A dispute over a parking space in Queens drew attention to ongoing tensions in residential neighborhoods.
The situation began Monday on Putnam Avenue in Ridgewood when Jada McPherson, a 21-year-old Pace University student, tried to park in what she thought was a valid public spot. Andreea Dumitru, 45, and her daughter Sabrina Starman, 21, had other plans.
“The guy, he ended up coming up behind me while I was trying to park and put a trash can to prevent me from parking,” McPherson said. An unidentified man appeared to assist the two women by placing makeshift barriers.
McPherson returned after being unable to find another space and told the family that public parking can’t be reserved. The exchange escalated.
Video footage shows Dumitru yelling at McPherson:
“You’re a monkey, b****.”
McPherson replied by calling Dumitru an immigrant. Starman then added,
“You’re a f–king slave b****. You’re a slave for what it’s worth.”
The encounter turned physical.
“They were trying to literally rip my hair out of my scalp,”
McPherson said. Footage shows both women pulling her hair and striking her while she attempted to defend herself.
“I definitely did fear for my life,”
McPherson added. She has avoided going out alone since the exchange.
Both Dumitru and Starman were arrested and charged with first-degree assault and second-degree harassment. McPherson eventually parked in the contested space.
Locals say the family has routinely reserved public spots with cones or trash cans. Yesenia Delgado, 33, who has lived nearby for 14 years, said,
“You know, I could move the garbage cans and park but then they could slash my car or something.”
George Carrasquillo, 53, lives across the street.
“Someone is always there holding the spot,”
he said.
“I have to take my kick scooter with me to drop the car off, I find parking then come home to my apartment and have to see all this, their beautiful spot saved. Isn’t this public parking?”
McPherson is planning to move out this weekend, saying she no longer feels safe.
“Jumping one person for a parking space is really not right,”
she said.
Dumitru and Starman have hired legal counsel and plan to contest the charges in court this September. Their attorney, Mahmoud Rabah, said,
“You can’t claim to be a [redacted] if you instigate an altercation with threatening behavior and vile and hurtful language.”
He added that both women have received threats online since the video circulated.
