Support Ost Cafe

First, thank you so very much for taking the time to read this. I am sorry to be here again, but we are dealing with an unfortunate series of insults to our cafe and are hoping for the support of our wonderful community of customers.

As most of you know, last May we received a lawsuit from a serial plaintiff in relation to the American Disability Act (ADA). The plaintiff had filed many lawsuits with cookie-cutter cases against different businesses throughout the city. Nonetheless, we took the lawsuit seriously and addressed all their concerns in regard to wheelchair access to and within the cafe.

We made the following improvements:

ADA wheelchair ramp access upon request

ADA accessible tables

ADA accessible service counter

ADA recommended bathroom grab bars

The costly financial penalties incurred as a result of this lawsuit (legal fees, settlement, ADA improvements) led to the initial GoFundMe campaign. Sadly, another opportunistic, serial plaintiff capitalized on our vulnerable position and filed a similar lawsuit against us while we were still litigating the first one. Even as we pleaded with this new plaintiff’s lawyer about our in-progress improvements, they were still entitled to punitive damages. This time we had to settle at an even higher cost than the first suit.

So, here we are again asking for your help. I don't feel good about relying on our good community for financial assistance when you have been so generous in the past, but the most recent lawsuit demands have been insurmountable with our means. I love the cafe and the place it provides for so many people. I want to keep it chugging along as usual. We are confident going forward that the necessary changes have been implemented to prevent this from happening again.

If you are in a position to make a contribution, we are excited to offer as a thank you gift, some beautiful creations by two of our very own customers.

Handmade ceramic mugs provided by Elise at Mellow https://www.mellownyc.com/

Mellow is located just down the road at 38 Allen Street

Colored pencil sketch of Ost Cafe provided by Shahab.

With gratitude,

Luke

Ost Cafe