Kahn’s legacy, however, will remain—not only in the firm, but in the broader real estate community. At the very least, the ERC has spurred other nonprofits to file similar accessible housing lawsuits. Take the Washington, D.C.-based National Fair Housing Alliance, a national nonprofit founded in 1988, that joined a consortium of similar groups in April to file a lawsuit against Columbus, Ohio-based architect Steiner + Associates alleging that 272 units it built in three states failed to meet FHA requirements.
Kahl doesn’t mind. “What we know from our experience of testing, research, and surveys is that the United States has an entire generation of multifamily housing that is supposed to be compliant with accessibility laws and simply isn’t,” he says. “Those properties are off limits to the disability community. And that’s just unacceptable.”
It’s also why the ERC—and the methods Kahn pioneered—won’t be going away any time soon.
BY THE NUMBERS Years the Equal Rights Center has existed:
25
No. of units made accessible by Archstone:
12,000
No. of units made accessible by The Bozzuto Group:
2,000
Amount Archstone spent on remediation:
$20 million+
Amount Archstone spent on legal fees:
$1.4 million
No. of multifamily firms sued by the ERC since 2004:
10
No. of multifamily firms that settled with the ERC:
3
No. of properties the ERC has tested in the past four years:
Nearly 400
Size of the ERC staff:
15
No. of ERC testers:
100+
EQUAL RIGHTS CENTER: A TIME LINE
June 24, 2004: Rabbi Bruce E. Kahn (left) becomes interim executive director of the Equal Rights Center (ERC).
Dec. 20, 2004: ERC sues Archstone-Smith.
June 8, 2005: ERC and Archstone reach a hefty $20 million settlement.
Sept. 15, 2005: ERC sues The Bozzuto Group.
Sept. 22, 2005: ERC sues AvalonBay Communities.
April 27, 2006: ERC sues Equity Residential.
Nov. 22, 2006: ERC sues Post Properties.
June 5, 2007: ERC sues CB Richard Ellis Group/ Trammell Crow Co.
July 17, 2007: ERC settles with Bozzuto.
Sept. 6, 2007: ERC sues Camden Property Trust and Lion Gables Realty Limited Partnership (Gables).
Sept. 26, 2007: ERC settles with CB Richard Ellis Group/Trammell Crow Co.
June 2008: ERC sues Kettler and Trammell Crow Residential.
August 2008: Kahn steps down; Donald L. Kahl takes over as ERC’s executive director.
