FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                    CR
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1994                                    (202) 616-2765
                                                         TDD (202) 514-1888


          HOLIDAY SHOPPERS WITH DISABILITIES TO GET EQUAL CHANCE
                       TO GET TO MASSACHUSETTS MALL


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With a free shuttle bus at their service,
residents near Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts have had an easier time
getting to the local mall.  That is, all the residents except those
with disabilities.
     When Rosemary Larking tried to board the bus she found she
could not.  The vehicle was inaccessible to her and other
individuals who use wheelchairs.  In fact, it has been inaccessible
since December 1993, when the mall began the  service in violation
of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
     But this holiday season, that has changed under an agreement
reached yesterday between the Justice Department and the Chestnut
Hill Atrium Mall.        
     With the holiday season in full swing, the upscale mall now
leases a 21-seat shuttle bus with a rear-entry hydraulic lift that
is accessible to Larking and all other persons with mobility
impairments.
     "The ADA is about equal opportunity," said Assistant Attorney
General for Civil Rights Deval L. Patrick.  "We hope all
storeowners will realize the added business that persons with
disabilities could bring."
     Larking notified the Justice Department after her 12-year old
daughter, Lorelei, who constantly looks out for access problems,
recognized the shuttle was inaccessible.
     "My daughter said, 'uh, oh. An ADA problem'," said Larking,
who filed a complaint with the Department alleging that the mall
was violating the ADA.  
     "I hope this will serve as an example for other businesses,"
added Larking.  "Disabled people are consumers too."
     In addition to making the bus accessible, the mall also will
pay Larking $500 in cash or in the form of a gift certificate
redeemable in any of the Atrium Mall stores.
     Title III of the ADA prohibits discrimination against persons
with disabilities by public accommodations, such as shopping malls. 
Complaints about transportation involving services provided by
state and local governments are investigated by the Department of
Transportation.  Today's agreement, however, involves a public
accommodation and, as such, is the first involving transportation
issues resolved by the Justice Department.
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