Opening Doors , another BOMA publication designed to assist commercial real estate professionals comply with ADA, was also a best selling publication and continues to keep BOMA at the forefront of this issue as it relates to office buildings and facilities. As with any law or regulatory code, however, support during its passage and education following its approval are not enough.
Continued vigilance is crucial in order to ensure that the spirit of the law is respected.
Last year, BOMA even contacted Mattell, the toy company giant, to help retro-fit Barbie's playhouse in order to accommodate their newest member of the Barbie doll line, Share a Smile Becky, who is the company's first doll in a wheelchair. After learning that Becky's wheelchair would not fit through the doors of her playhouse, BOMA decided to use the situation as an example for showing the public and the building industry that seemingly innocent and minor design oversights can wreak havoc on a disabled person's life. Although noncompliance in a dollhouse is obviously not as serious as the countless situations disabled Americans face every day, it provided us with the opportunity to continue our education program and demonstrate how such oversights can seriously impact a disabled persons' ability to enjoy everyday activities. Our desire to demonstrate this fact came even more clear last year, when BOMA filed a brief with the Federal District Court in Minneapolis in United States of America v. Ellerbe Becket, Inc . Specifically, the Justice Department alleged the designs did not provide the line of sight required for wheelchair seating locations.