Thomas Gibson, 38, is a blind man from Delaware who was in search of an authentic New York slice of pizza. His efforts, however, were hindered when an employee of NYC Fried Chicken booted him and his service dog out, telling him, “Hey you with the dog, you need to get out of here. No dogs are allowed in my restaurant,” according to court papers. This was the second time he had been sent away from a pizza shop that day because of his seeing eye dog.
Gibson did not leave; instead, he finished his pizza even as the employee told him to get out. Gibson said that it made him feel like a “lesser person” and brought up memories of the fears he had when a virus began taking his sight in his 40s.
Because of this, Gibson says he called every restaurant he went to for months after the incident to make sure they would allow him to bring his dog, something he never felt the need to do before.
Gibson informed the Daily News that he filed a case against NYC Fried Chicken with New York’s Human Rights Commission “for everyone who has a service animal.” Last week, a city law judge ruled that he should be given $10,000 for his pain and that the restaurant should pay a $10,000 penalty and give its employees sensitivity training.
Gibson’s case against Famous Famiglia, the other pizza shop who turned him away that day, is still waiting for approval with Human Rights. The manager of the restaurant claimed that someone with a service dog entered the restaurant and declined a table and left, relinquishing any accusations of discrimination against the eatery.
One employee at NYC Fried Chicken said that no one could comment at the time, though they could choose to appeal the judge’s recommendation.
Gibson has made many trips to New York to continue his case since December 29, 2014, when the incident occurred. Finally, the judge ruled on December 30 that there was enough evidence indicating that the employees of the eatery violated his rights by refusing to serve him due to Opus, his seeing eye dog.
