A girl who confronted eviction from her Manhattan condominium over her three emotional help parrots will probably be paid $165,000 in damages plus $585,000 for her condominium underneath a consent decree introduced by federal prosecutors.
The consent decree introduced Monday resolves a dispute between Meril Lesser and the board of the Rutherford, a 175-unit cooperative condominium constructing the place Lesser lived together with her parrots Layla, Ginger and Curtis.
Lesser bought an condominium on the Rutherford in Manhattan’s Gramercy Park neighborhood in 1999 and moved into it together with her birds.
Neighbor Charlotte Kullen began complaining in 2015. “Oh God, I get up nonetheless with nightmares of them screaming in my head,” Kullen informed the Each day Information.
The New York Metropolis Division of Environmental Safety despatched inspectors 15 instances however didn’t discover any proof of extreme noise.
“No birds, no screeching — no noise,” an inspector wrote on Feb. 7, 2016.
Lesser submitted letters from her psychiatrist explaining that she wanted the birds for her psychological well-being, however the Rutherford board started eviction proceedings in Could 2016.
Lesser moved out and sublet her condominium. She filed a federal truthful housing criticism with the Division of Housing and City Growth in 2018, and HUD discovered possible trigger to consider that Rutherford had violated Lesser’s truthful housing rights.
Somewhat than settle the case, Rutherford selected to proceed to federal court docket, triggering the statutory requirement that the Division of Justice file go well with, Manhattan U.S. Legal professional Damian Williams stated.
Williams stated the consent decree accredited by a federal decide on Aug. 16 represents the most important restoration the federal authorities has ever obtained for an individual with disabilities whose housing supplier denied them their proper to have an help animal.
“This final result ought to immediate all housing suppliers to think about rigorously whether or not their insurance policies and procedures adjust to federal regulation,” Williams stated.
Peter Livingston, an lawyer for the Rutherford co-op board, stated his consumer was happy to resolve the case.
Along with paying Lesser $165,000 and buying her shares within the co-op for $565,000, the Rutherford should undertake an inexpensive lodging coverage for help animals and permit the federal authorities to watch compliance.
It should additionally dismiss the eviction continuing in opposition to Lesser in housing court docket.
Lesser didn’t reply to a textual content despatched to a telephone quantity listed for her.
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