NYC homeowners sue to stop co-op from evicting their son — whose viral feud with doorman spiraled into racial slurs, assault and arrest

A toxic, long-simmering feud at an East Side co-op has exploded into a new Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit, complete with allegations of antisemitic taunts, a viral physical brawl with a doorman — and a desperate bid to block a penthouse eviction.

Irving and Carol Karten bought unit PHC at 339 E. 58th St. for $392,500 in October 2024 to serve as the home for their now 57-year-old son, Kevin, a general contractor with his own Florida-based firm.

Now, the Karten family has filed an emergency lawsuit against 339 East 58th Street Owners Corp. to stop the Sutton Place building’s board from boot-strapping an eviction vote and kicking Kevin — whom they claim is a nuisance — to the curb.

According to court documents, the drama traces back to Sept. 17, 2025, when Kevin submitted a written complaint to management firm New Bedford Management about building doorman Lawrence Montgomery, now 37, and requested intervention.

Kevin, who is Jewish, claimed in the documents Montgomery refused to deliver his mail, twice touched his girlfriend without permission, and subjected him to antisemitic abuse — including pretending to sneeze while saying “a Jew” instead of “achoo,” calling him a “dumb Jew,” and telling him to “f*** your mother.”

The tension boiled over a day later, in a wild, profanity-laced confrontation caught on camera and posted on Reddit with the headline, “Tenant threatens, assaults, racially abuses and breaks phone of doorman in NY.”

The court filings allege Montgomery put a phone in Kevin’s face, prompting Kevin to knock it away before Montgomery struck him in the face, inflicting a permanent eye injury. 

“The resident appears to take a swing — while the doorman claims he was struck, the resident later says he only knocked the phone out of the doorman’s hand,” according to East Side Feed, which first reported on the altercation. “What follows is a back-and-forth dispute over who hit whom. During this, the resident is heard using the N-word multiple times.”

Kevin, who in the video calls Montgomery a “retard” and the N-word at least six times, can then be seen picking up the doorman’s phone and slamming it on the ground several times.

Both men were arrested. Montgomery was charged with multiple counts of assault and one count of harassment, and Kevin with charges of criminal mischief and harassment. It’s not clear where these charges stand, as the District Attorney’s office told The Post the case is sealed.

Montgomery was backed by the co-op board, which issued a notice on Oct. 31, 2025 warning Kevin that further altercations or interference with the “quiet enjoyment or building operations” would be treated as “continuing objectionable conduct.”

“The Co-op and Management possessed or controlled surveillance footage and information concerning the incident, yet did not conduct a fair investigation of Kevin’s complaints, did not meaningfully address the reported anti-Semitic conduct, and did not provide the protection Kevin requested,” the new court documents claim.

In a letter dated Nov. 12, 2025, the Kartens’ attorney disputed the co-op’s account, detailed the alleged discrimination and harassment Kevin received and “demanded that the Co-op cease discriminatory and retaliatory conduct, including any attempt to terminate the Lease,” the court documents say. No real investigation took place following receipt of this letter, the family claims.

Kevin and Montgomery didn’t have any further interactions. Montgomery, who isn’t listed as a defendant, may no longer work at the building. He didn’t respond to a request for comment. The board’s attorney, the building’s management company, the Kartens or the Kartens’ attorneys also didn’t respond to The Post’s requests for comment.

To make matters worse, Kevin was also locked in a feud with his next-door neighbors — one of whom just happened to sit on the co-op board.

In one case it was over plants on their shared terrace, the Kartens allege. In another, “shortly before September 18, 2025, after Kevin complained about another anti-Semitic provocation by Montgomery, [the wife of the co-op board member] allegedly told Kevin, in substance, ‘we don’t want you here’ and to ‘go back.'” the court documents claim.

Kevin reported her conduct to the board and management. The couple is not a defendant in the suit.

A week ago, the board dropped a bomb: a notice scheduling an emergency Zoom meeting on July 28 to vote on terminating the Kartens’ lease, selling their shares at auction and evicting Kevin over vague claims that he harassed a board member.

The notice “does not identify the supposedly harassed Board member, the date, time, place, words, acts, witnesses, evidence, or circumstances of the alleged event,” court documents indicate.

The Kartens’ lawyers immediately fired off an emergency Order to Show Cause to freeze the vote.

“I am Jewish,” Kevin said in a formal written statement submitted to the court. “Before issuing the July 22 Notice, the Co-op did not interview me, ask me to respond to any allegation, identify any witness or evidence, or otherwise request my account of any events.”

Kevin added that the board gave his family just six days’ notice while hiding the specific facts behind the harassment charge.

“Without knowing the alleged event, I cannot identify witnesses, request or preserve surveillance footage, gather responsive documents, or explain what actually occurred,” he alleges.

The legal maneuver bought the family time.

On Tuesday, a Manhattan judge issued a temporary restraining order halting the board’s termination vote until an Aug. 12 hearing.

The Kartens’ lawsuit seeks to toss out the co-op’s notice as “defective” and demands damages for breaching the proprietary lease and its fiduciary duty, as well as damages under New York State and City Human Rights Laws for discriminatory and retaliatory practices.