Statement from the Board of Directors of The Dakota, Inc. co-op

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Following is a statement from the Board of Directors of The Dakota, Inc. co-op regarding the recent lawsuit by Alphonse Fletcher Jr.:

Given Mr. Alphonse Fletcher Jr.'s long residency at the Dakota, it was painful for the board to reach the decision to deny his application.  We do not think it appropriate to discuss in the press the financial materials submitted by him, but we are confident that the court will find that the board acted appropriately.  We are pleased that the Court today denied Mr. Fletcher's application for temporary relief in this matter.

His outrageous accusations of discrimination are untrue and at odds with the facts that the board has previously approved his purchase of several apartments, he has been repeatedly elected to the board, and his mother currently serves on the board.  Given that the board twice elected him its president, from 2007 to 2009, it is preposterous to claim that less than a year later it denied his application to purchase an additional apartment based on racial bias.  The Dakota has always valued the diversity of our community.

SOURCE The Dakota, Inc.