Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
UES Co-Op Sues Resident Over Pot, Rooftop Sex
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 10, 2013
Modified Jan 10, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
By
Garth Johnston
Published Jan 10, 2013
Modified Jan 10, 2013
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
An Upper East Side co-op is suing one of its residents because his guests allegedly smoke so much marijuana it makes other residents' apartments smell like, well, pot. And also because one time a lady maybe had sex on the 36-story Fontaine building's roof. "They probably did have sex," the subject of the suit, Richard Kempter, told the News. But he says the problem isn't that his friends were fornicating and smoking reefer—the real issue is that his friends are black.
"I think there’s a racial issue here," says Kempter, who lives in a one-bedroom on the East 72nd Street building's eighth floor. "This is a very racist neighborhood." And in case what he is implying wasn't clear enough, he spelled it out for the Post: "My visitors are black. I think it's a race issue. It's an all-white building."
The co-op's $15,000 suit (plus legal damages) has two big complaints about Kempter and his guests. First? Apparently the partying—which residents blame on Kepter's "stepson," though he denies even having one—can get quite intense: "[I]t is 10:45 p.m. and my apartment smells like a party was going on," one neighbor wrote to the building's management. And that's not even the worst of it. They also said that "once, I opened my dishwasher on a clean load of dishes and the smell was overwhelming." The horror!
"The smell of VERY strong marijuana is wafting in through the vent in the bathroom and the stench goes right to my bedroom. This is so offensive, you have no idea," another complained in the suit. Well, at least it wasn't a waterfall of human waste?
The other big issue the co-op seems to be upset about is the time in October of 2010 when a guest of Kempter, identified as "Chrissy," was allegedly caught on security cameras going up to the building's roof to engage in "lewd" behavior. Which Kempter isn't even denying, saying it happened years ago. And as for the pot? "Plenty of other residents smoke pot and cigarettes in the hallways," he says. The hallways? On the UES? Really? The stairwells we might believe...
Tagged
co-op
lawsuit
manhattan
marijuana
pot
richard Kempter
rooftop sex
sex
smoke
Garth Johnston
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Mamdani says he's 'confident' NYC will collect $500 million with pied-à-terre tax
The city’s Department of Finance granted more than 8,800 of the roughly 11,000 exemption applications.
By
Elizabeth Kim
and
David Brand
Published Oct 29, 2026 at 1:30 p.m. ET
NYPD won't enforce NYC's bus fare while MTA security force is suspended
The MTA has suspended its fare enforcement unit after a series of confrontations with riders. The NYPD said it won't step in to ensure riders pay.
By
Clayton Guse
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
News
NYPD won't enforce NYC's bus fare while MTA security force is suspended
The MTA has suspended its fare enforcement unit after a series of confrontations with riders. The NYPD said it won't step in to ensure riders pay.
By
Clayton Guse
and
Ramsey Khalifeh
15-year-old boy shot and killed Thursday morning in the Bronx, NYPD says
By
Charles Lane
How NYC voters could determine outcome of race for governor
By
Jon Campbell
Early Addition: Is the Cheesecake Factory vs. the Amtrak buttercake our new culture war?
By
James Ramsay
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .