Cuomo sues developers of 3 LI rental complexes

The state attorney general has sued one developer and settled with another in cases involving three Long Island rental complexes that allegedly failed to comply with disabled access laws.

The owner of Atlantic Point Apartments in Bellport, the Texas-based Trammell Crow Residential, was sued, while Commack-based Fairfield Properties and two of its affiliates agreed to fixes, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Monday.

It was part of a wider investigation that started in the fall of 2008, Cuomo said. Undercover testers went to residential properties where they told rental agents they were looking on behalf of a relative in a wheelchair, his office said.

"Equal access to housing is a right guaranteed by law, and no one should have problems living in their own home because they are disabled," Cuomo said.

Four other developers also agreed to settlements, he said.

At Fairfield's gated communities for 55-plus adults - Fairfield Knolls at Port Jefferson Station and Fairfield Knolls South in Coram - doors weren't wide enough for wheelchairs; there was a lack of accessible paths between apartments and public areas, such as parking; and door thresholds were too high for wheelchairs to go over easily, Cuomo said.

The firm, along with affiliates Port Jefferson Town Properties and Fairfield Pinewoods, agreed to train design and construction employees on the law; pay for tenants' lodging and food during renovations; and set aside $45,000 for potential claims.

Fairfield attorney Allen Perlstein said his clients had obtained all the local permits and did not know they had violated disabled access laws.

"Our client hired an architect; they used professionals," Perlstein said. "Obviously, the professionals were wrong . . . Our client is adamant about compliance."

He said the violations were not major: "This has to do with what I perceive as minor deviations in the construction."

According to the suit, Trammell Crow Residential ignored warnings of violations at its 795-apartment property in Bellport. An architect retained by Cuomo's office found no parking for the disabled and rooms that couldn't accommodate wheelchairs, the suit said.

Company officials did not return calls Monday.

The nonprofit Long Island Housing Service in Bohemia, which trains developers' employees on the law, has five federal cases pending against developers over the issue, said the group's leader, Michelle Santantonio. While most companies make changes to comply, she said, in some firms there seems to be a "disconnect."

"It's surprising and it's disturbing," she said.