Let Steve Gold, the public-interest lawyer who forced Philadelphia to cut curbs into sidewalks, break it down for you:

"A major step backward," he said. He was referring to the part where the Department of Justice addresses what small businesses need do to make themselves accessible to those with disabilities.

Or need not do.

The 1990 law already included a compromise that works against those denied access. If a restaurant, for instance, had a single step that barred those in wheelchairs or on crutches, the only way a patron could make the establishment follow the law was to sue.

But even then the courts would only require owners to fix the problem, not penalize them for flouting the law in the first place. That's because lawmakers folded in the face of commercial pressure and didn't permit monetary damages. So little was at stake.

Which is why so many Philadelphia businesses allow a single six-inch step to frustrate those who would like to enter but can't.

Tamerka Caleb is one such person. In April she wrote a letter to the Snow White Restaurant at Second and Market, asking it to make eating there easier for her.

Helping hand

But neither of those owners wrote back, according to Tom Earle, chief executive officer of Liberty Resources, which fights for the independence of the disabled.

That's the way it usually goes.

[John Poulos, owner of Snow White, told me he's thinking of making the place accessible in the fall when he remodels. At Pandora's, manager Chris Kim says he has a wooden ramp, but a permanent one would cost more than he can afford.]

Liberty Resources has identified 42 businesses in Philadelphia with a single step barring those with disabilities.

One of those businesses did come around recently: Kibitz, a deli in the 700 block of Walnut. A letter had gone out, and "they ignored it," Earle said. Then in October 2007, a disabled customer named Dorothy Ruffin sued in U.S. District Court.

By then, Kibitz had new owners, who, according to Earle, "just scratched their heads, asked, 'What are we fighting this for?' and slapped down some cement."

Owner Toan Phan says it cost him all of $1,200 to make his restaurant accessible. "Everyone seems happy," he said.

Unsafe harbors

All a business would need to do in court is show it had spent 1 percent of its gross receipts in the previous fiscal year on accessibility, and that would provide a "safe harbor" from being in violation of the law.

As Gold sees it, a business could spend a few hundred dollars installing grab bars in a bathroom and avoid legal trouble. He imagined the annoyance of arguing with a business in court over the amount of its gross receipts.

It was easier for Ruffin, who sued Kibitz. She's 65 and has been in a wheelchair since she had a stroke two decades ago.

"They said at first that they had a wooden ramp they could use and we could call them up, like all us poor people have a cell phone to call and tell them we're on the way," she said. "I told them it would be better if there was a concrete ramp so we could come and go."

She praised Phan, who bought the business in May 2007.

"What they've done looks really good. It doesn't deface the area at all. In fact, it's really commendable.

"Now if they could do something about that kitchen store in the 1100 block of Walnut. It's downstairs. We can never go in there. All I can do is window shop."

But that's eight steps down - no easy fix. We should start with the easy ones.