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A viral video circulating on social media captures a verbal confrontation that escalates into a physical altercation between a doorman and a resident at 339 East 58th Street, a ten-story co-op located between First and Second Avenues. It’s now been confirmed that both individuals were arrested following the incident.
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At the beginning of the video (which appears to have been recorded by the doorman), the resident is seen approaching the building and saying, “move, you’re blocking the door” and “move, I can’t get through.” It is unclear from the footage exactly where or how the doorman was positioned, or whether he was intentionally obstructing the entrance. The resident then asks, “what are you doing?” before attempting to enter the building. At that point, the doorman says, “you’re mother.”The interaction quickly escalates.
“Did you just say my mother?” the resident responds.
“No I didn’t say your mother,” the doorman replies.
The resident can then be heard whispering, “I’m gonna kill you,” followed by some additional unintelligible words. He then steps back into the frame and says, “I can’t believe you have the f*cking nerve to say that to me.”
More words are exchanged, and the resident begins walking toward the doorman, who backs away. 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.
What follows is a back-and-forth dispute over who hit whom. During this, the resident is heard using the N-word multiple times.
The doorman then shouts, “call the cops.” A female bystander calls 911, stating that “a tenant just attacked the doorman.”
Before entering the building, the resident picks up the doorman’s phone and slams it on the ground several times.
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The NYPD confirmed to us that 36-year-old Lawrence Montgomery, a Bronx resident, was arrested in connection with the incident, which took place on the morning of September 18. The complainant, a 56-year-old man (seen entering the building after the altercation), told police that Montgomery punched him in the left ear but declined medical attention at the scene.According to public court records, Montgomery was charged with multiple counts of assault and one count of harassment. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. He’s due back in court on October 27.
A New York City DoorMan Got Arrested After he Defended Himself From A Racist Tenant Who Slapped Him And Called Him The N Word pic.twitter.com/0TIALCFVrP
— LASHY BILLS (@LASHYBILLS) October 2, 2025
In a later email, an NYPD representative confirmed to us that the resident, 56-year-old Kevin Karten, was also arrested on charges of Criminal Mischief in the 3rd Degree and Harassment in the 2nd Degree. “It was reported to police that on Thursday, September 18, 2025, at approximately 1038 hours, an individual knocked a phone to the ground belonging to a 36-year-old male in the vicinity of 339 E 58 Street causing damage to the phone,” the NYPD wrote to East Side Feed. “The individual also stepped on the phone and struck the male in the face. No injuries were reported as a result of this incident.” Public court records show that Karten is due back in court on November 5.
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Following the incident, Montgomery also posted the following note on social media:‼️Backstory‼️
My name is Lawrence Montgomery I work as a doorman downtown nyc. On sept 16 a tenant from the building I work at named Kevin Lewis karten started to harass me about giving a love note to another tenant about walking her dog. I agreed and Kevin continued by talking about dogs he’s dealt with in his life. He started to insist that I couldn’t spell the name of a dog he claimed wasn’t American. I told him I’ll search the dog later on when I have a great because I’m currently busy working. He kept on insisting I spell it and claiming that he knows I can’t spell it.
He then got offended when I refused and walked away. Shortly after he came back and accused me of being dismissive and then went on about how he’s has a problem with me for a year which was new news to me hence the fact I see him everyday and there was never tension. I ignored him and kept working. For 3 days he continued to harass me and say different disrespectful remarks towards me. On the third day which was sept 18 he insulted my intelligence and tried to provoke me. I was wearing my ai ray ban glasses on that day and had them recording.
I have the whole incident recorded. Now this jackass thinks he can take me to court and is playing the victim when I have full proof of his actions. My purpose is to expose people who think it’s ok to mistreat other people because they feel entitled. despite the fact I encouraged a bystander who witnessed the situation to call the police, I was still arrested and wrongfully accused on 5 charges meanwhile no one took into consideration my sided of the story. The video proves how broken the justice system still is and how no matter whether your the victim u will get racially profiled.
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