Everybody knows that it is difficult to get parking in New York, but is it worth fighting over? Well, one family thought so, and now they’re being taken to court.
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Pace University student Jada McPherson, 21, found herself the victim of violence and racial abuse after she attempted to park in a spot that Andreea Dimitru, 45, and her daughter, Sabrina Starman, 21, were saving for themselves in Putnam Avenue, Ridgewood, Queens, according to the New York Post.
Returning home after work at 7:30 pm, McPherson, who is Black, found a free parking spot that happened to be in front of the mother and daughter’s apartment building. As she attempted to park her car, a male family member who had been standing on the pavement holding the spot stopped her by putting a garbage can behind her car, according to ABC7.
In an exclusive talk with ABC7 Eyewitness News, McPherson said that she had circled the block three or four times after her initial parking attempt, and after 30 minutes, she returned to the original parking spot and told the man that he couldn’t guard a public parking spot.
In the original fight video, posted on the social media site Reddit, McPherson, who is a Black woman, is called a monkey and a slave by Dimitru and Starman. In response, McPherson calls them an immigrant before Starman says, “You’re a slave for what it’s worth,” and attacks McPherson.
It becomes an uneven fight of three against one, as the male family member who was holding the parking spot also jumps in to throw punches at McPherson.
“Her agenda was to pull my hair. That was their whole agenda. It’s three against one, and I’m like 130 pounds, barely,” said McPherson to ABC7 Eyewitness News. By the end of the fight video, you can see that they did rip out one of McPherson’s braids.
McPherson was treated by EMS at the scene and suffered an abrasion to the arm and substantial pain, according to Queens News, Sports and Entertainment (QNS).
Neighbors in the area who also spoke with Eyewitness News stated that the family is notorious for guarding the parking spot and has been doing so for years. Another neighbor said that it can take up to an hour to find parking during rush hour.
People on the Reddit thread have also noted that the family is known for doing this:
“Omfg, it would be these two. The skinny bf with the terrible posture, he’s out there looking miserable every day, trying to put cones out and hold the spots whilst she drives the car. They’re an odd couple. They think they can hold it because they live there. Absolutely b**** made,” wrote one user in the Reddit thread.
Another user in the thread wrote, “This lady (the one saving the spot) once yelled at a man for saving a parking space for his disabled son who lived in that building. The son literally couldn’t walk. She said, and I quote, ‘You can’t save spots! It’s illegal!’ I confronted her and said, ‘It’s for his disabled son.” And she responded, “I don’t care.” The next day, I saw her man saving the spot for herself. I can’t stand her. She’s wicked.”
Reflecting on the incident, McPherson said, “It gives you a different look at life, like, you understand what I’m saying? Like, certain things it’s just, you just have to like let it be.”
Dimitru and Starman were arrested by police as soon as they arrived at the scene and have been charged with third-degree assault and second-degree harassment, which they plan to fight in court on September 9, per QNS. However, police are still looking for the unidentified male family member.
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