{"id":338127,"date":"2026-09-04T15:56:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:56:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338127\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T15:56:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T15:56:15","slug":"morbidly-obese-nyc-man-sues-co-op-over-new-parking-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/338127\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Morbidly obese’ NYC man sues co-op over new parking rules"},"content":{"rendered":"

A disabled East Village<\/a> resident with morbid obesity is suing his co-op over new rules he says threaten a parking spot his family has used for decades \u2014 as the board moves to sell the lot for residential development.<\/p>\n

Steven Andruseaski, 61, is suing Village View Housing Corporation over a new parking agreement he says would give the co-op the ability to boot him from his space in Parking Lot 7, next to his apartment in the seven-building Mitchell-Lama<\/a> complex just south of Tompkins Square Park.<\/p>\n

Weighing about 375 pounds, Andruseaski said he uses a cane and can only walk about 200 feet. He depends on his car \u2014 and the nearby parking spot \u2014 to get to doctors\u2019 appointments and buy groceries on Long Island.<\/p>\n

Steven Andruseaski sued Village View Housing Corporation over a new parking agreement he says would give the East Village co-op the ability to boot him from his space. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

An aerial shot of Parking Lot 7 at the Mitchell-Lama complex, where there\u2019s a plan to sell the 110-spot lot for development. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n

Andruseaski relies on his car to get to medical appointments and for grocery shopping in the suburbs. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s hard for me to be mobile because I can\u2019t walk too far and I can\u2019t stand still at all,\u201d Andruseaski told The Post. \u201cIf I stand still \u2014 my knees, my back, my hips \u2014 they just start hurting right away.\u201d<\/p>\n

A doctor\u2019s note filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court suit says Andruseaski has been diagnosed with \u201cmorbid (severe) obesity\u201d and osteoarthritis in both knees.<\/p>\n

Andruseaski said his family has used the parking spot for more than 40 years and that he currently pays $200 a month for it.<\/p>\n

The suit comes after Village View gave residents until Aug. 31 to sign a new agreement expanding the circumstances under which they could lose their parking privileges \u2014 or face having their cars towed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Andruseaski relies on a cane and says he can only walk about 200 feet. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Since June, hundreds of shareholders at the 1,236-unit complex have demanded more transparency about the proposed redevelopment of Lot 7. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Andruseaski claims the agreement violates state human-rights law and is asking a judge to permanently bar Village View from removing his car or denying him access to the parking space.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His parking fight comes amid a broader battle over Village View\u2019s plan to sell<\/a> the 110-space Lot 7 for residential development \u2014 a connection Andruseaski makes in his lawsuit.<\/p>\n

His complaint alleges the co-op plans to sell the lot to a developer and eventually eliminate its parking spaces.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of shareholders at the 1,236-unit complex have demanded more transparency about the proposed redevelopment of Lot 7, one of seven parking lots at Village View, and questioned why the board is moving ahead without a shareholder vote.<\/p>\n

Andruseaski said his family has used the parking space for more than 40 years. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

But the board doesn\u2019t need shareholder approval to proceed, only a green light from the city Department of Housing Preservation and Development.<\/p>\n

The co-op received bids for rental developments starting in the mid-$30 million range, Jodi Stein, the board\u2019s attorney in the potential sale, previously told The Post.<\/p>\n

Stein disputed that the parking litigation is connected to the lot\u2019s proposed sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe litigation filed by Mr. Andruseaski has nothing to do with the sale of the parking lot,\u201d Stein said in a statement to The Post. \u201cI would avoid conflating these issues, as they are completely separate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kagan Lubic Lepper Finkelstein & Gold, the law firm representing the co-op in Andruseaski\u2019s case, didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment. Neither did Andruseaski\u2019s attorney.<\/p>\n

Andruseaski isn\u2019t the only shareholder challenging the new parking agreement at the 110-spot lot.<\/p>\n

Sebastian Kot told The Post he filed his own challenge to the agreement, with a hearing scheduled for October.<\/p>\n

Sebastian Kot is another shareholder who\u2019s challenging the new parking agreement at the lot. Matthew McDermott for NY Post<\/p>\n

Another resident, George Jarema, claims the co-op is using a succession restriction to block him from keeping his parking spot. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little shady, them doing this parking agreement roughly at the same time when it came to light they\u2019re trying to sell the parking lot,\u201d Jarema said. Robert Miller for NY Post<\/p>\n

Kot said residents could lose their spaces under several circumstances, including moving to another apartment within the complex.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can also kick you out [of the spot] for basically no reason,\u201d he claimed.<\/p>\n

Resident George Jarema claims he is already caught in another provision.<\/p>\n

He said he tried to submit succession paperwork for the three-bedroom apartment where he grew up shortly after his mother died in 2022, but management allegedly refused to accept it.<\/p>\n

Jarema claimed to The Post the co-op is now using the succession restriction to prevent him from keeping his parking space.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a little shady, them doing this parking agreement roughly at the same time when it came to light they\u2019re trying to sell the parking lot,\u201d Jarema said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s my belief that it\u2019s easier for the board and management to take spots away from people to make it easier to sell the parking lot.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A disabled East Village resident with morbid obesity is suing his co-op over new rules he says threaten…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":338128,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2184,7624,2850,9,56,63,65,64,57360,13896,1491,3006],"class_list":["post-338127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-development","tag-east-village","tag-lawsuits","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-obesity","tag-parking","tag-real-estate","tag-residential-real-estate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=338127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/338127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/338128"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=338127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=338127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=338127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}