What a circus.<\/p>\n
A ritzy Manhattan arts club banned the heiress to the \u201cRingling Bros\u201d fortune for refusing to put diapers on her service dogs \u2014 and now she\u2019s barking mad about it, according to a new lawsuit.<\/p>\n
The National Arts Club \u2014 an exclusive Gramercy Park institution whose celebrity members have reportedly included Mark Twain, Theodore Roosevelt and Martin Scorsese \u2014\u00a0 effectively booted heiress-cum-columnist Karen Feld from its historic building, she claims in the suit.<\/p>\n
Karen Feld and her dogs Mango and Beignet were booted from a Gramercy Park club unless the service animals donned doggie diapers, a new suit claims. = Facebook\/Campari-Bellini Feld<\/p>\n
Feld,\u00a0a longtime journalist whose father owned Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, had been bringing her two small-breed pooches, Mango and Beignet, to events at the club\u2019s posh Victorian mansion to help with her PTSD and seizure disorders, the suit claims.<\/p>\n
But the National Arts Club\u2019s food and beverage director suddenly booted her from a May 19 event that she\u2019d attended with her pups as a guest of a National Arts Club member, according to the suit, filed this week in Manhattan Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
Feld said she\u2019d been scheduled to return the following day for a luncheon for the Silurians Press Club \u2014 a group of veteran journalists where she serves as a board member.<\/p>\n
But the press club\u2019s incoming president then passed along a message from the venue declaring that Feld \u201cwould not be permitted to attend that day\u2019s scheduled luncheon with her service dogs\u2026 unless the service dogs wore dog diapers,\u201d the suit claims.<\/p>\n
The club cited \u201csanitation concerns\u201d \u2014 but Feld contended the pooches \u201chad been professionally groomed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Feld, dubbed a \u201cDistrict gossip columnist and socialite\u201d by the Washington Post<\/a>, said she was left \u201chumiliated in front of colleagues and excluded from an event of an organization on whose board she served.\u201d<\/p>\n Feld says she has attended events at the National Arts Club\u2019s historic home for over 20 years with service dogs without complaint. Alizada Studios \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n She called the diaper excuse a cover for alleged illegal disability discrimination, according to the lawsuit.<\/p>\n Feld \u201chas attended NAC events for approximately twenty years with her service dogs and, prior to the events described herein, had never received any complaint concerning the dogs,\u201d her suit claims.<\/p>\n Federal and state law dictate that service animals must be permitted in any space open to the general public \u2014 which would seemingly apply to the National Arts Club as it routinely hosts events open to non-members.<\/p>\n Businesses are also limited in what they can ask about service animals, prohibiting all questions beyond if the animal is required and what task it performs.<\/p>\n According to the federal Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals are not required to have any special equipment, including vest, ID tags, harnesses or, presumably, diapers. <\/p>\n The lawsuit claims the club\u2019s food and beverage director told her Mango and Beignet were not welcome \u2014 despite Feld telling him they were service dogs \u2014 and told her to leave. = Facebook\/Campari-Bellini Feld<\/p>\n But if a service animal is not housebroken, or otherwise under control, it can be removed.<\/p>\n In a statement denying Feld\u2019s claims, the National Arts Club contended her furry friends twice had accidents inside the posh building.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the first incident, the dogs soiled Club property, which was documented,\u201d it said. \u201cIn a separate incident, detectable noxious orders consistent with the dogs having urinated were reported in the Club\u2019s private member spaces.\u201d<\/p>\n According to her suit, Feld \u2014 whose father, Irvin Feld, was dubbed \u00a0\u201cthe man who saved the circus\u201d<\/a> after buying the Ringling Bros in 1967 \u2014 usually keeps her pups nestled in a travel carrier bag when attending events.<\/p>\n Feld claims the National Arts Club is also retaliating against her by \u201cthreatening\u201d the press group\u2019s ability to continue to hold events at the Gramercy Park building while her litigation is pending, according to court papers. The suit also claims the NAC has launched a pressure campaign to shove her off of her board position with the Silurians.<\/p>\n Feld \u201cwould not be permitted to attend that day\u2019s scheduled luncheon with her service dogs\u2026unless the service dogs wore dog diapers,\u201d the suit claims. = Facebook\/Campari-Bellini Feld<\/p>\n The National Arts Club said it \u201cdenies Ms. Feld\u2019s meritless claims, denies that she has suffered damages as a result of the Club\u2019s actions, and looks forward to defending itself in court.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMs. Feld has previously filed numerous lawsuits involving a variety of matters, including accessibility claims relating to her dogs,\u201d the club\u2019s statement claimed.<\/p>\n Feld sued her estranged brother, Kenneth, in 2011, <\/a>alleging she was assaulted during a shiva for the beloved aunt who raised the pair.<\/a><\/p>\n The siblings first battled when their circus maven dad died in 1984 and Feld discovered she had been cut from the will. Feld reportedly sued her brother for $10 million but later settled for less than $1 million.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tStart your day with all you need to know\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMorning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Kenneth, who\u2019s net worth is now reportedly $2.5 billion, ultimately took over the family business and renamed it Feld Entertainment.<\/p>\n Feld\u2019s lawyer declined to comment.<\/p>\n \u2013\u2013 Additional reporting by Joyce Cohen<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What a circus. 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