Retail store forced to make front entrance of 231 stores wheelchair accessible

[tsai3904]

“Dudes” and “Bettys” in wheelchairs have won a legal battle against Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to gain smoother access into its chain of surf-shack style Hollister stores.

Denver-based U.S. District Judge Wiley Daniel on Friday said he’ll grant an injunction ordering the clothing chain to redesign 231 stores – about half of all its retail locations – within the next three years to make them accessible to people with disabilities.

...

Friday’s order comes after a four-year legal battle in which the teen-clothing chain argued its stepped porches, designed to evoke a weathered surf-shack, aren’t just entrances to its stores but also a form of marketing essential to establishing its beach-lifestyle brand.

...

The Colorado Cross Disability Coalition vs. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. started when Farrar’s wheelchair wouldn’t make it up the steps of the Hollister store at the Orchard Town Center in Westminister, Colo., where her daughter wanted to shop.

That store, like others, had a wheelchair-accessible side entrance disguised as a shuttered window. Farrar, who has used a wheelchair since age 12, doesn’t do side entrances.

“I’m philosophically opposed to that,” she told the Independent.

More:
http://coloradoindependent.com/129517/hollister-ordered-to-make-faux-surf-shacks-wheelchair-accessible

[enhanced_deficit]

Is increasing number of disabled Americans due to spreading freedom in Iraq and Afghanistan a major factpr?


The toll of war now includes more amputees - CNN.com (http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=2&cad=rja&ved=0CDAQFjAB&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2012%2F05%2F27%2Fus %2Famputee-veterans-come-home&ei=_04SUtvIGqX52AXquoCwDg&usg=AFQjCNH6mnT-b4TmCIdCRBJFyJFjMmfDbA&bvm=bv.50768961,d.eWU)
www.cnn.com/2012/05/27/us/amputee-veterans-come-home
Oct 29, 2012 - More than 624,000 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan have filed disability claims, Military Times reported in January.... met with Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, who lost his four limbs in a similar way.

[puppetmaster]

Disgusting use of force again. Freedom is almost gone....not much left.

[tod evans]

Shut 'em down and reopen under another LLC.

Force the whiners to pay litigation again...........and again....

[TonySutton]

I don't do side entrances.

I wonder how she gets up into the Lincoln Memorial?

I wonder if she uses the special head of the line privileges at amusement parks?

[Dr.3D]

Why can't they just make the decision themselves? If they want the business of people in wheelchairs, they will make their business accessible to them, if not then they are fine the way they are.

[TonySutton]

Why can't they just make the decision themselves? If they want the business of people in wheelchairs, they will make their business accessible to them, if not then they are fine the way they are.

You missed they part where there is a wheelchair access, it's just not the front entrance.

[TonySutton]

I wonder what would happen if Abercrombie and Fitch would lock their front doors and put up a sign that says please use the side entrance. It would save them a lot of money and probably open up more floor space for product

[Dr.3D]

You missed they part where there is a wheelchair access, it's just not the front entrance.
Well hell, there is access. Let those with wheelchairs piss into the wind.

[aGameOfThrones]

Well hell, there is access. Let those with wheelchairs piss into the wind.



That store, like others, had a wheelchair-accessible side entrance disguised as a shuttered window. Farrar, who has used a wheelchair since age 12, doesn’t do side pissing.

“I’m philosophically opposed to that,” she told the Independent.

Racist

[Warrior_of_Freedom]

That store, like others, had a wheelchair-accessible side entrance disguised as a shuttered window. Farrar, who has used a wheelchair since age 12, doesn’t do side entrances.

“I’m philosophically opposed to that,” she told the Independent.
Poor baby. LOL. The side entrance isn't good enough for you?

[oyarde]

Probably can walk anyway , just says used wheel chair since age 12 , does not say she needs it. If you do not like the side entrance , blow your money somewhere else dirtbag.

[tod evans]

This guy isn't a whiner


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_Fxr6gw3w

[AuH20]

Love this comment:


1. Why did the lawsuit take 4 fucking years?
2. Why 3 years to comply? How about 6 months?
3. Why did A&F think they could ignore the ADA; a law with 23 years of case law supporting it?
4. We, as a society, have decided that accessibility is a desired right. Why did A&F think they could flaunt societal norms?
5. Does A&F force "the coloreds" to use the side entrance also?

