Jackson v. Queens Borough Public Library

In November 2019, Disability Rights Advocates (DRA) filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of Plaintiffs Tanya Jackson and Center for Independence of the Disabled New York (CIDNY) against Queens Borough Public Library, The Board of Trustees of the Queens Borough Public Library, and the City of New York, challenging the inaccessibility of Hunters Point Library.

Under longstanding disability rights laws, newly constructed buildings must be made fully accessible to people with disabilities. Yet Hunters Point Library, which was an entirely new $41.5 million building constructed after years of in-depth planning, shockingly excluded persons with mobility disabilities from full and equal access to its services through reliance on stairs and other inaccessible features. 

DRA’s goal was to rectify the exclusion of people with disabilities by requiring Defendants to develop and implement a remedial plan to provide equal access to Hunters Point Library. The suit alleged violations of the federal and local civil rights laws designed to eliminate disability-based discrimination.

In early 2025, DRA reached a settlement agreement providing for the remediation of accessibility barriers in Hunters Point Library. A federal court preliminarily approved the settlement agreement in June 2025 and then approved the settlement agreement in October 2025.

The settlement will result in significant changes to ensure visitors with mobility disabilities are able to visit, benefit from, and enjoy the library to the same extent as non-disabled visitors. Among other fixes, the library will remedy inaccessible multi-level seating in the children’s area and rooftop terrace and provide stair-free access to two previously inaccessible tiered sections of the library. The library will also remediate over a hundred other smaller accessibility barriers, including in the bathrooms and study areas.