Disabled Woman Outraged By Birthday Cake Message At Hudson County Restaurant

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ —A woman in a wheelchair has been speaking out after she received a cake at a waterfront restaurant with the message "Happy birthday wheelchair" written on the plate.

Antonia Sinibaldi, 29 — who has been a quadriplegic since the age of 2 — was celebrating her birthday with family at Blu on the Hudson, a Weehawken waterfront restaurant, on June 20.

Sinibaldi said she was shocked to be referred to by her wheelchair.

"My chair is not my identity," she said.

After she shared a photo of the cake on social media this month, the post went viral, spurring an apology from the restaurant.

The restaurant said the message was meant to tell the server which table to head to.

"We sincerely apologize to the guest and to everyone who was hurt or offended by this incident which took place on June 20," they said. "Treating every guest with dignity, respect, and care is fundamental to who we are as a company ... In this instance, the word 'wheelchair' was used as a reference to identify where a birthday dessert with a candle should be delivered. Unfortunately, that notation was misunderstood and was written on the plate itself."

But Sinibaldi responded this week by characterizing the explanation as a "bs response."

She did, however, share that she otherwise enjoyed herself. "The food and view were nice," she wrote earlier.

Writer And Singer

Sinibaldi was seriously injured 27 years ago when a car she was riding in was struck by a drunk driver, according to her biography.

Besides writing articles and her book, she has been singing and performing for years, posting videos of her performances (see her singing "I Could Have Danced All Night" here).

The restaurant did not respond to additional questions from Patch about how the matter was handled internally.

But they said in their statement, "We fully understand how seeing that word written on a plate could be deeply hurtful and upsetting. Since the incident, we have reinforced with our team the importance of following proper ticketing and communication procedures and have taken steps to ensure that something like this does not happen again. We have also made an attempt to reach the guest directly to personally apologize, although we have not yet been able to connect with them."

Patch has reached out to Sinibaldi for additional comment, and will update this story if more information is received. See more of her performances and music videos here.

Blu on the Hudson is a 30,000 square foot restaurant with Hudson River views.