Activists for disabled step up battle against Fremont Street Experience

Grace Leong

Friday, Nov. 5, 1999 | 10:58 a.m.

Disability activist Ronald Ray Smith and two members of the Disabled Rights Action Committee are seeking a preliminary injunction against the Fremont Street Experience LLC to shut down any new attractions that fail to meet the minimum accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The Fremont Street Experience is a lightshow-themed attraction that was built to bring gamblers, tourists and visitors to the downtown Las Vegas casino district.

The ADA requires every service available to the able-bodied in all new construction built after Jan. 26, 1993, to be available to the disabled on equal terms.

"Not only are we looking to shut down Fremont Street's new public accommodations that are inaccessible to the disabled, we are also looking for an ADA expert who would certify that future tenants' structures are suitable under the ADA," Richard F. Armknecht III, the plaintiffs' attorney said.

But U.S. District Judge Howard D. McKibben denied on Wednesday the plaintiffs' request for a temporary restraining order to be placed on a new Fremont Street tenant, Race Rock of Las Vegas Inc., prohibiting its new two-story restaurant from opening.

The TRO was denied because affidavits in support of the motion haven't been filed, said Patrick Reilly, the defendant's attorney, quoting Judge McKibben's order. A hearing for a preliminary injunction is set Nov. 24 in Reno.

Smith and co-plaintiffs Robert and Carol Lee, who use wheelchairs or motorized scooters, filed affidavits and a motion to amend an existing complaint on Tuesday proposing to add new defendants Race Rock, Allright Sierra Parking Inc. and Allright Corp., requiring them to be ADA-compliant and to eliminate all barriers to the plaintiffs' access to Fremont Street.

"Given (Fremont Street's) abysmal history of violating the ADA and permitting others to violate the ADA on its premises, the injunction of the defendant should extend to both existing violations and prospective violations," the plaintiffs said in their motion for preliminary injunction.

Smith, who filed the first suit against Fremont Street on Nov. 4, 1998, alleging he was unable to access two temporary stage areas erected around July 1998 alongside the Golden Nugget, has now dropped a separate earlier ADA claim over a Coca-Cola kiosk because it has been demolished.

Smith said in an affidavit the Race Rock restaurant was suspected to be non- ADA compliant because a website photo of one of its restaurants allegedly depicts a bar area that is allegedly inaccessible to disabled customers.

Reilly, however, disagreed. "The ADA is the law of the land. The city of Las Vegas won't allow the restaurant to be opened if it wasn't already ADA-compliant. The ADA is incorporated into the Building Code."

"Smith is trying to enjoin the opening of the restaurant without even seeing the inside of it ... My best guess is the website picture is of the other Race Rock restaurant in Orlando," he said. "This new restaurant has designated places for disabled people to access the bar and video poker facilities. The bar counter has a portion that is lower for disabled people."

"If there is an ADA violation, the court can order the offending fixture to be altered. But you don't shut down an entire business and you don't put people out of work just because the business isn't ADA-compliant," Reilly said.

The plaintiffs alleged that service counters at the Race Rock's trailer house retail store don't provide counter space at a height that is readily accessible to wheelchair-users. They said the counters are about 60 inches above ground level, instead of an ADA-height requirement of 36 inches.

Reilly, however, said the trailer would be removed Thursday and all retail store operations would be conducted within the restaurant.

The plaintiffs also alleged Allright Sierra, which operates Fremont Street's parking, doesn't provide sufficient handicapped-accessible parking. Smith said two of three prefabricated parking lot toll booths at Fremont Street's garage have three-inch steps barring wheelchair access for disabled employees.

Reilly disputed the allegation. "Only one booth is accessible to the disabled, and that's all that's required by the ADA."

In response to Smith's allegations that two disabled accessible parking spaces didn't have any signage and one such parking space had its signage obliterated, Reilly said Fremont Street was in the process of restoring the signs that were torn down.

"Smith has made his presence known for the past several years and we have made changes to the pedestrian mall to accommodate his suggestions," Reilly said.