Are you an ELK Management 400 West 25th Street tenant and pet owner who has beenthreatened with eviction/not received a lease renewal due to a "violation" of the "no pets" rule in your current lease agreement? Angry? Want to keep your pet in your apartment without fear of being forced onto the streets?

Don't be fooled -you and your pet are protected under New York City Housing Code 27-2009.1, along with commonly accepted understanding of contract law, which states that any contractual stipulation not enforced over time shall not become arbitrarily enforceable. ELK has been aware of pets living in this building - even anecdotally allowing pets when speaking with prospective tenants - and the Superintendent of the building has been aware of all of the pets in the building for a period of at LEAST 10 months up to multiple years for some residents. By both the letter and spirit of the law, it is unlawful for the landlord (ELK Management) to suddenly determine to enforce this rule when it has been waived in practice. They DO NOT have the right to discriminate against the pet owners here.

There is power in numbers. Sign this petition and also clearly state the duration of time you have resided at ELK Management's 400 West 25th Street property with your pet to prove that their threats of eviction are not valid in the court of law. EXAMPLE: John Doe, Resident with Pet: 3 years.

By identifying ourselves as a discriminated class, we have the power to demand that our pets stay on premises without retribution for the remainder of our lease termsand that all pet-owning tenantsexpect no consequence taken against their security deposits(i.e. no reduction of what is returned or due to tenants) based on having harbored their pets.

We will be sending this signed petition along with all supporting documents to ELK Management certified mailas soon as possible, so please sign TODAY.

Further reading on the law can be found below:

http://www.housingnyc.com/html/resources/hmc/sub2/art1.html#27-2009.1

Sec.27-2009.1Rights and Responsibilities of Owners and Tenants in Relation to PetsLegislative declaration. The council hereby finds that the enforcement of covenants contained in multiple dwelling leases which prohibit the harboring of household pets has led to widespread abuses by building owners or their agents, who knowing that a tenant has a pet for an extended period of time, seek to evict the tenant and/or his or her pet often for reasons unrelated to the creation of a nuisance. Because household pets are kept for reasons of safety and companionship and under the existence of a continuing housing emergency it is necessary to protect pet owners from retaliatory eviction and to safeguard the health, safety and welfare of tenants who harbor pets under the circumstances provided herein, it is hereby found that the enactment of the provisions of this section is necessary to prevent potential hardship and dislocation of tenants within this city.

Where a tenant in a multiple dwelling openly and notoriously for a period of three months or more following taking possession of a unit, harbors or has harbored a household pet or pets, the harboring of which is not prohibited by the multiple dwelling law, the housing maintenance or the health codes of the city of New York or any other applicable law, and the owner or his or her agent has knowledge of this fact, and such owner fails within this three month period to commence a summary proceeding or action to enforce a lease provision prohibiting the keeping of such household pets, such lease provision shall be deemed waived.

It shall be unlawful for an owner or his or her agent, by express terms or otherwise, to restrict a tenant's rights as provided in this section. Any such restriction shall be unenforceable and deemed void as against public policy.

The waiver provision of this section shall not apply where the harboring of a household pet causes damage to the subject premise, creates a nuisance or interferes substantially with the health, safety or welfare of other tenants or occupants of the same or adjacent building or structure.

The New York city housing authority shall be exempt from the provisions of this section.