27. In attempting to access the programs, services, and activities at SUNY Purchase,  students and visitors with mobility disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs and  other mobility devices, encounter pervasive barriers in violation of federal and state disability  law.   28. Students and visitors must navigate a network of pedestrian rights-of-way plagued  by ADA violations including but not limited to:  A lack of curb ramps; non-compliant curb  ramps and cross-walks; paths of travel that are unnecessarily long, have excessive slope, or  crumbling concrete or asphalt; inadequate accessible parking; inadequate vertical access to  the campus and public buildings; a lack of signage indicating accessibility; failing to provide  alternative routes blocked by ongoing construction; non-compliant safety features such as  call-boxes; and frequently broken accessibility features such as automatic door openers.    30. SUNY Purchase has failed on a systemic basis to provide and maintain accessible  rights-of-way for all students and visitors.    31. Pervasive throughout the campus along paths of travel connecting parking, the  campus, and the public buildings, are non-compliant and hazardous curb cuts that fail to  comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (“ADAAG”)  standards.  Many curb cuts have excessive slope and cross-slope, contain abrupt changes in  elevation, lack the necessary top-landing and tactile warnings, and are unsafe due to uneven  and loose or crumbling pavement, creating numerous hazards for persons with mobility  disabilities.   32. In many instances, curb cuts are missing altogether, including at the ends of the  cross walk spanning the street between the front entrance of the Performing Arts Center and  the elevator to the Main Plaza.   33. In addition to non-compliant curb ramps, other barriers along paths of travel  substantially impede accessibility and create safety hazards for people who use canes,  walkers, or other mobility aids; those at risk of tripping on the uneven surfaces; and for  wheelchair users at risk of being thrown when the wheels catch on the loose and uneven  surfaces.   35. Many other campus walkways connecting parking lots, the main campus, and  public buildings on campus have excessive slope and cross slope impeding the path of travel  for people with mobility disabilities.     36. There is no accessible route from the Outback Residence Hall across the quad to  the Dining Hall, or to the elevator in the Dining Hall, which provides vertical access to the  Main Plaza.   37. Accessible paths of travel are further impeded during the winter months because  snow removal is inconsistent and unreliable.     38. Ongoing construction on campus impedes and in some cases totally blocks access  and provides no temporary alternative routes and no signage indicating temporary alternative  routes of travel.  B.  Parking Barriers for Students and Visitors with Mobility Disabilities at  SUNY Purchase   39. The main parking lots for visitors and commuting students at SUNY Purchase are  designated W-1 and W-2.  The routes from these lots to the main campus and public  buildings are excessive and unnecessarily long, lack sufficient vertical access or signage, and  are replete with barriers along the paths of travel, such as missing or deficient curb ramps and  uneven and crumbling surfaces.   41. Campus parking lots are missing safe and accessible pathways forcing pedestrians  in wheelchairs to travel from their parking spaces to campus buildings behind parked cars,  where they are not easily visible and are therefore at risk that vehicles might back into them.   42. In addition to these physical access barriers, SUNY Purchase has failed to  adequately train parking enforcement staff regarding the rights of persons with mobility  disabilities.  Parking enforcement staff have instructed persons with disabilities who possess  the necessary permits seeking to park on campus that they are not permitted to park in  designated accessible spaces and have redirected them to parking lots farther from the center  of campus.    43. To assist students in navigating the campus and traveling to and from nearby  White Plains and Port Chester, SUNY Purchase provides a shuttle bus service, the “Purchase  Loop.”  This shuttle bus would greatly assist students with disabilities to navigate the current  barrier-strewn paths of travel and lack of vertical access, yet the buses are not accessible to  wheelchair users.  C.  Lack of Vertical Access at SUNY Purchase    44. SUNY Purchase’s academic buildings, as well as the Student Services Building,  Library, bookstore, and Neuberger Museum, are located on and around a central plaza which  is elevated from the street and main parking lot level.  The campus lacks adequate vertical  access between the two levels for students and visitors with mobility disabilities, including  wheelchair users.    46. Access to the main exterior elevator from the W-1 and W-2 parking lots to the  main plaza is hindered by unnecessarily long routes of travel, missing and/or insufficient  signage, and missing or deficient and non-compliant curb cuts and paths of travel.  