N.Y. / Region WORLD U.S. N.Y. / REGION BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY SCIENCE HEALTH SPORTS OPINION ARTS STYLE TRAVEL JOBS REAL ESTATE AUTOS Deaf Patrons’ Suit Accuses Starbucks of Discrimination Michael Appleton for The New York Times From left, Evan Dach, Jacqueline Kaufman, Charles Kaufman, Ralph Wiznitzer, Veronica Bitkower, Miu Ng and Lawrence Bitkower are part of a group suing Starbucks, saying they were refused service at some locations in Manhattan. By WINNIE HU Published: August 8, 2013 FACEBOOK TWITTER GOOGLE+ SAVE E-MAIL SHARE PRINT REPRINTS The Starbucks coffee shop on Astor Place is an airy, communal retreat where the regulars huddle with their laptops, reconnect with friends and exchange water-cooler gossip over foam lattes. Connect With NYTMetro Metro Twitter Logo. Follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook for news and conversation. Enlarge This Image Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times The Starbucks at the intersection of Astor Place and Lafayette Street is one of the locations named in the lawsuit. But Miu Ng, who is deaf, found the coffeehouse decidedly unwelcoming when she wrote down her order for an iced coffee on a slip of paper and tried to hand it to a man behind the counter. He put his hand in her face and waved her away, she said. Veronica Bitkower, who is also deaf, said that when she used her voice to order a black coffee, she was met with a cold stare that “threw me off because I was expecting customer service.” She was served, but her coffee tasted stale and bitter, she said. The two women went to the Starbucks on Astor Place in December for “Deaf Chat Coffee,” a monthly networking event that brings together the deaf and those learning sign language. Members of the group said that Starbucks workers refused to take some of their orders at these meetings, stared when they signed to each other, complained that they were not buying enough coffee and pastries, and eventually told the group not to come back. Now these customers are suing Starbucks, charging that the Seattle-based coffee chain known for calling its employees “partners” and supporting fair-trade coffee has discriminated against the deaf at two of its Manhattan stores. “They seemed very uncomfortable with deaf patrons,” said Ms. Bitkower, 66, a retired beautician, through a sign-language interpreter. “They definitely had a bad attitude. They were very dismissive. And we noticed the hearing patrons were allowed to sit there and do what they wanted.” The legal battle has jolted many New Yorkers who have made the ubiquitous coffee shops part of their routine, and served as a reminder that even in a city as tolerant as New York, intolerance can be all too common for some populations. Census data shows that there are 170,928 people with hearing difficulties in New York City, about 2.1 percent of the population, though some advocates suggest that those numbers are too low. Jaime Riley, a spokeswoman for Starbucks, confirmed that company officials were investigating the complaints, saying they “do not agree with the allegations contained in the complaint nor the manner in which the company has been unjustly characterized in this lawsuit.” While accommodations for the deaf are commonplace, and include sign-language interpreters at Broadway shows and mayoral conferences, advocates for the deaf say that discrimination occurs on a daily basis. “Too often, it is the actions of one employee or one manager in a store or restaurant or other place of business that causes a deaf or hard of hearing customer to feel unwelcome or mistreated,” Howard A. Rosenblum, chief executive officer of the National Association of the Deaf, said in a statement. Though the city’s Commission on Human Rights has received only nine complaints involving discrimination against the deaf or hard of hearing since 2008, these incidents illustrate the kind of unpleasantness they can face. In two cases, for instance, patients said that a doctor’s office and a Queens medical center both failed to provide sign-language interpreters when requested. Norman Siegel, a civil rights lawyer, said that discrimination against the deaf often goes overlooked because it is subtle and sophisticated, and because some deaf people may be isolated and may not speak up when it happens to them. “It’s not like putting up a sign on the door ‘No deaf people allowed,’ ” he said. “But when deaf people are treated differently than others, it does hurt and it’s illegal.” The lawsuit against Starbucks, filed last month in federal court in Manhattan, seeks to compel the company to conduct sensitivity training for employees and adopt policies to better serve deaf customers, said Eric Baum, a lawyer who represents the plaintiffs. Ms. Riley declined to discuss the specific litigation, but said that the company “believes the facts will demonstrate clearly that Starbucks did not discriminate.” An assistant manager at the Starbucks on Astor Place said the staff could not comment on the case. Ms. Riley said that Starbucks already provided sensitivity training to its work force of more than 200,000, and embraced “equality, inclusion, and accessibility” for all employees and customers. After the lawsuit was filed, Starbucks published a post on its Web site, noting other efforts including hiring deaf employees, sponsoring sign-language events at stores, and providing workers with an opportunity to learn sign language and take an in-house course called “Creating a Deaf Friendly Environment.” Still, Alan Roth said he “was flabbergasted” at the reception he received at his neighborhood Starbucks at 424 Park Avenue South. He said he ordered a latte last August from a woman who told him, “You talk funny.” When he responded maybe that was because he was deaf, he said the worker started laughing at him. “I was embarrassed and annoyed,” said Mr. Roth, 45, who owns a sign-language school in Manhattan. “I mean this is New York City with a lot of people with international accents so why is she saying I talk funny?” Mr. Roth said that he complained to a manager, who he said defended that worker. When Mr. Roth contacted Starbucks’s corporate office, he was offered an apology and a Starbucks gift card. “I never got the gift card but I could care less,” he said. “I don’t want another deaf person to feel what I felt. It was plain discrimination.” Deaf customers gathered at the Astor Place store for Deaf Chat Coffee on the first Thursday night of every month; similar groups have been organized at coffeehouses, including Starbucks, around the country. As many as 60 people came in October, though they were not all there at the same time. Later events drew half that number. Ms. Ng, 53, who frequents other Starbucks stores, said that she had never been refused service until she tried to order at the Astor Place location. “I was shooed away,” said Ms. Ng, through a sign interpreter. “I wondered if they were having a bad day, but that’s their business. I just wanted a drink.” Other deaf customers said that they were told their group was taking up too much room, and not buying enough coffee and pastries. They said that Starbucks workers asked them not to come back. When they did in March, they said, the store summoned police officers to try to eject them. Guy Wegener, who is not deaf and joined the group to practice sign language, recalled that they held up their coffee cups and pastries to show the officers that they were paying customers. The police left, he said, but it “felt like we were being singled out.” After that, most of the deaf customers stopped going to the monthly meetings because they said no one felt much like getting coffee there anymore. A version of this article appeared in print on August 9, 2013, on page A15 of the New York edition with the headline: Deaf Patrons’ Suit Accuses Starbucks of Discrimination.
Posted on: Sat, 17 Aug 2013 08:37:08 +0000
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