FHJC FILES NEW DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT AGAINST REPEAT OFFENDERS

Today, the Fair Housing Justice Center (FHJC) announced it has filed a new complaint alleging disability discrimination at newly constructed multi-family rental housing affiliated with The Rabsky Group, a major developer of multi-family housing in Brooklyn and Queens.

The complaint alleges unlawful inaccessible design and construction at three properties: Astor on Third II in Astoria, Queens; The Northern in Long Island City, Queens; and Bridgeview DUMBO in DUMBO, Brooklyn. Altogether, the buildings comprise 560 apartments.

The named defendants are property owners and developers Developing NY State LLC; Galaxy Developers LLC; Astoria 2 LLC; 39th Ave Holdings 1 LLC; 39th Ave Holdings 2 LLC; and 69 Adams LLC; architect Naresh Mahangu; architecture firm Hamish Whitefield Architects PC; architectural and engineering firm NY Building Associates Inc.; and interior design firm Durukan Design, Inc.

Several of the Defendants have been sued by the FHJC before—some multiple times—for similar violations. Despite agreeing to comply with fair housing laws in resolving those previous suits, these Defendants “willfully disregarded their legal obligations to design and construct apartment buildings with accessibility features that ensure safe and habitable dwelling units for physically disabled individuals,” according to the complaint.

(Note: Bridgeview DUMBO Architecture firm Hamish Whitefield Architects, P.C. has not been named as a defendant in previous accessibility lawsuits filed by FHJC.)

The complaint alleges multiple violations of the federal Fair Housing Act, the New York State Human Rights Law, and the New York City Human Rights Law. A 2024 investigation by the FHJC revealed numerous accessibility barriers at the properties, including

• communal roof decks, patios, and private balconies with thresholds that are too high
• bathrooms that are inaccessible due to narrow floor space
• a galley kitchen with insufficient maneuverable space
• hallways that are too narrow
• doorways to bathrooms, bedrooms, balconies, and closets that are too narrow
• mailbox keyholes that exceeded the required height limit
• laundry room dryers stacked above washing machines, making them too high
• a co-working space with inaccessible phone booths
• a business center with inaccessible private meeting rooms

During one test, an agent for the properties acknowledged the accessibility failures to an FHJC tester who used a mobility scooter. The agent pointed out how some apartments were narrower than others, which would make it harder for her to “turn around” and “maneuver.” The agent also recognized the problem of a high terrace threshold, saying that the law would be on the tester’s side to have the building install a ramp, according to the complaint.

The complaint seeks injunctive relief to end the discrimination, retrofits to correct the inaccessible features, fair housing training for defendants and their agents and employees, and other remedial action to ensure future compliance with fair housing accessibility requirements, along with monetary damages.

The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of New York on March 25, 2026 and can be read in full HERE.

“Defendants claim on their website that their building ‘offers apartments that suit every lifestyle’ while knowingly continuing to exclude people with disabilities from consideration in their design and construction process,” stated FHJC Legal Director David Berman. “People with disabilities are not an afterthought or an asterisk. They need to be included when we say ‘everybody.’”

“By continuing to design and build multiple inaccessible apartment buildings, these Defendants are creating neighborhoods that are closed to New Yorkers with physical disabilities,” said Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP (ECBAWM) Partner Diane L. Houk. “This lawsuit seeks to end these abuses and require Defendants to conform their business practices to the law.”

The FHJC is represented by Ms. Houk and ECBAWM attorneys Nick Bourland and Sydney Zazzaro.

The mission of the FHJC, a nonprofit civil rights organization, is to eliminate housing discrimination; promote policies and programs that foster open, accessible, and inclusive communities; and strengthen enforcement of fair housing laws in the New York City region.