Lawsuit targets 'spite fences'

By Dan Crowley
Staff Writer

Published on October 16, 2009

HADLEY - The American Civil Liberties Union has filed a lawsuit on behalf of two Hadley Housing Authority tenants who attorneys claim are being demeaned and harassed by two spite fences built with an "anti-Semitic animus."

Spite fences are generally defined as unsightly structures erected solely to irritate neighbors. They are deemed a private nuisance if they exceed 6 feet in height and are erected for no other purpose than to annoy neighbors or occupants of adjoining properties, according to state law.

"It's striking how obnoxious it is," said David Angier, an Amherst attorney cooperating with Northampton attorney William C. Newman and the ACLU on the case.

"The primary purpose of the lawsuit is to have the fences taken down," he said.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of Golden Court tenants Judith Roncalli and Sue Oppenheimer and comes six weeks after state housing officials, lawmakers, civil liberties lawyers and a professional mediator met to ease strained relations among Golden Court tenants and housing authority management.

The state-subsidized housing complex off Middle Street is home to 40 units for the elderly and disabled and has endured serial controversies for more than a year, including a tenants' uprising over the installation of surveillance cameras in a community room.

The lawsuit filed this week names Darlene Cohen, the housing authority's executive director, and Jack Yusko, a Golden Court tenant, as defendants. The complaint also cites anti-Semitic statements involving the fences made by one member of a competing tenants association within Golden Court that Cohen helped form, attorneys allege.

"We believe that the Housing Authority has an affirmative duty to the residents of Golden Court to provide a non-hostile, non-discriminatory living environment," Angier said, when asked why Cohen was named in the lawsuit.

Cohen said little when reached for comment. "I don't know what you're referring to, and I really don't have any comment at this time," said Cohen.

Attempts to reach Yusko for comment were also unsuccessful.

Yusko allegedly helped construct the approximately 7-foot-high black plastic barriers, one about 40 feet long and the other shorter, on property bordering Golden Court, where he reportedly maintains a vegetable patch. The property, which overlooks fields, is owned by Frank Baj, who could not be reached for comment.

According to the lawsuit, Roncalli witnessed Baj's son, Christopher Baj, and Yusko erecting a section of the fences June 28. Two days later, Oppenheimer filed a grievance with Cohen regarding one fence and the "anti-Semitic reasons it was erected." Christopher Baj could not be reached for comment.

One fence stands about 30 feet from Oppenheimer's back door at Golden Court. Her grievance was not acted upon and the fences have been left standing for more than three months, the housing court complaint states.

Apart from pool fences, Hadley does not have any local regulations on the books regarding the erection of fences. However, under state law, fences over six feet must receive permits and the town generally requests in writing that adjoining property owner agree to them, noted Hadley Building Inspector Timothy Neyhart.

As for the alleged spite fences at Golden Court, "I know I do not have (permits) for fences there," Neyhart said.

Dan Crowley can be reached at dcrowley@gazettenet.com.