Why are so many buildings still not ADA compliant today?

Why are so many buildings, after 20 years of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act, not ADA compliant today?

ACCESS was the ADA consultants for the New York-New York Hotel Casino here in Vegas that was under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) some 12 years ago.  As part of the our marketing of ADA professional architectural accessibility services at the time, I called on other large hotel-casino properties.  One conversation I had with an owner, who was also an attorney, told me that they had studied the additional cost of making their new properties ADA compliant.  They decided they could make more profit by not spending the additional money for ADA compliance and take their chances of a letter of ADA non-compliance from the DOJ.  You see, the DOJ may only have a staff of 50 people to enforce compliance to the ADA for the entire country!

ADA non-compliance complaints from individuals were handled by their attorneys with some token retrofits, which was the cheap solution.  Today, we see the same mind-set with property owners.  That is why ACCESS founded the "Watchdogs in Wheelchairs" program.  The strength of ACCESS is the years of experience of professional accessibility architects with their detail ADA building compliance audits and plan checks, plus years of architectural and construction experience.  All of this is in the ACCESS total ADA building compliance program.  It is designed as a simple "self-help" for the handicapped community.

As I've mentioned in my past postings, to file for non-compliance there is no cost to the handicapped community.  Join our "Watchdogs in Wheelchairs" program by contacting ACCESS at hfalstad@accessts.net.  It's easy and we will walk you through every step.

1. When traveling, book an accessible room with 2 beds and roll-in shower.
2. Using a color digital camera, take 2-3 photos of the room, roll-in shower, lobby area and public restrooms.
3. Take photos of the accessible parking and overall photos outside of the building.
4. Email the photos and a copy of your hotel bill to ACCESS.

And that's it!  Once received, we will determine whether you have "standing" for an ADA non-compliance filing in Federal Courts.  We will guide you along the way and be on hand for any questions.  We will also keep you fully updated and posted with the proceedings.  Again, all this at no cost to you.

The ACCESS program works because we use the Federal Courts which are available to us because the ADA is Civil Rights Law.  It's your choice.  Do nothing or join the ACCESS "Watchdogs in Wheelchairs" program and help get buildings ADA compliant one building at a time; for you and all other people that are wheelchair bound.

Comment here or on our FaceBook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Access-Technologies-Services-Inc/268659564730.  Or call us at (702) 649-7575 and ask for myself or Patricia; email me at hfalstad@accessts.net.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Hank