Ex-Upper East Side Super Says Building Sabotaged His Future Job

UPPER EAST SIDE, NY — An ex-super at an Upper East Side co-op building is suing his former employers, saying they torpedoed his application for a new job after paying him a pricey settlement for lost wages.

Elijaz "Eddie" Markasevic worked from 2003 to 2017 at 241 East 76th St., a 10-story building on the corner of Second Avenue, where he began as a handyman and doorman before being promoted to superintendent.

By 2016, however, things had soured: Markasevic sued the building's board, alleging he and other employees had been paid below minimum wage and deprived of overtime pay for years.

Markasevic and the board ultimately reached a $119,400 settlement in 2017, in which the building admitted no wrongdoing. The agreement included a confidentiality clause barring both parties from discussing the settlement in detail, and a nondisparagement clause requiring the board to provide a neutral reference for Markasevic for any future jobs.

Now, five years later, Markasevic is back in court with a new claim: that the building's managers sabotaged his application for a new job by discussing the settlement.

Just weeks after the 2017 settlement was reached, Markasevic applied for an open super job at 130 West 57th St. An interview "went very well," and Markasevic received a "glowing reference" from his former supervisor at 241 East 76th St.

"I have known Eddie for nearly ten (10) years and I cannot speak highly enough about him," the former supervisor wrote in an email included in the lawsuit. "Eddie has a great work ethic and I could always rely on him to do his level best to get things done."

Then, however, the new building's managers spoke with Jonathan Scutari, an account executive with AKAM Associates, which manages 241 East 76th St. Ater that call, the 57th Street managers told Markasevic "that he was no longer being considered for the open superintendent position," according to the new lawsuit.

Markasevic believes Scutari "improperly disclosed details" of the settlement, violating its terms, according to the new suit, which Markasevic filed in state supreme court on Tuesday. The ex-super is demanding $500,000 in damages.

Scutari did not respond to a request for comment, while a representative for AKAM Management declined to comment.