The email below was in my In-box when I woke this morning. After several phone calls to a lady name Lori, who is the author of the email below and a dear friend of the a disabled man who this incident is about, I learned about a disgusting situation of a slumlord gone wild.







Hello



I have a friend in a wheel chair, on the 3rd floor of a walk up building.

He has to crawl down and up the stairs to get out. The landlord ignores

his request for a ground floor apt. He is distraught and needs

to go outside. He is trapped up on the 3rd Floor.

Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

Lori

After speaking to Lori I learned the gentleman she was writing about, named Chris Cap was stabbed in the spine when he was 13 yrs of age, leaving him wheelchair bound. He grew up in the same apartment he currently lives. When he was a teen there were parents and friends so the third floor was not a problem, but as an adult, now having lived there for 30yrs, he asked the landlord last year if he could shift to a ground floor apartment that was vacant. The landlord refused.



Every day since Chris has been living alone he has to crawl on his chest up and down 3 flights of stairs every time he leaves the building and even has to chain his wheelchair to the stairs, risking someone stealing it. One might say leaving his dignity on the same stairs. Chris approached an advocacy group who contacted the landlord and was ignored.



Not seeing any other option he got a disabled rights lawyer who successfully sued for the landlord forcing him to be compliant with the ADA in making the lower level apartment available. The landlord was served early November with a 30 day notice to comply. He not only ignored the order, but has told Chris there was no hope in hell he’s would do it. The downstairs apartment has remained vacant and although Chris has repeatedly asked if he can move downstairs the landlord repeatedly refuses. On more than one occasion the landlord has deliberately walked over the top of Chris as he was trying to make his own in and out of the building. The landlord is J.P. Rutigliano. He evidently owns dozens of buildings and with this knowledge is sounding like a slumlord.

Rutigliano, Rocco – J & L Holding Corporation

The council woman’s office below, even though contacted in advance by the wonderful Michalea Miller to open doors for me, has so suggested emailing or calling 311, which is no help at all.



Don’t worry, Chris I’m on the job and I will not stop until the landlord complies or the draft he’s feeling is the new hole he was torn.

What kind of human who could easily show compassion by the simple act of moving someone to a lower floor not only doesn’t but taunts their disability by walking over their crawling form on a staircase?

Please don’t just read this but express your feelings on this subject with the Borough and/or State. We can show Chris the world cares and together we’ll make the damn landlord care.

Here are the details of the City Council Person we are in contact with fighting for a decent solution for Chris’s problem.

CM Jessica Lappinhttp

District Office Address

330 East 63rd Street

Suite 1K

New York, NY 10065

District Office Phone

212-980-1808





FOOTNOTE: At the time of posting this story, we at Disabled Access Denied are attempting to reach the relevant authorities to broker a non-legal resolution but make no qualms about it, if the landlord continues on his current path and all efforts to resolve this are exhausted we will not hesitate to involve the legal system upon him.