NYC neighbors sue over pot smell

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NEW YORK, Jan. 10 (UPI) -- A New York City co-op board is suing one of the building's tenants, alleging the smell of marijuana coming from his apartment is overwhelming, lawyers said.

The board of The Fontaine, an apartment building on Manhattan's Upper East Side, is suing Richard Kempter, 73, the occupant of apartment 8B for the last 12 years. Neighbors said the stench of pot coming from his place has permeated their own homes and has become intolerable, The New York Post said Thursday.

The neighbors suspect it isn't Kempter who's been smoking pot, but some of his house guests who use the apartment while Kempter, a psychology professor, is away.

Kempter responded, charging residents are targeting him because his guests were black and all of the building's residents are white. He said he hasn't invited the offending guests back after initially hearing the complaints.

A lawyer for the co-op board declined comment on the pending litigation, filed in Manhattan Supreme Court.