It always goes back to "the coloreds." We're going to be locked side by side in FEMA camps and they'll be talking about "the coloreds." Deficits? For the coloreds. Progressive Income tax? For the Coloreds. Gun Confiscation? For the sake of the coloreds. STOP IT!!! The Coloreds is not a carte blanche override of logic and common rights.

[oyarde]

Love this comment:



It always goes back to "the coloreds." We're going to be locked side by side in FEMA camps and they'll be talking about "the coloreds." Deficits? For the coloreds. Progressive Income tax? For the Coloreds. Gun Confiscation? For the sake of the coloreds. STOP IT!!! The Coloreds is not a carte blanche override of logic and common rights.

You can only hope they do not vote .....but they probably do.

[oyarde]

This guy isn't a whiner


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nr_Fxr6gw3w

I know some folks in terrible shape myself .None are whiners.

[tod evans]

I know some folks in terrible shape myself .None are whiners.

Buddy of mine in HS fell onto a stump, paraplegic....

Our shop class rigged up an old knucklehead with a wheelchair platform and hand controls...

[belian78]

You missed they part where there is a wheelchair access, it's just not the front entrance.

Exactly, this is fucking absolutely bananas. There's already a handicapped accessible entrance they just don't want to use it!? If I were that business CEO I'd put a damn big neon sign up blinking 'COME ON IN CRIPPLES!!!! WE WANTS YA'S!!!' No, I probably wouldn't but that thought has me laughing my rear off. LOL

[AuH20]

Exactly, this is fucking absolutely bananas. There's already a handicapped accessible entrance they just don't want to use it!? If I were that business CEO I'd put a damn big neon sign up blinking 'COME ON IN CRIPPLES!!!! WE WANTS YA'S!!!' No, I probably wouldn't but that thought has me laughing my rear off. LOL

Imagine patronizing ads placarded all over the store featuring the handicapped in provocative Abercrombie poses? Really over the top?

[Acala]

Thanks to George the First for the ADA. It must be the worst of all the so-called civil rights acts.

[amy31416]

Mt. Kilimanjaro needs to be made wheelchair accessible too.

[Danke]

Mt. Kilimanjaro needs to be made wheelchair accessible too.

http://www.9news.com/sports/article/200321/295/Woman-ascends-Mount-Kilimanjaro-in-her-wheelchair

[Dr.3D]

Mt. Kilimanjaro needs to be made wheelchair accessible too.

They can access it if they have the right equipment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y3Bx7NyUdRM

[angelatc]

Shut 'em down and reopen under another LLC.

Force the whiners to pay litigation again...........and again....

This.

[Acala]

Shut 'em down and reopen under another LLC.

Force the whiners to pay litigation again...........and again....

At last a good use for the corporate business form.

[Scrapmo]

You don't have to shop there nor do you have a right to shop there.


“I’m philosophically opposed to that,”

I philosophically opposed to your philosophical approval of your use of government force and public sympathy to cater to your every whim and fancy.

[Victor Grey]

I wish somebody would just invent a better darned wheelchair which is affordable that can climb stairs already, do society can get over all of this nonsense.


Mt. Kilimanjaro needs to be made wheelchair accessible too.

Heh. Reality truly doesn't seem to care much for some of society's notions, does it?

[BlackTerrel]

I'm probably a minority here but I do see the value of these laws. It's easy to say "the free market will fix it" but it doesn't always work that way. It didn't work in the 60's and if you want a society where people have equal rights sometimes you need laws to enforce that.

That said....


That store, like others, had a wheelchair-accessible side entrance disguised as a shuttered window. Farrar, who has used a wheelchair since age 12, doesn’t do side entrances.

“I’m philosophically opposed to that,” she told the Independent.

What an entitled bitch. What are you fucking queen of England?

[amy31416]

I'm probably a minority here but I do see the value of these laws. It's easy to say "the free market will fix it" but it doesn't always work that way. It didn't work in the 60's and if you want a society where people have equal rights sometimes you need laws to enforce that.


