Brooklyn Co-op Board Violated Disabled Veteran's Right to Have Service Dog

Jan. 14, 2015 — Co-op and condo boards can be very strict about their pet policies and have been known to come down hard on residents who harbor animals against the rules. But there's a difference between a pet dog and a service dog, as we've covered in the past. It looks like neither Trump Village IV — a 1,144-unit Coney Island co-op — nor board president Igor Oberman got the memo, however, and it could end up being quite costly. HousingWire.com reports that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is charging the co-op and Oberman "with violating the rights of Eugene Ovsishcher, a combat veteran with a psychiatric disability, and his wife, Galina" for denying the disabled veteran's request in August 2011 "to keep an emotional support dog." According to HUD, HousingWire.com reports, in February 2012, Ovsishcher provided the board, along with his request, "a copy of the dog’s picture, license and a letter from [his] doctor explain[ing] the medical need for the dog." Trump Village not only said no dice, but also threatened to terminate the couple's lease if they didn't make Mickey the Shi Tzu scram. And they made good on that threat, starting eviction proceedings a month later. It was the court's turn to say no dice, however — turns out when you want to evict someone, you should maybe not keep collecting rent from them. And that's when the couple went to HUD. If only Oberman and the board had read our story. Although the Americans with Disabilities Act doesn't generally apply to cooperative apartment corporations and condominium associations, state and federal fair-housing laws do.