Lack Of Handicap Accessibility At Flashy New Hunters Point Library Sparks Lawsuit

A Long Island City resident and an advocacy group for the disabled have launched a legal challenge in federal court against the Queens Borough Public Library and city over a critical design flaw that made parts of the highly anticipated $41.5 million Hunters Point library inaccessible to individuals who are unable to climb stairs.

"There’s really no excuse to build an inaccessible building in 2019," said Andrea Kozak-Oxnard, a staff attorney at Disability Rights Advocates, a nonprofit legal organization that is handling the case.

The class action lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, argues that the lack of accessibility amounts to a violation of the three-decade-old legislation known as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Under the ADA, newly constructed public and commercial buildings must meet accessibility standards.

The Hunters Point Community Library opened in September to rave reviews from architecture critics. But some patrons soon objected to the lack of elevator access to three fiction sections. Since that time, more complaints about the library's design have surfaced, reigniting questions about an expensive project that involved more than a decade of planning and which was supposed to represent a new standard for civic architecture in New York City.

The lawsuit, brought by Tanya Jackson, a resident in Long Island City, and the Center for Independence of the Disabled, accuses library officials and trustees as well as the city with "systemic, discriminatory exclusion of persons with mobility disabilities from full and equal access" at Hunters Point Library.

Among the litany of barriers and hurdles, the complaint cites the building's overreliance on staircases and ramps as well as tiered seating areas in both the children's room and rooftop. It also points to the decision to build only one elevator in a building that is heavily in demand by those with young children in strollers, leading to long wait times for people with mobility issues.

According to the lawsuit, Jackson, an avid library user who uses a type of wheeled walker known as a rollator, had a frustrating experience during a visit to the building this month. A steep ramp made moving up and down between sections feel precarious. At one point, the complaint alleges that a library employee told her that the rooftop is inaccessible to people who use wheelchairs, walkers, rollators, or scooters.

“It is shocking to me that a brand-new public library would not be fully accessible to people with mobility disabilities like myself. Libraries should welcome everyone, not exclude whole populations of people,” said Jackson, in a statement.

Susan Dooha, executive director of the Center for Independence of the Disabled in New York, said, "This should not be allowed to happen. The Queens Borough Public Library and the City of New York must obey the law and make this right.”

Elisabeth de Bourbon, a spokesperson for the Queens Public Library, said library officials had yet to review the lawsuit and could not comment.

A spokesperson for the city's Law Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But Queens Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer, who lobbied for and was heavily involved in the lengthy project, issued a statement signaling that the city would remedy the problems. "Libraries are the most Democratic institutions we have, and they must be accessible to all," he said. "I expect the Queens Public Library to meet all their obligations under the law and address any and all concerns here."

Initially, when asked about the accessibility of the three fiction sections, Queens library officials had said that a librarian would be available to fetch any books for those unable to reach those areas and maintained that the building had been built according to legal requirements under the ADA.

But following a backlash, the library later removed those fiction books. In response to other complaints last month, including the lack of stroller parking and harsh acoustics, de Bourbon as well as the firm that designed the building pointed to the fact that the library, which sits along the East River waterfront, has become one of the busiest libraries in Queens, drawing 30,000 visitors from across the city since its opening.

A spokesperson for Steven Holl Architects told Gothamist in a statement, "The few issues that have come up are wrinkles normal to the opening of any new building, especially when the building is receiving such a huge audience."

Similarly, in a New York Times story this month, Chris McVoy, a senior partner at Steven Holl Architects, called the inaccessibility a “small wrinkle in an incredibly successful project.”

He maintained that concepts of accessibility have changed in the years since the building was designed in 2010.

“To be honest, we hadn’t thought, ‘O.K. we have to provide an exactly equivalent browsing experience,’” he told the Times. “This will be a new standard for libraries, and that’s great. But that doesn’t mean it’s a flaw in the design. It’s an evolution.”

But disability advocates have rejected the notion that providing equal experiences in building design is new. In particular, libraries have historically rallied around the issue of accessibility. In 2005, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions developed an accessibility checklist.

"I think of a public library as the quintessential place for democracy and for community to gather around," Kozak-Oxnard said. "It makes sense that libraries would be proactive about this."

Kozak-Oxnard said that public officials have made similar mistakes in recent years, including a state memorial in Roosevelt Island for Franklin D. Roosevelt called Four Freedoms Park that featured a sunken terrace that the late president himself would not have been able to use given his reliance on a wheelchair. In 2017, following a lawsuit brought by Disability Rights Advocates, Four Freedoms Park Conservancy and state officials agreed to install a lift.

Another example that has been cited is the Vessel, a highly visited free public art installation at Hudson Yards that consists of stairways that ascend 150 feet.

"We want this to stop happening," Kozak-Oxnard said.

To date, city and library officials have yet to reveal any plans to address the problems at Hunters Point Library, beyond moving the inaccessible parts of the fiction section.

Asked for an update just last week, de Bourbon emailed Gothamist, "We continue to review and assess the situation, with the goal of maximizing access for all of our customers and making sure they have the same opportunity to enjoy their experience at Hunters Point Library."

UPDATE: Following the publication of this story, a spokesperson for the Queens Public Library issued the following statement: "This morning we learned that a disability rights organization filed a lawsuit against the Library and the City of New York alleging that Hunters Point is not accessible to people living with disabilities. It is always the Library’s goal to be welcoming, open and available to everyone, including customers with disabilities. We are taking this matter very seriously."