Catholic League urges condo residents to file complaints

The Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights Tuesday urged residents of a Medford community affected by a potentially unlawful ban on religious statues to file a complaint with the New York State Division of Human Rights.William Donohue, president of the Manhattan-based league, said he was "pleased to announce" that officials from the state division had contacted the league Tuesday.A division spokesman could not confirm that anyone spoke with the league but also encouraged Long Islanders with a complaint to notify the division."We encourage any Long Islanders, including the folks that live in that complex, who believe they have a meritorious claim of discrimination to file a complaint," said Tom Shanahan, a spokesman for the New York state division, which investigates and prosecutes discrimination claims.The five-person homeowner's association board at Country Pointe at Coram approved the rule this year banning religious statues from common areas. The prohibition extends into the gardens that wrap around the condominiums where other small statues and decorations are allowed if they do not exceed other restrictions. Homeowners in the gated 240-unit condo complex have been told to remove religious statues or face a fine.Several experts on housing law agreed that the rule may violate residents' civil rights because it doesn't ban all statues and decorations but specifically targets religious statues. Resident Peggy Wisnoski relocated a St. Francis of Assisi statue after being threatened with a fine in August. Wisnoski said she does not plan to file a complaint."It wasn't my intention to open up a can of worms about religious freedom," she said.Resident Arlene Crandall, board president, could not be reached for comment about the league's statement. She has said the board consulted a lawyer and shaped the rule off others typical in similar communities."The community's homeowner's association is entitled to establish any legal strictures it wants, but it has no right to violate religious liberty," Donohue said. "Whether it has or not is not certain."

http://www.newsday.com/business/ny-bzcond1010%2C0%2C6210718.story
PS:"Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,or that is in the earth beneath,or that is in the water under the earth.
Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,nor serve them:for I the Lord thy God, am a jealous God,visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.
Exodus 20:4-5

As in the days of Noah...