NJ diner outraged after upscale restaurant serves her dessert with offensive birthday message
New York Post • • entertainment
Key Points:
- Antonia Sinbaldi, a New Jersey singer-songwriter who uses a motorized wheelchair, was offended when an upscale restaurant served her birthday dessert with the message "Happy Wheel Chair Birthday" written on the plate.
- The incident occurred at Blu on the Hudson in Weehawken, NJ, where the staff mistakenly used "wheelchair" as a reference to identify her dessert, leading to the offensive message being written on the plate.
- Sinbaldi experienced a physical reaction of shaking and spasming upon seeing the message and described the restaurant's apology as inadequate and dismissive of her identity beyond her disability.
- The restaurant apologized, stating there was no malicious intent and that the message resulted from a misunderstanding of their order identification system, but Sinbaldi emphasized that her disability should not define her.
- As a disability rights advocate, Sinbaldi urged people to avoid constantly referencing her disability and called for greater sensitivity and respect in such situations.
