Disabled vendors find hope in switch
By Dan Nakaso
Advertiser Staff Writer
Management of the Aloha Stadium Swap Meet switched hands yesterday, raising hopes for a group of disabled vendors that ongoing issues of access eventually will be resolved.
Gilbert Githere, who suffered from polio as a child, walks with a limp and has trouble walking long distances, filed a federal lawsuit last year against the Aloha Stadium Authority and the previous swap-meet management, Consolidated Amusement Co., alleging violations of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
Githere alleged that swap-meet managers rented out handicapped parking stalls in prime vending locations to non-handicapped people — without providing alternate handicapped parking for people like him who have special parking passes.
At one point, Githere said, he had to park more than a mile from his vendor stand and had difficulty transporting his pottery, wooden giraffes, synthetic elephants and other goods back and forth.
Yesterday, Githere got a vendor spot that was only a couple of yards from where he could park. But a concrete median between the stand and his truck still meant Githere couldn't use his cart to easily transport the items he wanted to sell.
Githere got the spot yesterday through the usual lottery that takes place for vendors who don't have permanent sites and have to find temporary spaces.
Even though Githere believed that his spot yesterday still did not comply with the federal law, he's confident the new swap-meet manager, Spartanburg, S.C-based Centerplate, eventually will accommodate him and two or three other disabled vendors.
"They say they are going to abide by ADA rules," Githere said. "I said, 'Can I have that in writing?' They said, 'Our word is as good as anything in writing.'"
The new general manager was harried yesterday organizing the swap meet and could not be reached for comment, his staff said. A Consolidated spokeswoman could not immediately comment.
Githere represents a handful of disabled vendors who want the concrete medians removed to allow easier access by wheelchair users and vendors who have difficulty walking.
In 1997, U.S. District Judge Sam King ruled in favor of disabled plaintiffs in an unrelated ADA suit against Aloha Stadium. King ordered the stadium to accommodate wheelchairs at sports events and concerts after disabled ticket holders said they were denied access.
Charlotte Townsend, acting executive director of the state's Disability and Communication Access Board, knows about the allegations surrounding the stadium and swap meet and said both the stadium authority and swap-meet management must comply with the Americans With Disabilities Act.
"The obligation under the ADA to ensure access is the responsibility of the entity who runs the establishment, and then they have an arrangement with the leasing agency, which is the state of Hawai'i," Townsend said.
Githere's lawsuit over the swap-meet operation is moving along in federal court, with motions scheduled to be heard next Thursday.
"It's pretty early in its life as a lawsuit," said John Cregor, a deputy attorney general defending the state. "There may have been a series of three or four actions. But this is a one-time complaint."
As the swap-meet management changed over yesterday, Githere's lawyer, Andre Wooten, said he is optimistic that Centerplate will make it easier for Githere and other disabled vendors to do business.
"We're hoping to start with a clean slate with Centerplate," Wooten said. "I think Centerplate recognizes that they have to comply with the ADA."
Reach Dan Nakaso at dnakaso@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8085.