Additionally, the elevator, functionally the sole point of vertical access to the main campus  and public buildings, is often subject to closure due to break-downs, maintenance, and  blocked routes related to the ongoing construction.   47. A potential third route is through an academic building.  However, this is not an  adequate alternative as the building is not generally open to the public nor are the doors  unlocked at all times.  Moreover, the path of travel between the building and the W-1 parking  lot is particularly long and replete with barriers such as missing and non-compliant curb cuts.   Further, there is no directional signage alerting pedestrians that it  potentially provides  vertical access to campus.      49. The Performing Arts Center is a multi-story facility containing four different  performance spaces.  Only one elevator, located on the east side of the building, provides  access between floors.     50. Within the Performing Arts Center, the service counters at which visitors  purchase tickets or inquire about performances and programs are too high for wheelchair  users to execute ticket purchases or to interact with staff.    51. Inside the performance spaces, the three theaters with permanent seating  configurations each include only four designated spaces for persons using wheelchairs.  In  each theater, all accessible spaces are located together in the back rows of the orchestra  levels.  For certain kinds of performances, these are the worst seats in the house.  Moreover,  because the accessible spaces are crowded together, audience members who use wheelchairs  have a decreased chance of sitting with companions who do not use wheelchairs, and often  face an obstructed view of the stage.    E.  Other Barriers Facing Students and Visitors with Mobility Disabilities at  SUNY Purchase   52. Along pedestrian pathways, drinking fountains and emergency call boxes are out  of accessible reach for persons in wheelchairs.    53. Seating areas throughout the main campus lack accessible tables.   54. The student mailroom lacks an accessible service counter or accessible table.   56. Elevators within buildings break down frequently, impeding vertical access within  buildings for students and visitors with disabilities.   57. Defendants have failed and are failing to prepare and implement a complete and  publicly available transition plan relating to structural changes to be undertaken to achieve  program accessibility, as required under federal law.  See 28 C.F.R. § 35.150(d).   F.  Harm to Plaintiff WILC    58. WILC is directly harmed by Defendants’ failure to ensure that the SUNY  Purchase campus is accessible to persons with disabilities.  WILC has expended resources  combating accessibility barriers on campus.  As a result of discriminatory practices at SUNY  Purchase, WILC therefore has fewer resources to dedicate to its other programs.  In addition,  WILC staff who have mobility disabilities encounter accessibility barriers when they visit  SUNY Purchase to pursue WILC’s advocacy work.  This injury to WILC is ongoing and  would be directly redressed by injunctive and declaratory relief.   59. WILC’s consumers who have mobility disabilities are directly harmed by  Defendants’ failure to ensure that the SUNY Purchase campus is accessible to persons with  disabilities, in that they are deprived of meaningful access to its educational and cultural  programs, activities, and services.  G.  Harm to Plaintiff Hill   61. When no accessible path is available, Ms. Hill often drives between locations on  campus.  She has provided documentation of her disability to SUNY Purchase and received a  campus parking pass that permits her to park in designated accessible spaces.  She also has a  state-issued parking pass for the disabled.  On several occasions, when she has parked in a  space designated for persons with disabilities, she has been issued a parking ticket or  challenged by parking enforcement personnel who state that she should park elsewhere  because she “does not look disabled.”  Staff have accused her of abusing her parking pass.   These confrontations with parking enforcement personnel cause Ms. Hill serious distress, and  have resulted in her missing class.    H.  Harm to Plaintiff Hellmann   63. During his visits to SUNY Purchase, Mr. Hellmann has found that the pavement  in the visitor parking lots is full of potholes and cracks and is therefore difficult to  comfortably navigate in a wheelchair.  In addition, because there are no clear pedestrian  pathways from the accessible spaces through the parking lots to the campus buildings, he is  required to travel behind parked cars, where he is not easily visible and is therefore at risk  that vehicles might back into him.  Mr. Hellmann has experienced difficulty traveling from  the parking lots to the plaza level independently because of a lack of vertical access.  While  on campus, he has traveled from the visitor parking lots to the main plaza using the  pedestrian pathway.  He has found that the curb cut connecting the hill to the parking lot is  unstable.  In addition, because the pathway is excessively steep and lacks a handrail,  landings, and edge protections, Mr. Hellmann experiences difficulty reaching the plaza level  without assistance and is exhausted when he reaches the top of the slope.  Mr. Hellmann has  seen no signage directing him to an alternative accessible route to the plaza level.      65. Pursuant to Rule 23(b)(2) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Plaintiffs bring  this action for injunctive and declaratory relief on their own behalf and on behalf of all  persons similarly situated.  Plaintiffs seek to represent a class of all persons with mobility  disabilities who use and/or will use pedestrian rights-of-way at SUNY Purchase.  The claims  asserted herein are solely for injunctive and declaratory relief for the class.  Damages claims  are not included in this complaint.     66. The persons in the class are so numerous that joinder of all such persons is  impracticable and the disposition of their claims in a class action is a benefit to the parties  and to the Court.  The class includes all students with mobility disabilities at SUNY  Purchase, as well as visitors to the Neuberger Museum, Library, and Performing Arts Center,  prospective students, and other guests.   67. There is a well-defined community of interest in the questions of law and fact  affecting the parties to be represented in that they are all being denied, or will be denied, their  civil rights and meaningful access to the educational and cultural programs available at  SUNY Purchase, due to the barriers described herein.   69. Plaintiffs are adequate class representatives because they and the persons they  represent are directly affected by Defendants’ failure to provide program access to persons  with mobility disabilities at the SUNY Purchase campus.  The interests of the Plaintiffs are  not antagonistic to, or in conflict with, the interests of the class as a whole.  The attorneys  representing the class are experienced in representing plaintiffs in civil rights class actions  for injunctive relief, including actions challenging barriers to access involving pedestrian  rights-of-way.   70. Plaintiffs’ claims are typical of the claims of the class as a whole because the  Plaintiffs are similarly affected by Defendants’ failure to provide meaningful access to the  educational and cultural programs available at SUNY Purchase.     71. Defendants have acted and/or failed to act on grounds generally applicable to all  class members, thereby making final declaratory and injunctive relief with respect to the  class as a whole appropriate.    72. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate herein all previously alleged paragraphs of the  Complaint.     74. The term “disability” includes physical and mental impairments that substantially  limit one or more major life activities, such as walking.  42 U.S.C. § 12102(1)-(2).  A  “qualified individual with a disability” is “an individual with a disability who, with or  without reasonable modifications to rules, policies, or practices, the removal of architectural,  communication, or transportation barriers, or the provision of auxiliary aids and services,  meets the essential eligibility requirements for the receipt of services or the participation in  programs or activities provided by a public entity.”  42 U.S.C. § 12131(2).     75. Plaintiffs, many consumers, board members and staff of the organizational  Plaintiff, and the members of the class are persons with disabilities within the meaning of the  statute in that they have impairments which substantially limit one or more major life  activities, such as walking.  They are also qualified in that they are students of or visitors to  SUNY Purchase, and thus are eligible to benefit from the College’s educational and cultural  programs.  Plaintiffs, many consumers, board members and staff of the organizational  Plaintiff, and the members of the class are therefore qualified individuals with disabilities  within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §§ 12102, 12131, and 28 C.F.R. § 35.104.    76. A “public entity” includes any state or local government and its agencies,  departments, and instrumentalities.  42 U.S.C. § 12131(1).  Defendant State University of  New York at SUNY Purchase is a public entity within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 12131 and  82. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate herein all previously alleged paragraphs of the  Complaint.    83. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, provides, in  pertinent part, that “[n]o otherwise qualified individual with a disability in the United States  . . . shall, solely by reason of her or his disability, be excluded from the participation in, be  denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity  receiving Federal financial assistance . . . .”  29 U.S.C. § 794(a).     