Landlord Wants To Evict Little Girl's Dog

The easiest way to seem cruel cruel cruel? Evict the dog who helped cheer up a depressed 7 year-old girl. The Daily News goes to town with the story of Allison Shur, now 9 years old, whose dog Lada is at the center of a two-year fight between Shur's mother, Ilona, and the landlords at Contello Towers in Bensonhurst. The building has always had a very clear no-dogs-allowed policy, but when Shur's therapist suggested a pet would help Allison out of the doldrums caused by moving from Bay Ridge. And terrier Lada did do the trick; Allison told the Daily News, "She's my best friend. Friends at school leave on vacations and on trips, but Lada's here forever with me now."

So far, the Shurs won permission from the city to keep the dog, but recently a Supreme Court judge said that pet was not medically necessary. Contello Towers is standing firm, saying, "It we allow one pet, it opens the floodgates..."Someone with a weak claim like this - 'I don't feel well, so I need a dog' - it lends itself to too much mischief, people feigning illnesses to keep a dog." This brings up an interesting dilemma. Sometimes pets are grandfathered into leases if the pets aren't detected immediately (as the Daily News notes in this article), but Ilona Shur bought a dog, versus a cat which probably would have been allowed. Still, Gothamist feels that with enough pressure from the Daily News' readership, little Allison will be able to keep her best friend.

Here's the city's Department of Housing information site. The City Council was looking into these no-pet clauses in the summer. Some condos are cracking down on dog ownership and residents in Stuyvesant Town aren't allowed to have cats or dogs. How does your apartment feel about your pet?

Photo from Daily News

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Arts & Entertainment on November 18, 2004 12:19 PM

Comments [rss]

annie

I once lived in that tall, ugly apartment building in Chinatown. It's a no-dogs building, but I knew many tenants that snuck their wee dogs in and out in messenger bags. So, the building personnel (mainly, the security gaurd stationed at the entance) never saw the dogs in order to report offenses, but many fellow residents knew, but we weren't about to tattle on our neighbors, though we did disagree with the flagrant defiance of policy.

janinedm

annie, my reading is that you can't hide it. the super, the door-man and the neighbors have to have seen the pet and said nothing for 90 days. i don't think it can count if no one's ever seen it.

annie

About the 90 day rule, isn't it possible to hide your pet for three months and then claim you paraded it around the building the whole time? unless your building has a diligent doorman that spots it and reports it to the landlord, i think it'd be very easy for tenants to get away with.

I'm in the process of evicting non-paying tenants who have stayed on beyond their lease term. until now, i never realized that landlords basically have no rights. i know there are quite a few slumlords out there, but the process is long, difficult, and costly even for us regular folks.

Tim N.

They couldn't get her a kitten?

So let's get this straight... mom and dad move to Bensonhurst - which everyone knows is a depressing experience (sorry, couldn't resist) - into a building that doesn't allow dogs. Kid is depressed, doens't have friends in Bensonhurst like they had in Bay Ridge. So what's the lesson parents throw at kid about how to beat the blues? Break the rules!

It sounds like the board at the building is being pretty hard-ass, but as someone who's on the board of a no-dog building (and someone with a seven-year-old daughter), it sounds like the Daily News ought to do an article of how parents can add insult to injury when dealing with their kids.

I'm sure the building has rules about breaking windows with big rocks, but if that makes the kid feel better, are the parents going to advocate that, too? After all, rocks last longer than doggies...

Mr. Nosuch

It seems the building is no pets but no DOGS, so the actions of the parents really make no sense at all.

Of course, many parents are guilty of thinking that the world should stop and revolve around their child, so this isn't hugely surprising.

I do feel bad for the kid though.

Meghan

Why did her stupid parents completely ignore the no pets rule, setting their depressed kid up for disaster. I hate people who don't think the rules apply to them. The kid is a victim of asshole parents. If she's that precarious, perhaps they should be considering a move. The bottomline - I don't feel sorry for this family.

janinedm

Isn't all this beside the point? What about the 90 day rule?

"In its plainest reading, the Pet Law provides that once a pet is harbored in a multiple dwelling (a building with three or more residential units) for three or more months, openly and notoriously (not hidden from the building’s owners, agents, and on-site employees), then any no-pet clause in a lease is considered waived and unenforceable."

From the NYC Bar Association "http://www.abcny.org/pethouse...."

annie

If she thinks her dog will be with her forever, she's in for a shock. Based on the girl's comments it would seem her attachment to her dog could potentially hinder proper socializing with other kids. Her mom knew the policy and broke the rules. I hate people who do this. I agree that pets can make you feel better, but it isn't medically necessary. If she's still depressed from her move to a new neighborhood (and building with a no-pets policy), she probably needs something stronger than a dog.

I'm depressed too and it would probably make me feel better to go out and kick a few asses, but I know the city looks down upon such behavior, so I'm refraining.

JarJar

I say make the kid write a 500 words minimum daily journal as to why the dog's making her feel good that day and submit it to the building's owners. If she really feels that strong about her dog, this is the least she could do to make the owners believe her.