A woman furious about her car being towed has filed a lawsuit claiming it was illegally removed by an apartment building “terrorizing” her Upper West Side neighborhood by using a public street as a “private parking lot,” The Post has learned.
Melinda Scott charges 21 West Avenue Apartments put up a “no parking” tow-zone sign on Freedom Place South in Lincoln Square without the city’s permission — and is using a Coney Island company that charges exorbitant tow fees to haul the cars away, according to her Thursday suit and an exclusive interview with The Post.
“They are terrorizing their neighbors, intermittently towing cars to Coney Island, where the neighbors are extorted (with) excessively high rates to retrieve their cars — and aggressively arguing with neighbors over parking spaces on the street,” the UWS resident told The Post.
Melinda Scott is suing an Upper West Side apartment building claiming they illegally towed her car after creating an unsanctioned tow zone. Helayne Seidman for NY PostScott – a lawyer who brought the case on her own behalf – says she parked her 2018 Audi Q7 on Freedom Place South between West 61st Street and West 60th Street on Dec. 30. The next day — New Year’s Eve — the car was “spirited away in the middle of the early morning at 2:30 am,” the Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit alleges.
When Scott – who lives nearby on Riverside Boulevard – went looking for answers at the apartment building near the parking spot, she was told by front desk workers her car was towed by Ben & Nino’s Auto Repair “because they unofficially reserved all the parking spaces” on that stretch, the court papers claim.
“Claiming Freedom Place South, a city street, as their sole private property and private parking lot is outrageous,” the filing alleges.
Scott says the city Department of Transportation only allows for non-city issued tow signs in private parking lots and the “no-parking” sign doesn’t have all the legally required information on it – such as the cost for towing, her court papers show.
Scott also looked for more information at her local 20th police precinct and Coney Island’s 60th precinct — discovering neither had issued a legally required summons to have her car towed, the suit claims.
The building and the tow company “had no legal right to remove [Scott’s] vehicle,” which “was parked legally on a street that was open to public vehicle traffic [and] was not in a cross walk or blocking any driveway,” the filing alleges.
The building, its managers and the tow company “conspired … to prevent any vehicle from parking on Freedom Place South in the unofficial reserved parking spaces,” the suit charges.
The Coney Island auto shop is demanding $606 for the return of her car, Scott told The Post.
“I think it’s extortion and I don’t think they have any right to take the car,” Scott said. “I think they have been terrorizing the neighbors for months doing this.
The building posts warning signs on cars claiming they are on private property, despite being on a public street, the suit alleges. Helayne Seidman for NY Post“I wanted to file the lawsuit to stop them and force them to take down the sign and to stop them from towing the cars from our neighborhood.”
The suit claims the defendants have been harassing nearby residents and Scott – leaving flyers on their cars, “verbally threatening” them and having “multiple cars” towed from the street.
Scott is seeking “the immediate return of the stolen” car — or damages to the tune of $50,000, the worth of Audi, the filing says.
21 West Avenue Apartments, its management company and Ben & Nino didn’t immediately return requests for comment.
