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Did This Chocolate Shop Ban A Breastfeeding Mom?
By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 17, 2010
Modified Aug 17, 2010
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By
Jen Carlson
Published Aug 17, 2010
Modified Aug 17, 2010
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One chocolate shop wasn't very sweet on the idea of a customer breastfeeding her daughter in their establishment, and now one year after the incident that she claims got her barred from the store, she's suing.
Last August Manhattan mom Julia Acevedo-Taylor was at Lily O'Brien's Chocolate Cafe on West 40th Street when she had to breastfeed her then 5-month-old daughter, Jordan—she was with a friend who was also nursing her baby at the time. Her lawyer says, "They were being as discreet as possible. It wasn't one of those things where they were wide open." Even if they were, it's totally within their rights!
However, a manager at the shop allegedly approached Acevedo-Taylor, and her friend Latasha Augustoplos, ordering them both to "stop doing that." When they didn't follow orders, they were told to leave and to never return. However, the owner denies this charge and says they were never asked to leave, only to cover up after other customers complained; she's also done some damage control and has hung a sign on the door that reads: "breast-feeding welcome here."
Acevedo-Taylor claims she was so traumatized by the event that she can no longer nurse in public, and according to the NY Post, the suit claims that it also caused her "severe embarrassment, severe shame, severe humiliation, severe emotional distress and loss of dignity." Presumably her friend's dignity is still in tact, as she's not mentioned in the suit.
Tagged
breastfeeding
chocolate
chocolate shop
Julia Acevedo-Taylor
lawsuit
Lily O'Brien's
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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