3 Sue To Block Single-Sex Swimming at Orthodox New Jersey Condo
— Some residents of a restricted adult community in New Jersey have filed a lawsuit against the condominium association over what it calls its discriminatory pool policy stemming from single-sex swim hours implemented in deference to the Orthodox Jews living there.
Marie Curto and Steve and Diana Lusardi object to the policy at A Country Place in Lakewood, where Orthodox Jewish residents make up the majority of 376-unit complex.
The lawsuit claims the pool policy violates the anti-discrimination provisions of the federal Fair Housing Act and the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination, according to the Asbury Park Press.
A hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4 in state Superior Court.
The pool has 11 hours of single-sex swim time on most days. Mixed swimming is allowed Sunday through Friday from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and all day Saturday when Orthodox Jews do not go swimming because of the Jewish Sabbath.
The complainants had each been fined $50 earlier in the summer for violating the policy by refusing to leave the area during single-sex swim time, the Asbury Park Press reported.
The Lusardis say in the lawsuit that they have been “harassed, intimidated and have received threats of violence within their community due to their complaints regarding the pool.” They are seeking compensatory and punitive damages.
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