New York Daily News - Friday, October 15, 1999

State Told: Don't Try Monkey Biz

By AUSTIN FENNER
Daily News Staff Writer

Roman Flikshtein adores his pet monkey, Cookie. The cuddly 6-pound primate has grown attached to Flikshtein and his family, and the Flikshteins couldn't imagine life without the black, white and burgundy creature.

But Kew Gardens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Lonschein has denied Flikshtein's petition to stop state Department of Environmental Conservation officials from seizing the female Diana Guenon monkey.

The state agency, represented in court by the state attorney general's office, is moving to take Cookie from the Flikshteins because they do not have the special license required for a pet on the endangered species list.

Now, the Flikshteins nervously wait at home in Marine Park, Brooklyn, for the authorities to one day come knocking on the door to take their beloved pet.

"If they come for Cookie, I'm going to have to barricade myself in the house," said Flikshtein. "If they try to take [the animal], it is going to be war."

Flikshtein said he is not threatening violence, but feels it is inhuman to separate Cookie from his family.

Flikshtein considers the exotic creature a loving member of his family, and he plans to fight to the bitter end before surrendering the pint-sized animal.

"It's part of my family; it's not just a monkey," said a worried Flikshtein. "The state has no right to take Cookie."

Flikshtein said he purchased Cookie four years ago from a pet shop in Commack, L.I. He says he and his daughter, Michelle, 12, enjoy playing in the park, eating ice cream with and otherwise entertaining the monkey, who has been spayed, does not have canine-type teeth and is, they insist, harmless.

Now, the attorney general must decide Cookie's future.

"We are reviewing the judge's decision," said Juanita Scarlett, a spokeswoman for the attorney general's office. "We will allow the family to file a prompt appeal before sending the monkey to a rehabilitation and socialization facility to live out the rest of [its] days with other monkeys."

Stephen Fink, the attorney representing the Flikshteins, plans to appeal the decision.

"If the monkey is removed [from the Flikshtein home], it would not adapt to a new setting, since it never has interacted with other monkeys," said Fink. "Taking the monkey away would be cruel to the family. And it would be cruel to the monkey."