By Rich Bockmann
Clearview Gardens is a real pigsty, according to a lawsuit.
Michael Kurtz, president of the Whitestone co-op’s board of directors, filed suit earlier this month claiming the city Department of Health has allowed a couple’s pet pig to overstay its welcome. He is asking the court to order the city’s chief doctor to get rid of the family’s porcine pal.
About a year ago, Danielle and Louis Forgione decided to get a pet pig named Petey as a way to help cope with the death of Danielle’s brother and her father’s diagnosis with terminal brain cancer. Some of the couple’s children are allergic to cat and dog hair, and the swine made a perfect, if not unusual, choice.
The co-op board initially gave the thumbs up, but after someone squealed, the DOH got wind of Petey and in February it ordered the Forgiones to find a new place for their 9-month-old little piggie to call home.
As it turns out, the city Health Code specifically prohibits “all even-toed ungulates” including but not limited to deer, giraffes and pigs.
The Health Department gave the Forgiones until July 1 to remove Petey from the city limits and said it would grant a 45-day extension if the family had entered into a contract to sell their home by the deadline.
According to the order, pigs become aggressive as they mature between the age of 12 and 18 months and have the potential for biting and scratching. As part of the order, the Forgiones agreed to keep Petey from contact with the public, but according to the lawsuit by June 21 the board had received complaints that Petey “is being walked around the common property of the cooperative corporation and has placed residents in fear for their person and property.”
Danielle Forgione told TimesLedger Newspapers she had not seen the lawsuit and said Petey was a sweet swine who would not bite or scratch a fly.
The city Law Department said it, too, had not been formally notified of the lawsuit.
Reach reporter Rich Bockmann by e-mail at rbockmann@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4574.
