The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Monday that it settled a lawsuit with Katz’s Deli over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at the Lower East Side landmark.
The kosher-style restaurant agreed to pay a $20,000 fine and improve its facilities for disabled people through a consent decree.
“The main entrance of Katz’s Deli is not accessible, the restaurant does not provide sufficient dining surfaces for persons with disabilities and despite having been renovated in 2018, its restrooms fail to comply with the ADA,” the U.S. attorney’s office stated.
“Notably, the consent decree provides for staff to assist individuals with disabilities in using the main public entrance, ensures that the required number of accessible dining surfaces are provided and requires renovations to the men’s and women’s restrooms at Katz’s Deli,” the Justice Department stated.
Founded in 1888 as Iceland Brothers across the street from the current deli location, Katz’s bills itself as New York City’s oldest deli and is famous for its towering pastrami-on-rye sandwiches, matzah-ball soup and other Ashkenazi staples in what was once the center of Eastern European Jewish migration to the United States.
It is also widely known for its depiction in the 1989 comedy film “When Harry Met Sally … .”
“During World War II, the three sons of the owners were all serving their country in the armed forces, and the family tradition of sending food to their sons became the company slogan, ‘Send a salami to your boy in the Army,’” per Katz’s site.
“During the peak of the Yiddish theater, the restaurant was forever filled with actors, singers and comedians from the many theaters on Second Avenue, as well as the National Theater on Houston Street,” it adds. “Although the age of the Yiddish theater has passed, Katz’s still has its fair share of famous customers, whose photos now line our walls.”
The U.S. attorney’s office said that its deal with Katz’s brings to a close its 13-year “Manhattan Restaurants ADA Compliance Initiative,” which evaluated the accessibility of the 50 most popular restaurants in the borough, as rated by the 2011 Zagat guide.
