsuit-longacre.html


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## ICE (May 5, 2016)

It starts with: 
"The suit says the main customer entrance is on a corner of the building, has an approximately 6-inch step up from the sidewalk, doesn't offer a clear width of 32 inches, does not have a sign indicating a different accessible entrance and has a latch that is difficult to grasp."

Then it continues with:
"Issues with the bathroom are also mentioned in the complaint. Memeger said the door handles for the stalls, the sink and mirror placement, the size of the stalls and position of pipes are violations, court documents show."

So if he couldn't get in, how did he discover that taking a leak was out of the question?


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## jar546 (May 5, 2016)

ICE said:


> It starts with:
> "The suit says the main customer entrance is on a corner of the building, has an approximately 6-inch step up from the sidewalk, doesn't offer a clear width of 32 inches, does not have a sign indicating a different accessible entrance and has a latch that is difficult to grasp."
> 
> Then it continues with:
> ...


Who said he couldn't get in?  Who said he had to be in a wheelchair?


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## ADAguy (May 5, 2016)

Don't you love it? Good points Jar.

A simple sign would have alerted WC users but other non-compliant interior features would still have to have been addressed.
May be grandfathered as to code but not ADA.


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## Yikes (May 6, 2016)

"But Longacre said he returned all the requested forms and pointed out many of these issues were discussed in a conversation he had last year with officials, and he believed the matter had been resolved."

Unless the "official" he talked to was a DOJ lawyer or a civil court judge, there is no way that any "official" can declare an ADA issue RESOLVED. 

Certainly no city building official that I know of will touch ADA with a 10 foot pole.  At best, the only thing you can do is declare whether a space is in physical compliance with a declared "safe harbor".  But ADA is all about intent to discriminate and that line in the sand has been known to move, along with the definition of disability.


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## mark handler (May 8, 2016)

Lawsuit claims real estate developer's South Philly bar violated ADA regulations
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadel...uth-philly-tap-room-ada-lawsuit-longacre.html

A Philadelphia real estate developer was surprised with a lawsuit Tuesday that claims he failed to correct violations of the Americans with Disabilities Acts at the popular South Philly bar he owns.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Zane David Memeger, brought the lawsuit against John Longacre for allegedly failing to correct issues – like an entranceway that is too narrow for a wheelchair – spotted at the South Philadelphia Tap Room at 1509 Mifflin St. in 2015.

Longacre, however, said he spoke to officials last year about the issues and was caught off guard by the lawsuit.

"We're more than happy to comply in any regard they see fit. We are certainly not fighting anything," said Longacre, who added he and his companies – including LPMG Properties – have a "track record of ADA compliance."

Saxbys new drink line a sign of things to come
The suit says the main customer entrance is on a corner of the building, has an approximately 6-inch step up from the sidewalk, doesn't offer a clear width of 32 inches, does not have a sign indicating a different accessible entrance and has a latch that is difficult to grasp.

Issues with the bathroom are also mentioned in the complaint. Memeger said the door handles for the stalls, the sink and mirror placement, the size of the stalls and position of pipes are violations, court documents show.

The suit also alleges documents regarding ADA compliance were never returned by a Tap Room representative, even though a bar employee and later Longacre received the forms.

Election Day superstitions give South Philly deli a *****
But Longacre said he returned all the requested forms and pointed out many of these issues were discussed in a conversation he had last year with officials, and he believed the matter had been resolved.

"We have people in wheelchairs in the Tap Room all the time," he said.

While the developer, who also owns American Sardine Bar, said he was surprised to learn of the lawsuit, he said the necessary corrections will be made to bring the Tap Room into compliance.


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## jar546 (May 8, 2016)

Duplicate post but that's OK.  I posted this last week.


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## mark handler (May 8, 2016)

Sorry delete it
cleaning out my inbox


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## jar546 (May 8, 2016)

i'll merge it so I can try that with the new forum


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