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Echo Park pizza parlor struggles to reopen

mark handler

mark handler

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Car Crash, ADA Lawsuit & Missing Stickers: Echo Park pizza parlor struggles to reopen

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012

Car Crash, ADA Lawsuit & Missing Stickers: Echo Park pizza parlor struggles to reopen

Otilia Schweitzer sat in the empty dining room of her Echo Park pizza parlor, Pizza Buona, on Wednesday afternoon looking dazed and tired. A building inspector had been by earlier for what was supposed to have been the final inspection before the corner restaurant could reopen nine months after a car crashed into the dining room. That crash coincided with the filing of a lawsuit over the restaurant’s lack of a restroom accessible to people with disabilities and was followed by other snafus and delays, leaving Pizza Buona closed and many customers wondering if they would ever once again savor a freshly made garlic bread stick or a Pizza Rustica.

Everything seemed to be going well during Wednesday’s final inspection except for one thing. The restaurant was missing window “stickers,” Schweitzer said.

The stickers Schweitzer was referring to are those blue decals with a wheelchair icon that must be posted at the entrance to let visitors know the space is complaint with the Americans With Disabilities Act. Schweitzer and her family then went into a form of sticker shock when they could not find ADA-compliant decals – which must include Braille markings – nearby and had to order them online. The inspector left, saying to call him back to find out if he could let them open with out the decals, Schweitzer said.

Schweitzer said it would only take her family a day to get the parlor back in business once they passed inspection. “Everything is ready,” said Schweitzer of the newly re-panneled and re-floored dining room and a newly constructed, ADA-compliant restroom.

In fact, repairing the damage to the dining room overlooking Sunset Boulevard and Alvarado Street was a relatively easy fix. The new restroom, however, was another matter. After the restroom and short hallway were completed, inspectors determined that there was insufficient clearance when the restroom door swung open, Schweitzer said. That forced the family to buy and install an electric-powered door, which triggered another round of construction and inspections.

“It’s a tragedy,” Schweitzer said. “We have been closed sine August.”

Schweitzer said she and her family are ready to return to the restaurant. She said she hopes customers will do the same. “I hope we get business.”
 
"ADA-compliant decals – which must include Braille markings"

So how is a blind person gonna know that there is a sign to feel?
 
ICE said:
"ADA-compliant decals – which must include Braille markings"
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The door decals do NOT require Braille

Exit signs do require Braille

Room names, including restrooms, do require Braille

To many people do not know what they are inspecting
 
I guess there is no such thing as a conditional CO to allow time to find a sticker that I never new was required by ADA.

The stickers Schweitzer was referring to are those blue decals with a wheelchair icon that must be posted at the entrance to let visitors know the space is complaint with the Americans With Disabilities Act
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mtlogcabin said:
I guess there is no such thing as a conditional CO to allow time to find a sticker that I never new was required by ADA.
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I have issued a conditional CO and sometimes the business owner will just blow you off and now the Building Inspector is looking like a fool.

No good deed goes unpunished.
 
Here wwe have a TCO. A temporary certificate of occupancy which is for a prescribed time and can have limitations. I the time eleapses or the conditions are violated the tco is revoked and the can be fined weekly and if necessary the property can be posted dor no entry.
 
rnapier said:
Here wwe have a TCO. A temporary certificate of occupancy which is for a prescribed time and can have limitations. I the time eleapses or the conditions are violated the tco is revoked and the can be fined weekly and if necessary the property can be posted dor no entry.
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I know about the TOC and I really wished it worked that way.
 
rnapier said:
Here wwe have a TCO. A temporary certificate of occupancy which is for a prescribed time and can have limitations. I the time eleapses or the conditions are violated the tco is revoked and the can be fined weekly and if necessary the property can be posted dor no entry.
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It would be more effective simply to attach a $2000 fee to the temp C.O and require it to be renewed every 30 days.
 
We usually get a bond or cashiers check to guarantee the work gets complete. 150% of the estimated costs or just ask for a ridiculous amount to insure it will get completed.

I got a $5000.00 bond on a chandelier hanging in a motel lobby that did not meet seismic. They made their opening date and then made it comply for less than $250.00 about 30 days later
 
We do not have a TCO. We have a TA. TA stands for Tacit Approval. The inspector can turn a blind eye. A lot of you think that's all I have to work with. If I go along with a TA, there's definitely a great hole card to back it up. If the Fire Dept is involved, I wait for their approval. I wouldn't go along with a TA and a chandelier that wasn't secured properly.

The ADA sign at the door is an easy, little ta.
 
mtlogcabin said:
We usually get a bond or cashiers check to guarantee the work gets complete. 150% of the estimated costs or just ask for a ridiculous amount to insure it will get completed. I got a $5000.00 bond on a chandelier hanging in a motel lobby that did not meet seismic. They made their opening date and then made it comply for less than $250.00 about 30 days later
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The problem with a bond is that they get it back. And can take their sweet time, while imposing accounting costs on the jurisdiction.

If it had been $2000 out of their pocket, they would have fixed in a couple of hours.
 
brudgers said:
The problem with a bond is that they get it back. And can take their sweet time, while imposing accounting costs on the jurisdiction.

If it had been $2000 out of their pocket, they would have fixed in a couple of hours.
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Not if there is a time limit for completion.
 
Or, as we do.......there is no such thing as a TCO, or a TA, the building is either safe to occupy of not. If it is, give them a CO. Chandilers not meeting requirements, not so much, "window stickers"? I think I can try and work with them. You can always revoke a CO, then issue a NOV.
 
fatboy said:
Or, as we do.......there is no such thing as a TCO, or a TA, the building is either safe to occupy of not. If it is, give them a CO. Chandilers not meeting requirements, not so much, "window stickers"? I think I can try and work with them. You can always revoke a CO, then issue a NOV.
Click to expand...
Same here.
 
"That may prove to be ineffectual if they reply with a KMA."

Until I post the building, since we amended the Police ordinance to include Building Official postings as a cause for a failure to obey citation. So far the mere explanation of that has worked just fine.
 
We find TCO's particularly useful when a job cannot be finished waiting for ordered equipment to come in or large renovations or new buildings where they need to occupy sections prior to the completion of the entire project. In either case all life safety issues must be met.
 
PPPPPP is the answer to parts of this.

Proper Planning Prevents **** Poor Performance.

I wonder how much they have lost in an attempt not to hire someone to do the work.

Sure I understand the initial cost implications, but 9 months for a fix it job?

Although sometimes I will allow myself to roll my eyes on some of the pollution ada has generated. Painting a whole parking space blue, placeing a sticker on the door, etc. are among these. Does the sticker beep?
 
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