Deirdre Waters uses bogus Restraining Order to Evict Innocent Man and then obtains/rents the very same apartment within a week

Restraining orders, or "orders of protection" are easily obtained by women and commonly used in domestic cases where a male partner is violent or abusive.
Their purpose is to protect women by legally prohibiting a man (usually an ex husband or boyfriend) from coming within a certain distance of her home or work. But for Seymour Friedman, of the upper West side, it was used by a female neighbor to obtain his very desirable, nice-sized, rent-stabilized apartment with backyard.

The Story Unfolds

The saga started on October 12, 2004 when Deirdre Waters, a large 200-pound woman, came barreling down the hall towards Seymour as he emerged from his apartment. Screaming, she pinned him against the wall. According to her, paramedics had been slowed down by obstructions in the hallway as they attempted to reach a friend in her apartment the previous day. Seymour runs an online pet food business and distributes pet food and toys to hundreds of customers in and outside of New York City. Some of his pet supplies were in the shared hallway. Deirdre ripped Seymour's shirt with one hand and flung nearby merchandise across the hall with the other. Seymour, a small, slight man in his 40s, needed to use considerable force to disengage himself. Deirdre responded by shouting for help, for someone to call the police. When the police arrived, she told them that Seymour had attacked her violently and was so vindictive that he would kill her. Seymour asked the police to talk to a witness who had been standing in the hallway during the incident. The police declined and took Seymour to jail.

Seymour in shock as Deirdre asks and obtains an Restraining Order without given a chance to respond to her lies.

Deirdre managed to convince the Court that she needed an order of protection, and this was granted to her, even though it is impossible for the two parties to avoid contact: Seymour lives 20 feet away from Deirdre and they share a bathroom in the hall. Seymour, a former Talmudic scholar with no criminal record, was unable to convince any judge to hear his story. He was assumed guilty on her word alone and the order of protection stuck.

Deirdre use the order of protection to harass Seymour and prove to the world she has no fear of Seymour.

Twice more, Deirdre called the police and had Seymour arrested without grounds. On one occasion he was beaten up by other inmates in the holding cell. According to American law, if someone with an order of protection calls the police, the police are required to arrest the accused. No questions are asked and no evidence is needed. The second time in court, Seymour asked a judge the following: "If you saw me on TV and I was the first Jewish man on the moon on a certain date, and Deirdre filed a complaint against me for harassing her on that date, would I be arrested, even though there was proof that I was not even on earth". The judge acknowledged that this was the case. The order of protection, which finds the accused guilty until proved innocent, also gives its "protectee" Carte Blanche to harass the accused.

Police arrest Seymour based on Deirdre lies even thought there are 20+ witnesses telling the police that Seymour did not even come in contact with Deirdre and that she is lying.

The third incident took place in Central Park. Seymour and Deirdre both walk their dogs there. Seymour entered the park as Deirdre was leaving. He ignored her. Deirdre turned around and ran after Seymour, screaming about his presence in the park. Seymour decided to call the police to demonstrate that it was, in fact, he who was being harassed, and that the "victim" had accosted him and was clearly not afraid of him. When the police arrived (Deirdre had left) they explained to Seymour that there was nothing they could do. The last arrest happened in Central Park. Seymour met some friends who told him that Deirdre had recently left the park; fortunately there had been no contact or incident. Twenty minutes later, the police arrived with a report that Seymour had just harassed Deirdre. Since he had been at the park with his friends, he had an alibi. There were more than ten witnesses, some of whom knew the parties and others who did not. Four more police cars arrived, and Seymour was taken back to jail against the angry and outraged pleas of the bystanders who had witnessed the scene in disbelief.

Deirdre continues with her lies and accuses Seymour of other crimes

Deirdre proceeded to file charges against Seymour in criminal court for aggravated assault. She claimed that she was terrified of Seymour and afraid for her life, that he was an axe murderer and was trying to kill her, her dog, and his dogs. Seymour is actually known in the community for fostering sick dogs for animal rescue groups.

The trial

Seymour's defense brought seven witnesses: Pete Page, who witnessed the original incident, described how Seymour was attacked and how he defended himself. Several friends and employees provided testimony about Deirdre's front door, which was almost always open, countering her claims of living in fear. Mike Gold, who knew both plaintiff and defendant, described a friendship gone sour. They used to all play volleyball on the same team and once shared a Passover Seder together in Seymour's apartment. The day after Seymour's second arrest Mike went with his girlfriend to Deirdre's apartment to try to mediate the conflict, and was told by Deirdre that she would only drop the charges if Seymour gave her $10,000.


