The Dakota Claims Racial Bias Plaintiff Made ‘Highly Unrealistic’ Financial Claims
The co-op board of the Dakota apartment building in New York is firing back at a resident who says he wasn’t allowed to buy an additional unit there because of racial bias.
In a response to the suit filed by Alphonse Fletcher Jr., the board claimed the statement of net worth he submitted was “highly unrealistic,” the New York Times reports. Approving the sale would expose the Dakota to “unacceptable financial risk,” the board said. The board also denied that its motive was to allow a board member to purchase the unit.
Fletcher’s suit had alleged the board discriminated against minority celebrities identified in the press as singer Roberta Flack and famous acting couple Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith.
The board said it treated Flack the same as other residents, and it turned down the famous couple because the assassination of resident John Lennon brought a reluctance to approve people who would attract public attention.