My dad always said that life ain't fair, and he was right. If the laws were reasonably carried out, that'd be one thing--but things just go wayyy too far.

I wonder if people like her just feel so powerless that they have to do things like this in order to feel some kind of power. I have never in my life seen a handicapped person who was having trouble getting in or out somewhere not be offered help promptly, either by strangers or staff of the shop.

[Philhelm]

I wonder how she gets up into the Lincoln Memorial?

I wonder if she uses the special head of the line privileges at amusement parks?

I wonder how she dresses herself in the clothes that she would purchase from a company she aggresses with government force. I guess that's how she...rolls.

[QueenB4Liberty]

I don't know why anyone would want to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch, but whatever. It's pretty difficult being in a wheelchair, I've taken care of someone in a wheelchair and anything that made it easier to get in and out of places was welcomed.

[QueenB4Liberty]

And they don't like fat people or "ugly" people buying their clothes so it doesn't surprise me they are like this with the disabled as well.

[Deborah K]

Colorado is the new California.

[MelissaWV]

And they don't like fat people or "ugly" people buying their clothes so it doesn't surprise me they are like this with the disabled as well.

Which is why they have wheelchair-accessible entrances, right?


My dad always said that life ain't fair, and he was right. If the laws were reasonably carried out, that'd be one thing--but things just go wayyy too far.

I wonder if people like her just feel so powerless that they have to do things like this in order to feel some kind of power. I have never in my life seen a handicapped person who was having trouble getting in or out somewhere not be offered help promptly, either by strangers or staff of the shop.

Parking spots are generally part of the plan, and determined based on the square footage of the store from what I can tell. This presents a problem with big box hardware stores. They're huge. So. How often do two dozen vehicles full of people in wheelchairs pull up to Home Depot and swarm the place?

[jdmyprez_deo_vindice]

And they don't like fat people or "ugly" people buying their clothes so it doesn't surprise me they are like this with the disabled as well.

I am both fat and ugly and their preference does not bother me - I simply just don't shop there. They are obviously not bothered by my lack of business but in the future should they be I am sure you will see a change of heart on their part.

[QueenB4Liberty]

Which is why they have wheelchair-accessible entrances, right?



Parking spots are generally part of the plan, and determined based on the square footage of the store from what I can tell. This presents a problem with big box hardware stores. They're huge. So. How often do two dozen vehicles full of people in wheelchairs pull up to Home Depot and swarm the place?

You're acting as if the doors are right next to the regular ones. A lot of times there are "other" entrances to stores in malls at least but those are the doors you get to by walking on the outside of the mall. So you have to exit the mall in order to get into a store. Like I said, it may exist, but it's a matter of convenience. Most other stores disabled can get into without having to use a special door.

[MelissaWV]

You're acting as if the doors are right next to the regular ones. A lot of times there are "other" entrances to stores in malls at least but those are the doors you get to by walking on the outside of the mall. So you have to exit the mall in order to get into a store. Like I said, it may exist, but it's a matter of convenience. Most other stores disabled can get into without having to use a special door.

Yes, yes, and elevators are always at the back corner of a store and really inconvenient, too.

I wonder if the clothing will actually be placed in such a way that you can wheel down the aisles as well, considering in most stores it's hard enough to walk between the racks? Moreover, I wonder what the fitting rooms are like, and if they'll have to change that, too.

"I demand this store provide a BETTER entrance for me, at great cost, so I can shop there."

*store loses money and closes some stores to make up for it, and also raises prices*

"OMG that store is sooooooo overpriced I mean wtf."

'Merika.

[Danan]

You're acting as if the doors are right next to the regular ones. A lot of times there are "other" entrances to stores in malls at least but those are the doors you get to by walking on the outside of the mall. So you have to exit the mall in order to get into a store. Like I said, it may exist, but it's a matter of convenience. Most other stores disabled can get into without having to use a special door.

Build your own store for disabled people if there is a market for that. You have absolutely no right to force anyone else to rebuild their stores just because some people can not enter it.

[mad cow]

I think a couple of Dudes should load her up on a surfboard and carry her up the step while the rest of the Dudes and Bettys serenade her with Surfer Girl like the wait staff at Appleby's on your birthday.