United States Enters Into a Settlement With New York City Housing Authority to Resolve Alleged Violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act

 

Deaf or Hard of Hearing Tenants Will Receive Auxiliary Aids and Services, Including Qualified Interpreters and Accessible Devices

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced a Settlement Agreement with the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) to resolve allegations that NYCHA violates Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) by discriminating against people who are deaf or hard of hearing.  Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against qualified individuals with disabilities in the “services, programs, or activities of a public entity.” NYCHA — a public housing authority which provides affordable housing to low- and moderate-income New Yorkers throughout New York City — is a “public entity.”   To comply with Title II, public entities such as NYCHA must ensure that individuals with disabilities have equal access to programs, services and activities, and that communications with individuals with disabilities is as effective as communications with individuals without disabilities, including through the provision of auxiliary aids and services and accessible features.

The United States investigated after receiving complaints from NYCHA tenants and housing applicants. The complainants alleged that NYCHA fails to provide Qualified Interpreters upon request and instead requires deaf or hard of hearing individuals to provide their own interpreters, who in some instances have been minors. The complaints also alleged that NYCHA does not provide deaf or hard of hearing individuals with appropriate auxiliary aids and services including accessible devices such as visual doorbells and fire alarms.  The United States also investigated claims that NYCHA does not have consistent and reliable mechanisms for deaf or hard of hearing individuals to communicate with NYCHA employees to, among other things, request and receive auxiliary aids and services.  The United States’ investigation included interviews with complainants and other NYCHA tenants, interviews and discussions with personnel and administrators at NYCHA, and review of NYCHA records. 

Accessible Features:

Accessible Features means devices and appliances that provide accessibility, including, but not limited to, visible alarm appliances for fire and smoke detection, visual alerting devices at the dwelling unit’s primary entrance, and deactivation controls.

Auxiliary Aids and Services:

Auxiliary aids and services includes qualified interpreters on-site or through video remote interpreting services; notetakers; real-time computer-aided transcription services; written materials; exchange of written notes; telephone handset amplifiers; assistive listening devices; telephones compatible with hearing aids; closed caption decoders; open and closed captioning, including real-time captioning; voice, text and video‑based telecommunications products and systems, including text telephones, videophones, and captioned telephones, or equally effective telecommunications devices; videotext displays; accessible electronic and information technology; or other effective methods of making aurally delivered information available to deaf or hard of hearing individuals.

Under the terms of the settlement, NYCHA has agreed to take appropriate steps to ensure effective communication with individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, including by creating signs and videos in American Sign Language to make deaf and hard of hearing individuals aware that free auxiliary aids and services, including qualified sign language interpretation services and accessible devices such as visual doorbells, are available.  Additionally, NYCHA will update its forms to allow deaf or hard of hearing individuals to request such services.   Employees of NYCHA who interact regularly with tenants or applicants will also receive training in effective communication and ADA compliance.

“The ADA requires NYCHA to communicate effectively and provide auxiliary aids and services to people who are deaf or hard of hearing,” stated United States Attorney Nocella.  “This settlement ensures that individual with disabilities receive appropriate services.  Our Office will continue to enforce the ADA and its protections against discrimination for people with disabilities.”

Mr. Nocella thanked the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division for its support.