[nagdu] Blind Woman With Guide Dog Says Midtown Eatery Would Not Serve Her

[Ginger Kutsch]

Blind Woman With Guide Dog Says Midtown Eatery Would Not Serve Her
By: NY1 News
http://manhattan.ny1.com/content/top_stories/138854/blind-woman-with-guide-d
og-says-midtown-eatery-would-not-serve-her

A blind woman told NY1 that a Midtown restaurant discriminated against her
when they would not let her guide dog inside.
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A legally blind woman told NY1 that a Midtown restaurant discriminated
against her when they would not let her guide dog inside.

Irene Sirotta said she, her guide dog Tyler and a friend went inside La
Baguette restaurant, but an employee asked them to leave.

She said they showed documentation to prove Tyler, seen above, is a guide
dog, but they were still told to get out.

"It's discrimination. You can go in there, why can't I? Why?" said Sirotta.
"He's a guide dog. Why can't I go in there? New York State law says I can.
It's not fair. I'm sorry, it's not fair."

The owner of the restaurant said off-camera that he was not there when it
happened, but his employees told him that Sirotta and her friend were
causing trouble.

He also said the restaurant has an open salad bar, and that his workers
could not tell that the animal was guide dog. 

He said Sirotta was harassing one of his employees, and that he would never
refuse to serve a blind person with a guide dog.

Lighthouse International, located just a few blocks from La Baguette, offers
assistance to the visually impaired. The organization's vice president said
this may have just been a lack of understanding. 

Sirotta said she is filing a formal complaint with the state, to make sure
no other visually impaired people have to go through what she did.