Condo board hit with disability suit over dog access

A hearing dog and 2 South End Avenue
A hearing dog and 2 South End Avenue

The condominium board at Cove Club in Battery Park City is facing a lawsuit for allegedly barring a deaf 76-year-old resident’s hearing-assistance dog from the building.

Roman Erikhman was ordered to give away his Doberman Pinscher in 2012, just a few weeks after purchasing it, because he did not adhere to the board’s “no big dogs” policy, according to a lawsuit that the New York State Division of Human Rights filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court on the man’s behalf.

The board sued Erikhman in 2012 when he refused to part ways with the service dog, though that case is still pending. The New State Division of Human Rights requested in its suit that the board pay $150,000 in compensatory damages and civil fines, as well as allow the dog to stay.

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The dog purchased has since passed away, but it has been replaced with another Doberman Pinscher, according to DNAinfo.

The Cove Club, located at 2 South End Avenue, has the city’s priciest monthly common charges at $3.98 per square foot, as The Real Deal reported. [DNAinfo]Mark Maurer