Friday, July 2nd, 2010

When Donald W. Reilly, a former Marine, faced eviction from his Upper West Side apartment because he violated the co-op building’s no-pet policy, the thought of moving or giving up his pet beagle led him to decide to fight the rules.  The New York Times‘ City Room blog tells the story of Reilly, who brought his case to court, arguing that he needs his pet, Pierre Gustave Tonton Beauregard (a.k.a. P.T.),  for emotional support.  He had adopted the beagle when finding him and his three siblings as abandoned puppies in New Orleans while he was volunteering in an emergency response team for the Hurricane Katrina cleanup in 2005.  Reilly brought the puppy back to his rent-stabilized co-op at 407 Central Park West (near 100th), and became quickly attached to P.T., relying on the dog for laughter as well as activity, as he walks P.T. in Central Park daily.  But the building was not quite as happy about his new pet.  Neighbors quickly asked the landlord to take action on Reilly’s violation of their no-pet policy, leading to the demand to move out or face eviction.  Rather than moving out, Reilly fought the order, using the federal Fair Housing Act of 1968, which contains an amendment that allows disabled people to keep service animals in their homes, no matter the building’s rules (emotional support animals are a rarely-allowed item that applies in this amendment).  Last month, he won his case, along with $6,000 in lawyer’s fees from his landlord and the co-op board. While he has not made his neighbors happy, Reilly remains with P.T. in his Upper West Side home.  Read more about the interesting case at City Room.

Filed under: News, Upper West Side, Upper West Side Blog No Comments »
Tags: 407 Central Park West, Beagles, Controversy, Court Case, Discrimination, Donald W. Reilly, Eviction, Fair Housing Act