An apartment house where only high-paying tenants can use the gym may be illegally discriminating, city human rights officials warned this week. It's the latest salvo in an ongoing struggle between property developers to build or maintain rent-stabilized apartments alongside luxury units that go for thousands of dollars more a month. Other building have installed so-called 'poor doors' for use by rent-stabilized tenants while full-rent residents get to use the front door. DNAInfo New York obtained pictures of the sign posted by property managers that warned only certain residents of the building were allowed access to the gym. The Human Rights Commission said in a notice filed Thursday that there's enough evidence of age discrimination to merit a hearing on the Stonehenge Village complex's fitness room. The rent-regulated tenants excluded from the gym are largely over 65, while market-rate tenants aren't, according to a complaint last year from tenants' association president Jean Green Dorsey. Scroll down for video . Jean Green Dorsey says the refusal of landlords to let rent-stabilized tenants use the new gym facility in the building 'smacks of second-class citizenship . The gym that property managers opened in Stonehenge Village last year was closed off to anyone who lived in rent-stabilized apartments . The gym, pictured here in a photo obtained by DNAInfo New York, was meant as a perk to lure full-price-paying tenants, who shell out $3,500-a-month for a one bedroom . Dorsey said being barred from using the exercise room smacked of second-class citizenship for the rent-stabilized tenants who occupy about 60 percent of the more than 400 apartments in the complex on Manhattan's Upper West Side. She said Friday she was hopeful the landlord would now let rent-stabilized tenants pay a reasonable fee to use the gym and have it continue to be free for their higher-rent neighbors. Dorsey said tenants previously offered to do that but were rebuffed, spurring her complaint. 'You really shouldn't have to do all this to live a happy life,' said Green Dorsey, 75, who has lived in the building since 1972. Market-rate apartments go for $3,500 a month for one-bedroom units, which advertise granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances and close proximity to Whole Foods. The landlord, Stonehenge Partners Inc., had no immediate comment Friday. Stonehenge Partners has said the gym was built last winter to entice market-rate tenants. 'Any impact on rent-regulated tenants arises out of their length of tenancy in the building,' not their age, 'and involves that person's choice to remain in a rent-regulated unit at lower rent,' the landlord's lawyer, Jerrold Goldberg, wrote in a filing last year. The building advertises one-bedroom apartments for $3,500 a month that feature granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances . While city law prohibits discrimination based on age, it's silent on the subject of rent-regulation status. Stabilized tenants get valuable benefits of their own, like lower rent, Goldberg noted. The building's courtyard, laundry room and some other amenities are open to all residents, he added. Stonehenge Village is among several New York buildings that have spurred an outcry over separate entrances for lower-paying residents - dubbed 'poor doors' - or playrooms, roof decks and other amenities reserved for market-rate renters. Galled by seeing such arrangements in developments that often enjoy tax and zoning breaks for including affordable housing, some officials have sought to require more equal treatment. Just this week, City Councilman Corey Johnson proposed to require buildings to let affordable housing tenants use amenities. Public Advocate Letitia James and several council members, including Johnson, supported Dorsey's complaint. James said Friday she was heartened by the rights commission's finding. 'This will send a clear message: This is really just unacceptable,' she said by phone. 'When you stigmatize individuals based their status as rent-regulated tenants, it was just inherently wrong and inconsistent with the general principles that we all hold dear.' Developers say the arrangements reflect business considerations, not prejudice, and ultimately contribute to more economically integrated environments. Attracting higher-paying residents with amenities helps make it feasible to incorporate affordable housing in highly desirable areas, according to developers. Green Dorsey, meanwhile, says she's eager to get into the gym.
Ruling by the New York City Human Rights Commission is a blow for Stonehenge Village on Manhattan's Upper West Side .
60percent of the tenants pay reduced rent-stabilized rates .
The rest pay market rates of $3,500 a month for a one bedroom apartment .
Most rent-stabilized tenants are over age 65 .
This is the latest battle between property developers who get taxes breaks for building rent-stabilized units and the city .