Jujamcyn Theatres have agreed to make significant improvements to its five Broadway venues related to accessibility, settling a lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice in the Southern District of New York. The settlement occured on Tuesday, entered by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torress at the same time of the lawsuits initial filing.
According to a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in charge of the prosecution, the Jujamcyn Theatres company agreed to proceed with the improvements as schedules permit, including:
- Providing a total of 44 wheelchair accessible seating locations, with priority accorded to persons with disabilities in the ticket sales process for those locations.
- Providing a total of 54 aisle transfer seating locations for individuals who are capable of transfering from a wheelchair into a seat, with priority accorded to persons with disabilities in the ticket sales process for those locations.
- Eliminating an estimated 200 individual barriers to accessibility in theater restrooms, concession counters, waiting areas, and box offices.
In addition, Jujamcyn Theaters has agreed to pay a civil penalty of $40,000 to the United States.
“As New York City begins to reopen and welcome the world once again, we are pleased that Jujamcyn Theaters has worked collaboratively with the Office to improve accessibility at its historic venues, so that all patrons are able to enjoy Broadway,” says U.S. Attorney Audrey Strauss. “As a result of this suit and settlement, coupled with similar lawsuits filed by the Office against the Shubert Theaters in 2003, and the Nederlander Theaters in 2014, all three of the major Broadway theater organizations have committed to making their venues significantly more accessible to people with disabilities.”
Jujamcyn Theaters operates five of the historic buildings that make up New York’s famed Broadway – the Al Hirschfeld, the August Wilson, the Eugene O’Neill, the St. James, and the Walter Kerr. Currently, only one is fully active, with the St. James hosting performances of the limited run for Springsteen on Broadway. David Byrne’s American Utopia is scheduled to take over at the St. James beginning in mid-September, with Pass Over opening at August Wilson on August 4, Hadestown at Walter Kerr opening September 2, Moulin Rouge! The Musical at Al Hirschfeld opening on September 24, and The Book of Mormon at Eugene O’Neill opening on November 5.
The full press release announcing the lawsuits and settlements is available at the U.S. Attorney’s Office website.
