The one-bedroom apartment up for rent in New York City is listed for $5,750 a month, but that's not out of line for the Big Apple. What has instead drawn attention is the unusual stipulation imposed by the vegan landlord: Tenants are not allowed to cook meat or fish, reports the New York Times. A second apartment also listed in the same Brooklyn townhome for $4,500 has the same rule, which doesn't specifically ban meat eaters or even meat takeout from being consumed on premises—rather just the cooking of meat. "It's not vegetarian-only, but the owner lives in the building and doesn't want the smell of cooking meat drifting upstairs," says broker Andrea Kelly of property management company Douglas Elliman.
Insider talks to someone familiar with the situation who explains that the building is relatively small and has ventilation that is not "amazing." Hence the rule. Is this illegal discrimination against carnivores? Apparently not. The Times notes that New York City forbids landlords from using 14 specific characteristics (think age, race, sexual orientation) to reject prospective tenants, and cooking preferences is not among them. In the same vein, landlords are allowed to refuse to rent to smokers.
The unusual rule has actually been in place for years, without causing much of a fuss. Insider's source says previous tenants typically relied on takeout and shrugged off the restriction: "If it works for you, fine. If it doesn't, move on." A Nextdoor listing with the stipulation came down after the story generated attention, and the no-meat-cooking restriction appears to have been deleted from the broker's two listings. "Can you legally do that, outlaw smells?" 29-year-old Scott Fu asks the New York Post. "If you can, I'd outlaw whatever the hell my neighbor's cooking constantly, because it stinks." (More New York City stories.)
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
