Dinowitz could be sued for alleged defamation

Spuyten Duyvil School (P.S. 24) Assistant Principal Manny Verdi is poised to sue northwest Bronx Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz for alleged defamation after the local elected official told news outlets that the administrator is to blame for overcrowding at the school.

The litigation would follow a suit Mr. Verdi initiated last week against the Department of Education, the Schools Chancellor and local Superintendent Melodie Mashel. The suit claimed that Ms. Mashel was seeking to punish Mr. Verdi after he complained to the New York City Special Commissioner of Investigation that Mr. Dinowitz was interfering with enrollment of kindergartners at P.S. 24. The suit said the assemblyman wanted to prevent minority and lower-income students from coming to the school.

News stories about the suit in The Press and other outlets have quoted Mr. Dinowitz as blaming overcrowding at P.S. 24 on Mr. Verdi.

But the assistant principal’s lawyer, Ezra Glaser, said that amounts to defamation.

“I can go back to all the quotes [Mr. Dinowitz] has [given],” the attorney said today. “He talks about misconduct and wrongdoing. [Mr. Verdi is] not an elected official. [Mr. Dinowitz] can’t say what he wants about [Mr. Verdi]. On top of that, all that [Mr. Verdi has] done is follow Department of Education policy.”

Last week, Mr. Dinowitz told The Press, “In a desperate attempt to create a smokescreen to divert attention from the fact that he’s the main reason for the severe overcrowding crisis at P.S. 24, Manny Verdi has brought a lawsuit containing one lie after another.”

Today, Mr. Dinowitz said, “Threatening to sue me is an attempt at intimidation. No one is going to intimidate me.”

“I guess he has money to spend on lawsuits,” the assemblyman said of Mr. Verdi. “He might have spent more time on doing what’s right for P.S. 24, but apparently he’s more concerned about other things.”

Mr. Glaser said his client might include Mr. Dinowitz in the original lawsuit now that the assemblyman has told news outlets that Ms. Martos went to P.S. 24 to participate in enrolling kindergarteners over the course of several days in March and April. The assemblyman has vehemently denied that she did so in order to keep minority and lower-income children from enrolling. He said that she participated at the behest of education officials.

Mr. Glaser said he expects his client to make a final decision about suing Mr. Dinowitz over the coming days.

The lawyer said Mr. Verdi and Ms. Mashel met on May 4, but Mr. Glaser said he could not discuss the content of the meeting.