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Update: Dakota Board Responds To Lawsuit: Duh, We're Not Racist
By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 3, 2011
Modified Feb 3, 2011
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By
Ben Yakas
Published Feb 3, 2011
Modified Feb 3, 2011
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Yesterday, a former board president of the famed Dakota building on the UWS filed a lawsuit against the co-op board for not allowing him to buy a second apartment in the building. Alphonse Fletcher Jr. claimed that this was only the latest example of the board's persistently discriminatory and racist practices in controlling the building. The board of directors of the Dakota contacted us, and disputed Fletcher Jr.'s claims, pointing out that they twice elected him, an African-American, as president of the board, and noted that his mother is also a current member of the board:
Given Mr. Alphonse Fletcher Jr.’s long residency at the Dakota, it was painful for the board to reach the decision to deny his application. We do not think it appropriate to discuss in the press the financial materials submitted by him, but we are confident that the court will find that the board acted appropriately. We are pleased that the Court today denied Mr. Fletcher’s application for temporary relief in this matter.
His outrageous accusations of discrimination are untrue and at odds with the facts that the board has previously approved his purchase of several apartments, he has been repeatedly elected to the board, and his mother currently serves on the board. Given that the board twice elected him its president, from 2007 to 2009, it is preposterous to claim that less than a year later it denied his application to purchase an additional apartment based on racial bias. The Dakota has always valued the diversity of our community.
We called another board member to further discuss the board's position, and are waiting to hear back from them. In the meantime, you can read more about John Lennon and Yoko Ono's relationship with their neighbors and the "notoriously picky board" here; and you can get a better idea of what the inside of one of the Dakota's apartments looks like in this video.
Update: We spoke with Bruce Barnes, the current president of the Dakota co-op board, about the lawsuit. He told us that he believed Fletcher Jr. was upset that they were not letting him buy another apartment, and was hoping the publicity from the lawsuit (and his accusations of racism) would pressure them to cave.
One of the rules of the building is: "If you own an apartment in the building already, the only thing you can buy is small rooms without kitchens, or adjacent ones if you're going to combine apartments into one." Barnes told us that Fletcher Jr. already has a fifth floor apartment, and a small penthouse (without a kitchen), but the board bent their own rules to allow him to buy a different apartment in the building for his mother. To make sure he didn't use it for himself, they imposed certain restrictions, which Fletcher Jr. then used as part of his argument as to how they were discriminating against him. At the end of the day though, Barnes said the co-op board turned down his request for another, adjacent apartment (the one which the lawsuit hinges on) to his own, which is within the rules, because of his "financial situation."
Tagged
alphonse fletcher jr.
apartment buildings
co-op board
john lennon
lawsuit
racism
the dakota
Ben Yakas
Ben Yakas is a former Gothamist reporter.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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