A magistrate judge has granted final approval to a class action settlement regarding a Queens borough public library designed by Steven Holl Architects (SHA). Now, significant alterations will have to made to Hunters Point Library, six years after it opened in 2019.
Per the settlement agreement, an elevator will be added to provide access from the fifth tier to fourth tier of the multilevel structure, rendered inaccessible. Additionally a skybridge will permit access from the Children’s Area to the third/middle tier. Among other updates, spaces for wheelchairs will be located in the Children’s Area and Rooftop Area, along with companion seating.
Dozens of other smaller accessibility barriers, including in the bathrooms and study areas, are also slated for remediation. AN reached out to SHA for comment.
In the years leading up to the settlement agreement, AN contributor Stephen Zacks criticized Hunters Point Library for its design flaws, as well as David Gissen in his book, The Architecture of Disability.
Gissen stated buildings like Hunters Point Library “express their inaccessible elements as central aspects of their formal meaning,” alienating those with disabilities. The architecture prompted disability advocacy groups to call the building a “monument to stairs.”
DRA, the attorney representing Center for Independence of the Disabled, New York (CIDNY), and an individual named Tanya Jackson, filed a lawsuit against the plaintiffs—Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL), QBPL board of trustees, and the city of New York—in 2019.
Then, in 2023, New York City sued SHA, Steven Holl, and then SHA senior partner Christopher McVoy. The city claimed SHA did not comply with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA). In court documents, the city estimated it would cost at least $10 million to rectify the accessibility issues, a sum it said SHA should incur.
The settlement agreement was made on February, 28 2025. On October 9, Magistrate Judge Steven Tiscione sided with the plaintiffs, dictating that QBPL, the QBPL board of trustees, and City of New York are at fault.
The settlement agreement did not explicitly disclose any penalties against SHA. However, it did contain the office’s updated construction drawings that include changes such as the addition of elevators and the skywalk.
“My hope is that future architectural planning will prioritize inclusive design, ensuring accessibility for all,” the plaintiff Tanya Jackson said in a statement.
For CIDNY, this settlement agreement “means that a person with a disability can engage in the pleasure of reading, writing, studying, watching movies, participating in community events and much more within their local library. It is crucial to obey the law, the ADA of 1990, when engaging in new construction projects. The ADA ensures that all people must have access to public spaces.”
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