Who is Yves Duroseau? Black NYC doctor sues White neighbor who hosed down his dinner party guests in alleged 'racist' attack
MANHATTAN, NEW YORK: Yves Duroseau, a prominent Black doctor in NYC and head of emergency medicine at Manhattan’s Lenox Hill Hospital, has brought to light a distressing incident.
His White neighbor allegedly "violently" sprayed water from a garden hose at approximately 20 of Duroseau's Black and Latino dinner party guests on September 2022.
Duroseau is a respected emergency medicine physician and Chair of Emergency Medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City and currently the Assistant Clinical Professor at the State University of New York.
He was among the first physicians in the US to receive the Covid-19 vaccine in 2020.
What happened at Dr Yves Duroseau's party?
The incident occurred during a lavish surprise birthday celebration hosted by Duroseau for his sister, Rosevony, at their Forest Hills residence, accompanied by his interior designer wife, Claude, on the night of September 17, 2022, as detailed in a recently filed lawsuit, per the Daily Mail.
The upscale backyard gathering took an unexpected turn when White neighbor Marcus Rosebrock allegedly used his hose to forcefully disrupt the event, prompting an abrupt end to the party, according to the lawsuit filed in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
The lawsuit draws a parallel between Rosebrock's actions and the disturbing historical events in 1960s Birmingham, Alabama, where White law enforcement officers similarly used hoses against civil rights activists.
It "much like white law enforcement officers did to civil rights pioneers in 1960s Birmingham, Alabama," the suit says.
Among the 19 attendees at the event were family and friends of the Duroseaus, including music executive Rigo Morales and former Fordham Law classmates of Rosevony, who serves as an asylum officer at the Department of Homeland Security.
There was only one White guest in attendance.
The lavish nine-course meal was catered by Vanessa Cantave, the winner of season 11 of Bravo's 'Rocco’s Dinner Party'.
The gathering, which was also a celebration of Rosevony's engagement to William McBorrough, came to an abrupt halt at 9:50 pm when a White woman, accompanied by a German Shepherd, arrived at the Duroseaus' residence and demanded that they lower the volume of the music, as per the lawsuit.
Meeting the woman in the entrance foyer, the Duroseaus felt fearful of the dog potentially causing harm. However, they assured the woman that the gathering was winding down and politely requested her to leave, according to the legal documents.
Following this incident, the attendees reconvened in the backyard. That's when Marcus Rosebrock used a powerful hose to douse them which was "was extremely powerful and stinging in nature," according to the lawsuit.
Rosebrock, a 48-year-old married father of two, allegedly directed his hose at the guests multiple times, progressively raising the water pressure. This act left the guests not only drenched but also deeply embarrassed and humiliated, as stated in the court documents.
"Instead of stopping the water hosing of the Duroseaus and their guests, Defendant Rosebrock doubled down and continued water hosing," the court documents claim.
The neighbor also pointed the powerful water stream directly at the men in the perch making them "afraid that they would be knocked to the ground from out of the tree house," the suit claims.
One individual attempted to "calmly" reason with Rosebrock, but he responded by dousing her "from head to toe," as outlined in the filing.
Consequently, every guest present at the gathering ended up "completely drenched" and feeling deeply "humiliated," according to the allegations in the lawsuit.
Yves Duroseau files lawsuit against Marcus Rosebrock
Yves and Claude Duroseau, 52, along with their guests, have collectively filed a lawsuit against Marcus Rosebrock and the woman accompanied by the German Shepherd. The claims include battery, assault, trespassing, and related alleged violations.
They are seeking unspecified damages through this legal action.
"Our clients deserve justice," plaintiff lawyer Derek Sells told The NY Post. "Their civil rights have been violated through no fault of their own."
Brandon Gillard a lawyer for Rosebrock called the claims in the suit "baseless and inflammatory."
"The actual facts will be borne out in a court of law – not the court of public opinion," Gillard said. "Mr. Rosebrock rejects any characterization that he is racist or that his actions were racially motivated."
Gillard also mentioned that since the purported false allegations became public, his client "is now receiving harassing and menacing phone calls, causing him to fear for his and his family’s safety."