Farmhouse Store Stroller Policy Debate Goes Online

A Westfield mother's problem with a ban on double strollers at the Farmhouse Store has ignited an Internet debate.

April Erck said she was walking with her 2-year-old twins Tuesday morning downtown when she decided to go into the gift store, which opened on East Broad Street last Saturday. She had seen the sign on the store's door banning double-wide strollers and pets, and walked back in to see if she could have the policy changed. Erck claims that store owner Ed Menapace berated her for wanting to bring the stroller in. She said she was trying to communicate with Menapace that her stroller was the same width as a wheelchair and that he should accommodate her.

Erck decided to write a letter to the editor which appeared in Thursday's Westfield Leader, a letter she shared with friends in the online parenting community, Mothers of Multiples. A friend on the online message board, which is dedicated to parents of multiple births, asked Erck if she could share the experience on another online parenting message board, The Nest. Erck points to this as the time when her debate took a new turn.

There have been several posts on The Nest debating the merits of Menapace's policy. In addition, there has been an online movement to communicate problems with the policy to Menapace.

"I never expected it to blow up to this level," Erck said, noting she has not asked anyone to threaten Menapace and she had no knowledge of the e-mails. "It has blown up to way beyond what I had thought."

Menapace declined to comment for this article.

A blog post by a Donna Flagg on Expert Business Source claims to have an e-mail Menapace received regarding the policy. Flagg says that she is an old friend of Menapace, who, she said, she has known since college. Her posting is decidedly pro-Menapace in its tone. The e-mail Flagg posted included a threat.

“It is despicable to not allow families with double strollers access into your store. It is a law to allow wheelchair access so if your store cannot accommodate a stroller you are against the American Disabilities Act," Flagg wrote, quoting from the e-mail. "You should be shut down. I hope you’re treated in the same manner someday. You never know, you may need a wheelchair in your future. How would you feel if you were asked to leave?”

Flagg did not indicate how she received the reported e-mail.

According to Frank Askin, the director of the Constitutional Law Clinic at Rutgers Law School and a general counsel to the American Civil Liberties Union, Menapace is within his rights to refuse to allow double-wide strollers into his store. He said that people using double-wide strollers are not protected by any federal or state civil rights laws. He said the laws have not defined stroller-bound children as a protected class.

Askin was surprised when he heard about the controversy regarding the Farmhouse Store and questioned the motives. He said he thinks it could be a way to garner publicity for the opponents of the policy.

"It sounds silly," Askin said. "I don't know who they can complain to?"

Erck said the debate with Menapace did not end with their encounter on Tuesday. While walking downtown Wednesday, she noticed Menapace posted a new sign in his door clarifying the stroller policy. In case she needed it, Erck chose to take a picture of the sign with her camera phone. She said Menapace then ran outside and started taking pictures of her and her children, which, she said, he said he planned to post online. Erck said the incident caused her to retain an attorney in case Menapace posts the photos of her children online.

The new sign explained that the strollers were banned because of the breakable nature of the merchandise in the store. The Farmhouse Store sells a variety of hand-made crafts. Erck said she had told Menapace on her Tuesday visit that she was willing to pay for any items that were broken because of her stroller.

But she said she hopes the issue can go away soon. "I have enough drama in my life with two 2-year-olds," she said.