84. Plaintiffs, many consumers, board and staff members of the organizational  Plaintiff, and members of the class are otherwise qualified individuals with disabilities within  the meaning of the statute in that they have impairments which substantially limit one or  more major life activities, such as walking, and have reason to and are otherwise eligible to  participate in Defendants’ educational and cultural programs at SUNY Purchase.  See 29  U.S.C. § 705(20)(B) (referencing 42 U.S.C. § 12102); see also 28 C.F.R. § 39.103.   86. Defendants have violated and continue to violate Section 504 and the regulations  promulgated thereunder.  By failing to remediate the pervasive access barriers on campus,  Defendants exclude Plaintiffs from participation in Defendants’ programs and activities,  deny Plaintiffs the benefits of those programs and activities, and subject Plaintiffs to  discrimination, solely by reason of their disabilities.   87. As a direct and proximate result of Defendants’ aforementioned conduct,  Plaintiffs and members of the class have been injured, and continue to be injured.    88. Defendants’ conduct constitutes an ongoing and continuous violation of Section  504 and, as a result, Plaintiffs are entitled to declaratory and injunctive relief as well as  reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs.   WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for relief as set forth below.   89. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate herein all previously alleged paragraphs of the  Complaint.     90. The New York State Human Rights Law (“NYSHRL”) provides that   [i]t shall be an unlawful discriminatory practice for any person,  being the owner, lessee, proprietor, manager, superintendent, agent  or employee of any place of public accommodation, resort or  amusement, because of the . . . disability . . . of any person, directly  or indirectly, to refuse, withhold from or deny to such person any  of the accommodations, advantages, facilities or privileges thereof.   N.Y. Exec. Law § 296(2)(a).     92. The term “place of public accommodation, resort or amusement” in the NYSHRL  includes, “regardless of whether the owner of operator of such place is a state or local  government entity or a private individual or entity, . . . wholesale and retail stores and  establishments dealing with goods or services of any kind, . . . theatres, . . . music halls, . . .  public halls, public rooms, public elevators, and any public areas of any building or  structure.”  As such, cultural attractions including the Performing Arts Center, Library, and  Neuberger Museum are places of public accommodation within the meaning of the  NYSHRL.  N.Y. Exec. Law § 292(9).    93. The term “disability” in the NYSHRL means “a physical, mental or medical  impairment resulting from anatomical, physiological, genetic or neurological conditions  which prevents the exercise of a normal bodily function or is demonstrable by medically  accepted clinical or laboratory diagnostic techniques.”  N.Y. Exec. Law § 292(21)(a).   Plaintiffs, many consumers, board members and staff of the organizational plaintiff, and  members of the class are persons with disabilities within the meaning of the NYSHRL.     94. Defendants, as persons under the statute and managers of the Performing Arts  Center, Library, and Neuberger Museum, have withheld from and denied persons with  mobility disabilities the accommodations, advantages, facilities, and privileges of those  attractions by failing to maintain accessible pedestrian rights-of-way on campus.     95. Through the conduct described above, Defendants have committed unlawful  discriminatory practices against Plaintiffs and have violated the NYSHRL.    97. Defendants’ conduct constitutes an ongoing and continuous violation of the  NYSHRL and, as a result, Plaintiffs are entitled to declaratory and injunctive relief as well as  reasonable attorneys’ fees, expenses, and costs.   WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs pray for relief as set forth below.    98. Plaintiffs re-allege and incorporate herein all previously alleged paragraphs of the  Complaint.    99. Plaintiffs contend that Defendants have failed and are failing to comply with  applicable laws prohibiting discrimination against persons with disabilities in violation of  Title II of the ADA, 42 U.S.C. § 12131 et seq.; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, 29  U.S.C. § 794; and the NYSHRL, N.Y. Exec. Law § 290 et seq.   100.  Plaintiffs contend, and are informed and believe, that Defendants deny  failing to comply with applicable laws prohibiting discrimination against persons with  disabilities.   101.  A judicial declaration is necessary and appropriate at this time in order  that the parties may know their respective rights and duties and act accordingly.    DECLARATORY RELIEF   VIOLATION OF SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973  (29 U.S.C. § 794)   VIOLATION OF THE NEW YORK STATE HUMAN RIGHTS LAW  (N.Y. EXEC. LAW § 290 ET SEQ.)    VIOLATION OF TITLE II OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT  (42 U.S.C. § 12131 ET SEQ.)  