Dix Hills, NY – Condos Fined $10,000 for Prohibiting Mezuzah on Door

Dix Hills, NY – A Jewish woman from who says her condominium complex discriminated against her by stopping her from displaying a 4-inch mezuzah on her front door has won a case taken on by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

His office ordered the homeowner’s association at Stone Ridge Estates in Dix Hills to pay a $10,000 fine and rewrite its bylaws so they “do not discriminate against residents because of their religion.”

The case was brought to Cuomo’s office by Patti Werner, who moved into the complex earlier this year.

“This country guarantees every individual the right to express his or her religious beliefs,” Cuomo said in a statement. “And New York State, with our fair housing laws, guarantees that no resident will be discriminated against based on that expression.”

He added: “The practices employed by the Dix Hills Homeowners Association went against the fundamental protections and promises of our laws, and I commend them for reforming their bylaws and practices to ensure that no resident will be the victim of this kind of discrimination.”

Lawrence Gresser, the developer of the condominium project who is also listed in the attorney general’s settlement as the president and sponsor of the homeowners association, did not immediately return phone messages seeking comment.

An employee at a construction trailer on the site, who residents said runs daily operations at the complex, also declined to comment and said Gresser would not comment.

Cuomo’s office said it investigated after receiving a complaint that residents were told to “either take down their mezuzahs or purchase a screen door costing between $300 to $500 dollars to conceal the object.”