Feud Over Noisy Parrots Costs NYC Co-op $750K and a Friendship
Get ready for a wild tale that proves sometimes, feathers really do fly in the city! A $750,000 legal settlement between the Rutherford co-op in Manhattan and former tenant Meril Lesser has blown the lid off a neighborly quarrel that escalated into a full-blown feud. It all kicked off when Lesser, who relied on her three noisy parrots as emotional support animals, found herself at odds with her neighbor Charlotte Kullen, who described the feathered friends as “screaming and squawking throughout the day”—a true bird drama if there ever was one!
This little saga comes to a close after years of legal wrangling, and it follows a federal lawsuit that alleged the Rutherford discriminated against Lesser in violation of the Fair Housing Act. Lesser maintained that her parrots were essential to her mental well-being, but Kullen insisted that the birds were driving her up the wall. Instead of holding a cordial conversation over a cup of tea, Kullen reported the birds to the co-op board and even took her complaints to the New York City Department of Environmental Protection—who didn’t find any substantiated noise issues after multiple inspections. Talk about a classic case of neighborly miscommunication!
The drama intensified when the Rutherford attempted to evict Lesser in 2016, despite her disability, triggering an avalanche of legal battles that ended with Lesser feeling “gaslit” and trapped in a toxic living situation. According to her deposition, she felt harassed by neighbors who didn’t understand her challenges. In a twist of fate, their once-thriving friendship crumbled under the weight of pending court dates and co-op board meetings.
And here’s the kicker: Lesser’s attempts to sell her apartment were thwarted when the co-op rejected a legitimate buyer. The government even stepped in, accusing the co-op of retaliatory behavior. Lesser’s story is a definitive reminder of the legal hurdles faced by those needing emotional support animals, and how blind retaliation can lead to costly consequences. If only Kullen had suggested a bird-watching club instead, none of this might have happened!
Sources: Celebrity Storm Wire and People Magazine, The New York Times
