A routine attempt to find a parking spot in Queens escalated into a savage physical and verbal attack, caught on a viral video and leading to the arrest of a man and daughter. The incident, which unfolded on a Ridgewood street, saw a Black female driver assaulted by a family allegedly “hoarding” a public parking space.
The victim, 21-year-old Pace University student Jada McPherson, said she was trying to park outside 18-28 Putnam Ave. on Monday when two men and one woman, later identified as Andreea Dumitru, 45, and his daughter Sabrina Starman, 21, were guarding the spot. According to McPherson, the unidentified man placed a trash can in the space to prevent her from parking.
When McPherson, unable to find another spot, returned to tell the family they couldn’t claim a public space, the situation turned violent. McPherson said the man went “ballistic,” and the father-daughter duo unleashed a barrage of racist insults. In the video, Dumitru is heard yelling, “You’re a monkey, bitch,” while his daughter, Starman, follows with, “You’re a f—ing slave bitch.”
The verbal assault quickly turned physical. Starman allegedly lunged at McPherson, with both she and her father pulling her hair and flinging punches. “They were trying to literally rip my hair out of my scalp,” McPherson said, adding that she “definitely did fear for my life.” The man who was also involved in the altercation reportedly fled the scene before police arrived.
Following the attack, Dumitru and Starman were arrested and charged with first-degree assault and second-degree harassment. McPherson ultimately managed to park in the contested spot but has been left on edge and plans to move out of the neighborhood this weekend. “Jumping one person for a parking space is really not right,” she stated.
The incident has brought to light a simmering tension in the Ridgewood neighborhood, where locals say that “parking space hoarding” is a common issue. Neighbors told The Post that the family involved in the brawl was a notorious offender, using traffic cones and other items to claim public spaces.
“Someone is always there, holding the spot,” said George Carrasquillo, 53, who lives across the street. “I have to take my kick scooter with me to drop the car off… and have to see all this, their beautiful spot saved. Isn’t this public parking?”
Andreea Dumitru and Sabrina Starman have since hired a lawyer, Mahmoud Rabah, who says they plan to fight the charges in court in September. Rabah contends that McPherson “instigate[d] an altercation with threatening behavior and vile and hurtful language” and that his clients have received death threats since the video went public.