Disabled Seek Unassisted Entry
Using Lifts To Meet ADA Requirements
by Steven John Fellman
NATO Washington Counsel
Where motion picture theatres
are constructed in limited space or are renovated to
provide newly configured auditoria,
there is often a need to install a lift to move disabled
patrons from one level to another. From a practical standpoint,
it is easier to move disabled persons from one level to
another via a ramp rather than a lift. However, where space
considerations do not permit a ramp, a lift is often the
only alternative.
The problems associated
with lifts were dramatically explained in the recent
decision of the U.S. District Court for the
Southern District of New York in the case of Disabled
In Action vs. Trump International Hotel and Tower (203
U.S.
Dist. LEXIS 5145 (April 1, 2003). Trump International
Hotel and Tower is a large building located at One Central
Park
West in New York City. It was an office tower in 1969
and was converted to its current use during a major renovation
that took place from 1995 to 1997.
The building rests on
a pedestal (or plaza) approximately four feet above the
sidewalk on all four sides of the
building. There are three lobbies on the plaza level
of the building,
which provide access to its residential, hotel and
restaurant areas. When originally constructed, the only
vertical
access from the sidewalks to the elevated lobby entrances
of the
building were via stairs. As part of the alteration,
Trump installed two wheelchair lifts to provide an
accessible path of travel from the street level to the
lobbies at
the Plaza Level.
For theatre owners,
this case demonstrates a problem that every operations
manager must confront. Many lifts
are misused by patrons and break down. If you leave
the key in the lift, you will find kids riding up
and down. If you take the key out of the lift, disabled
patrons complain that they are never able to find
a
staff employee who will provide them with a key.
One thing of which you can be sure, this is a situation
where Murphy’s Law often applies. Whenever
you need to make sure that the lift works, you will
have
a problem. |
Each lift traveled between
the sidewalk level and the Plaza Level. At each level
there is a call button next
to a key
switch adjacent to the lift door. To call the lift
to another level, the call button must be unlocked
before
it is pressed.
To operate the lift, the operator must also turn
a key switch that locks the “up” and “down” button
on a control panel inside the lift.
When the lifts were initially
installed, all the doormen of the building were given
lift keys to wear
around
their neck to unlock the lift switches. The doormen
were instructed
to assist all the lift users in operating the lifts.
Subsequently, some towers
modified this system and “fixed
keys” were hung at each lock on a chain
affixed near the lock. Doormen and security personnel
were required
to inspect on a periodic basis and ensure that
keys are kept in the locks. Missing keys were
replaced quickly.
At the same time, doormen continued to wear keys
around their necks and assist disabled patrons
should the need
arise.
The Americans With Disabilities
Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) permit the use of
a lift under
circumstances
existing in the Trump building. The Regulations
provide that the
lift must meet ASME A17.1 Safety Code for elevators
and escalators. That code requires that the
operation of
the car from the upper or lower landing and
from the car shall
be controlled by a key. The regulations also
require that the lift shall facilitate unassisted
entry,
operation and
exit from the lift.
In the case in question,
two disabled individuals, Robert Levine and Frieda Zames,
went to Trump
Towers and tried
to use the lift to get to the Plaza Level.
Levine uses a wheelchair and Zames uses a
motorized scooter. Initially,
they approached the lift and pushed the call
button. When they first tried to use the
lift, it could
be operated only with the assistance of a
doorman. They
complained
that the ADA required that the lifts “facilitate
unassisted entry” and since the lift could not be
operated without the doorman’s key,
this constituted a violation of the ADA.
Subsequent to their first
visit to the Trump building, the building management
changed
the system and
permanently attached keys to all of the
lifts. However, when
Levine and Zames returned to the Trump
building, they found
that they still couldn’t operate the lifts even with the
keys. Either the lifts were stuck or they didn’t
operate properly. Levine and Zames had
to call a doorman for assistance. In one
instance, the doorman was able to
get the lift to operate. In the second
instance, he was not.
Levine and Zames hired
an architect who visited the Trump building and attempted
to use the
lift. At
the trial,
the architect testified “neither the lift door at the
sidewalk or the Plaza Level would open. However, while
the keys next to the lift door handles turned, none of
the buttons on either door would cause the platform to
move. I tried every combination of key turns and button
pushes at each door but was unable to move the lift platform
or open the door to it.” The architect
then went to the second lift and also
found it to be inoperable without
the assistance of a doorman.
Trump moved for summary
judgment on the basis that it has installed a lift that
met all
the requirements
of
the ADA.
Trump alleged that as a matter of law,
it was entitled to have the case dismissed.
After
reviewing the
facts, the judge denied the motion
for
summary
judgment
and found that regardless of whether
the lift was built
in conformance
with the regulations, a question existed
whether it was operating properly and
in such a manner
as to meet
the
regulatory requirement regarding unassisted
access.
For theatre owners, this
case demonstrates a problem that every operations manager
must confront.
Many
lifts are
misused by patrons and break down.
If you leave the key in the lift,
you
will
find
kids riding
up and
down. If
you take the key out of the lift,
disabled patrons complain that they are never
able to find a staff
employee who
will provide them with a key. One
thing of which you can be
sure, this is a situation where Murphy’s
Law often applies. Whenever you need
to make sure that the lift works,
you will have a problem.
The fact that a cinema
installs a lift to provide access is no defense
to
an ADA claim.
If a
person in a wheelchair
shows up and wants to use the lift,
the lift should work. The person
with a disability
should be able
to use the
lift without first calling a staff
member to get a key.
If you have lifts in
your theatres, make sure that the lifts are checked
regularly
to make
sure that
they are
operational. Keep records of
these operation checks so that you will
be able to prove
that you not
only have
lifts but keep them in good operating
order. In the event of
a malfunction, you should have
a service contract that ensures
that
the lifts
are repaired in
a prompt manner. 