Deirdre perjured herself in open court and get caught lying.

Deirdre perjured herself three times during the trial by denying events and circumstances until the defense presented evidence to the contrary. For example, Deirdre claimed that she had kept her dog away from Seymour since the beginning of 2003, until the defense exhibited emails from Deirdre to Seymour in 2004 thanking him for looking after her dog. She claimed that the landlord had requested that she take photographs of Seymour's belongings in the hallway, but that she had refused to do so, not wanting to "spy on her neighbors". However, at a later proceeding (the eviction proceeding), she produced many photos that she had taken. She denied that Seymour had lent her $800, until witnesses demonstrated otherwise. The transcripts of her perjury are all available for the public record.

The bazaar verdict

Deirdre had no witnesses and her sole piece of evidence was a bruise that was shown to the police and photographed three weeks after the incident. The prosecution alluded to a witness who had seen the scuffle and claimed that he had seen Seymour beat Deirdre, but this witness, Petri Torress, never showed up. Torress is a fellow tenant who told Seymour that since he lives directly above Seymour, he was unable to see what happened and only called the police because he heard "Call 911!" He later contacted the District Attorney's office to explain that he would not be appearing in court because he did not witness anything. Yet in closing statements to the jury, the D.A. insisted that there is a witness had attested to the beating.

Based on Deirdre's bruise, and District Attorney Craig Ortner's depiction of all the witnesses as frauds and liars,the jury, under Judge Kirk Bartley of New York City Criminal Court, convicted Seymour of reckless assault, a misdemeanor, which is the mildest charge that could be given without throwing out the case.


Deirdre is closer to her main goal, Seymour's apartment.

Deirdre's next action was to evict Seymour from the building. She knew that the landlady, Frida Gural, had a history of previous legal disagreements with Seymour. Seymour had been awarded rent abatement three times in Landlord-Tenant Court for problems with leaks, a broken ceiling and warped floor which the landlady had refused to fix. The rent abatement had caused the Management Company to lose rent. Deirdre took the unconventional and inappropriate step of hiring a lawyer to represent the Company, presumably with her eye on the prize of Seymour's apartment.


Deirdre has a history of using restraining orders to obtain below market renttals in NYC

Upon further investigation, Seymour learned that the previous occupant of Deirdre's apartment had been evicted using a harassment complaint obtained through the police department. Mark Greenstein had originally sublet his apartment to Deirdre Waters, charging her $50-75 above his own rent, still far below market value. After five years, Deirdre started arguing with Greenstein over the rent and wanted the apartment in her name. They were not able to come to an agreement. Deirdre complained to the Management Company, Central Park Realty, they recommended that she file a complaint against Greenstein for "harassing" her get an order of protection and then she can easily get the lease in her name of course at a much higher rent. Deirdre admitted to this in her testimony in criminal court. After Deirdre filed the complaint, Greenstein began receiving calls from the police and detectives who had been told that he was trying to kill her. Not wanting to incur a lengthy legal battle, Greenstein relented and gave up his apartment, and Deirdre took over the lease. Four months latter she used the same tactics on Seymour.

Another bazaar decision

Seymour brought this to the attention of the judges in both Criminal and Housing court to establish a pattern of behavior and an ulterior motive in the plaintiff. In the second trial the lawyer for Deirdre produced one witness, a fellow tenant, who said that he was afraid of Seymour, although he would not explain why and could cite no examples. Seymour learned after the trial that this witness, Brian Robinson, owed back rent on his apartment.

Seymour's defense cited the lack of any evidence behind Deirdre's claims, and the absence of any proof that Seymour was responsible for her bruise. But orders of protection are apparently "untouchable" and no judge, including Judge Halpern of New York city's Housing Court, wants to take the responsibility of overturning one, even if a case appears frivolous. The consequences can be dire: in many homicides of women, their male partner is found guilty. Clearly, there is merit in the overwhelming majority of cases in which orders of protection are issued. And because judges understandably take these cases so seriously, accused men who are actually innocent become the necessary casualties of this law.

Seymour Friedman is such a case. He now has a bogus criminal charge against him and has been given 30 days to vacate the apartment that he has inhabited for 12 years. An order of protection has been used twice by the same person to obtain a much coveted, rent-stabilized apartment in New York City, and the American Justice System has allowed this to happen.

Seymour needs legal help or any help to fight Deirdre Waters abuse.

The apartment is located at 58 W. 91st street between Columbus and Central Park West.

For more information, and to assist in the legal appeal, please contact bogusrestrainingorder@yahoo.com or call 212-496-6684

Read Seymour's thoughts on his ordeal