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Discrimination of Handicapped Persons at the restaurant: 410 Bank Street Cape May, NJ. Manager refused to allow me to use the handicap ramp. I was forced to get out of wheelchair with oxygen tank or no service.
I have leukemia and underwent a bone marrow transplant. As a result of high dose chemo therapy and radiation, I now have lung issues. I am forced to use a wheelchair and oxygen to survive and attempt to live somewhat “normal” life. I can assure you that living this way is not my first choice.
I made a reservation for 7:15 pm on May 14, 2009 at the restaurant "410 Bank Street" located in Cape May, New Jersey. The restaurant was advertised as Handicapped Accessible. Upon arrival I had a problem with the manager Dortothy Garrabrant. While I waited outside, my wife informed Dorothy that I would need to use a ramp for my power chair. She immediately became enraged and quite loudly declared "NO! He can't come in. If it was a manual wheelchair I would say okay but not a power chair" Aside from my extreme embarrassment by her behavior I was quite disappointed in her total disregard for a disabled person. Clearly there was a handicap ramp but Dorothy felt it was her personal discretion if someone was “worthy” of using it. The Americans with Disability Act, Title III: Public Accommodations; would disagree with Dorothy’s self declared authority over such matters. The State of New Jersey has declared me disabled and I live on a modest Disability check. The NJ Motor Vehicle Commission has declared me disabled and provided me with a “Disabled Placard” when traveling by car. Medicare has declared me disabled and provided a motorized wheelchair. But Dorothy Garrabrant in her infinite wisdom has decided I should just get up and walk to avoid her from being inconvenienced by having a wheel chair in the restaurant dining area.
I asked my wife to pull me out of the chair. I leaned on my wife, with oxygen tank in tow and slowly struggled as I made my way to be seated. I finally sat down gasping for breath and took some time to recover from the ordeal. Now suffering from both physical and mental anguish, I tried to enjoy the rest of the evening.
For my trouble, Dorothy offered to give me a free desert. I find it insulting that Dorothy would believe a piece of cake could resolve a Civil Rights Violation.
Company Business Name: 410 Bank Street
Country of complaint: United States
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Oh, I'd be going after her job. That is completely unacceptable. So sorry you had to deal with that! :-)
You need to file a complaint with the Department of Justice and have them investigate this further. I can completely relate to your situation and I understand how hard it is to have some measure of a 'normal' life. Although not in a power chair (I own a sporty Quickie Revolution) life from a chair is drastically different from life on legs. I am fairly new to a chair, however I have had my fair share of issues in stores and sent my fair share of emails asking places to correct problems. If only more people made formal complaints the lives of those who are chaired would be so much better. My most recent problem was at my vet's office. My chair (which has a modest footprint I assure you) would not fit through the exam room door. I was forced to sit out in the hallway blocking everybody while my husband attended to my dog with the vet tech. It is unfortunate that this day in age we are still considered less than human and people truly feel we are making their lives difficult by requesting the same treatment as others. Heaven forbid Dorothy ever find out what it is like to be in your wheels, although I admit I think anybody who partakes in this type of discrimination should be required to be in our position for a good week! Good luck to you!
www.ada.gov/enforce