Exclusive | 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 th...