TEMPE, Ariz. — When the subsidized housing complex for senior citizens opened its doors here last year, it already had a waiting list. Designed by a deaf architect to fit the needs of the deaf, its units have video phones and lights that flash when the phone or the doorbell rings. Wiring in common areas pipes announcements made through loudspeakers into residents’ hearing aids.
The project, named Apache ASL Trails in a reference to American Sign Language, now finds itself in an unlikely spot, facing charges of discrimination for favoring deaf and hard-of-hearing people over others, disabled or not. The federal agency released its finding in January after examining marketing materials and the project’s criteria for tenant selection, even though the developer assured it that the documents in question had been misinterpreted or were outdated.
John Trasviña, HUD’s assistant secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, said in a statement that “federal law prohibits facilities that receive HUD funds from providing separate or different housing for one group of individuals with disabilities because this practice denies or limits access to housing for other individuals based on the types of disabilities they have.” (The agency did not make Mr. Trasviña or other officials available for on-the-record interviews.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/29/us/arizona-haven-for-deaf-faces-discrimination-charges.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=1&
