A federal lawsuit was filed today over claims a Bethlehem Township, Pennsylvania, condominium complex violates the U.S. Fair Housing Act because its design effectively forbids residents who use wheelchairs.
The 92-unit Bordeaux Lofts at the Vineyard at Wagner Farms violates the act because there are steps at the entrances to all 23 residential buildings, according to the lawsuit filed by The Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia and the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania. The complex’s interior doorways also don’t meet the 32-inch minimum width requirement and its mailboxes are inaccessible, the lawsuit claims.
“Access to housing for people with disabilities is a civil right,” Disability Rights Network attorney Rocco Iacullo said in a statement. “The failure to construct accessible housing as required by the Fair Housing Act denies people with disabilities equal access to housing opportunities and unnecessarily excludes them from their communities.” Read more: