BOSTON - Acting U.S. Attorney William D. Weinreb announced that 13 restaurants located in the Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods of Boston have resolved accessibility issues discovered during compliance reviews.
“As places of public accommodation, restaurants must ensure that their construction and operation comply with all requirements of the American with Disabilities Act, and that they provide equal access for all people," said Acting U.S. Attorney Weinreb. “These restaurants have quickly and cooperatively worked to address the ADA violations discovered during our investigation, which will enable all prospective patrons to dine at their establishments."
Weinreb’s Civil Rights Unit began compliance reviews in June 2015 with site visits to 18 restaurants in Boston’s Seaport and Fort Point neighborhoods to determine whether the restaurants were operating in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). Seven restaurants - Atlantic Beer Garden, the Barking Crab, Barlow’s, Bastille Kitchen, the Daily Catch, Del Frisco’s, and Row 34 - have entered into voluntary compliance agreements to address issues of accessibility highlighted during the site visits. The U.S. Attorney’s Office closed the compliance reviews of these restaurants after determining that they made the agreed-upon changes and achieved compliance. Among the changes made by the restaurants were the installation of accessible tables in dining areas, modification of bar surfaces for wheelchair access, removal of architectural barriers, and installation of directional signage required by the ADA.
Six other restaurants were determined only to require relatively minor work in order to achieve compliance with the ADA. Those restaurants are Empire, Morton’s Steakhouse, Legal Harborside, Temazcal Tequila Cantina, Babbo Pizzeria, and Gather.
Federal law requires public accommodations, including restaurants, to provide individuals with disabilities equal access to facilities. The ADA authorizes the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney’s Office to undertake periodic reviews of covered establishments. For more information on the ADA, visit www.ADA.gov.
These matters were handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jennifer Serafyn, Chief of Weinreb’s Civil Rights Unit, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Leung, and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Dorchak.
The Civil Rights Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office was established in 2015 with the mission of enhancing federal civil rights enforcement. For more information on the Office’s civil rights efforts, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-ma/civil-rights.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
