Fair Housing Organizations Announce $7.1 Million Dollar Settlement of Disability Discrimination

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, August 11, 2022

For more information contact:

Sally Santangelo, Executive Director, CNY Fair Housing, (315) 551-7093 or

ssantangelo@cnyfairhousing.org

Fair Housing Organizations Announce $7.1 Million Dollar Settlement of Disability Discrimination Claims Against Senior Housing Provider; Agreement Requires an Estimated $6.3 Million to be Spent on Accessibility Improvements at 50 Properties Twelve Fair Housing Organizations in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Missouri settle a federal lawsuit against Clover Senior Properties

Syracuse, NY – Today, Syracuse-based CNY Fair Housing and eleven partner fair housing organizations in six different states announce that a settlement has been reached in a federal civil rights lawsuit against a group of developers, owners, investors, and operators of senior housing generally known as the Clover Group. The settlement will improve access for persons with disabilities at 50 senior apartment buildings located across the Northeast and Midwest.

The settlement agreement requires an estimated $3 million in retrofits to public and common use areas at the properties to improve accessibility for individuals with disabilities. These include providing accessible routes around the exterior and common use areas, adding additional ramps and curb cuts, and replacing sidewalks that have excessive slopes.

Clover Group will also set aside funds totaling $3.375 million to pay for modifications to individual units at the request of any resident or applicant at the 50 properties included in the agreement. These modifications to improve access for individuals who use wheelchairs or have other mobility limitations could include replacing sliding doors at patios or balconies to provide a wider opening and lower threshold, providing ramps at patio or balcony doors, adding grab bars, replacing bathroom vanities or sinks, installing roll-in showers or hand-held showers, lowering kitchen countertops, and lowering thermostats and light switches. Current tenants and new applicants will be notified of the availability of funds for unit modifications to meet their needs.

Clover Group will also pay $750,000 to the fair housing organizations to compensate them for staff time and other resources expended to investigate the alleged accessibility violations and for attorneys’ fees. Additionally, any Clover Group employees that are involved in the design and construction of multifamily housing will complete training on the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act.

Under the federal Fair Housing Act’s design and construction accessibility requirements, all multi-family housing with four or more units that was built for first occupancy on or after March 13, 1991 must be accessible to wheelchair users and individuals with other physical disabilities.

This includes seven technical requirements to ensure compliance such as accessible routes and sufficient maneuvering space in bathrooms and kitchens. During a multi-year joint investigation, the fair housing organizations identified issues that they alleged were violations of these requirements and filed a lawsuit in March in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York. Several of the fair housing groups are plaintiffs in a related lawsuit in which the organizations allege that Clover Group entities have engaged in other forms of disability discrimination by refusing to grant reasonable accommodations and imposing a surcharge for units in accessible locations.

In CNY Fair Housing’s service area, the agreement covers Camillus Pointe Senior Apartments (Camillus, NY); Morgan Square Senior Apartments (Clay, NY); Buckley Square Senior Apartments (Town of Salina, NY); Reynolds Point Senior Apartments (Johnson City, NY); New Hartford Square Senior Apartments (Whitesboro, NY); and Carlton Hollow Senior Apartments (Ballston Spa, NY).

“Disability discrimination in housing remains widespread in our community and across the country and tenants with disabilities continue to face a shortage of housing that meets their accessibility needs,” said CNY Fair Housing’s Executive Director, Sally Santangelo. “We’re pleased to have reached an agreement that will improve the accessibility of Clover’s properties so their senior residents will have a home that meets their needs and allows them to comfortably age in place.”

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Reed Colfax, Sara Pratt, and Soohyun Choi from Relman Colfax PLLC and CNY Fair Housing Staff Attorneys Conor Kirchner and Casey Weissman-Vermeulen.

The fair housing organizations included in the agreement are as follows:

CNY Fair Housing – serves 17 counties in Central and Northern New York

Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Buffalo – serves Western New York

Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Cincinnati – serves the greater Cincinnati, Ohio area Fair Housing Advocates Association – serves the City of Cuyahoga Falls and communities in Ohio that do not have private fair housing groups providing services

Fair Housing Center – based in Toledo, serves Lucas and Wood Counties of Northwest Ohio Fair Housing Center for Rights & Research – serves Cuyahoga and Lorain Counties in Ohio Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana – serves 24 counties in Central Indiana

Fair Housing Contact Service – serves the greater Akron, Ohio area

Fair Housing Partnership – serves Western Pennsylvania and other underserved areas of Pennsylvania Fair Housing Resource Center – serves Tri-County region of Lake, Geauga, and Ashtabula Counties in Ohio

Lexington Fair Housing Council – serves the state of Kentucky

Miami Valley Fair Housing – serves the Dayton metropolitan area and the Miami Valley region __________________________________________________________________________________

CNY Fair Housing is a nonprofit organization that works to eliminate housing discrimination, promote open communities, and ensure equal access to housing opportunity for all people in Central and Northern New York.

Relman Colfax PLLC is a civil rights, anti-discrimination law firm based in Washington, DC.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Government.

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