Did Dakota Co-op Board Discriminate Against Antonio Banderas? Suit Airs Claims
A lawsuit filed against the co-op board of the famous Dakota apartment building claims racial discrimination against minority celebrities identified in the press as singer Roberta Flack and Antonio Banderas.
The suit was filed by former board president Alphonse Fletcher Jr., a black Wall Street investor who wasn’t allowed to buy an adjacent unit for $5.7 million to combine with his present 2,600-square-foot apartment, according to the New York Times and Reuters.
The suit says board members turned down a Hispanic applicant after joking he wanted the first-floor unit so he could more easily buy drugs on the street. According to the Times, the “timing and circumstances” suggest the applicant was Antonio Banderas.
Fletcher also alleges that the board refused to let a black resident—singer Roberta Flack—install a new bathtub, despite multiple applications, and forced her to use the service elevator when accompanied by her dog. White residents with dogs, on the other hand, were allowed to use the main elevator, the suit says.
The Dakota issued a statement calling the allegations untrue and “outrageous” and saying Fletcher’s application was denied based on financial considerations. Fletcher claimed the board unfairly concluded he was overleveraged.
