Elewood Torres a tenant at an apartment complex in Manhattan's Lower East Side that houses low-income people who are hearing impaired. Photo: Ryland West/ALM
Residents at an apartment complex in Manhattan's Lower East Side that houses low-income people who are hearing impaired have long been agitated about conditions that they say are putting them in danger. Perhaps the most frightening among them are the alert systems for fires and elevator jams—which are auditory, despite the fact that technology exists that could keep deaf or hard-of-hearing people safe in these situations, such as video communication systems for lifts and intense strobe lights or vibrating objects for fires. "This is literally a life-or-death issue," alleges one resident in a federal lawsuit filed on Tuesday. "Plaintiff and similarly situated individuals go to sleep at night anxious about their safety." They've tried going to management directly. They've called on their elected leaders and on community organizers, and even staged a demonstration outside of their homes that attracted media attention. And yet these conditions—as well as exterior doors that are not handicap accessible and broken floors that create obstacles for people who use wheelchairs—remain. So at least one resident is taking matters to the courts. Elewood Torres, a hearing-impaired resident at 184 Forsyth St. who uses a wheelchair, filed a proposed class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the management company for the complex alleging numerous violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and the New York State and New York City Human Rights laws. Torres is represented by Lieb at Law, a small, five-attorney firm that focuses on discrimination cases and general litigation. Name partner Andrew Lieb told the Law Journal that many residents have been enduring discriminatory conditions at the complex for years but have been too afraid to come forward for fear of retaliation by the management company. "The other choice, in their minds, is to live on the street," Lieb said. The lawsuit targets MMS Realty Group, which allegedly manages the building, and which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. When CBS2 New York ran a story this past September on conditions at the building, the management company issued a statement in which it said that it was awaiting city permits to conduct work on elevators at the complex.