He has Asperger’s syndrome and says he was mocked and locked in a basement, and found mutilated stuffed animals at his workspace.
But the city says that if he were “reasonable,’’ he would see the incidents as just “petty slights and trivial inconveniences.’’
If anything, plaintiff Michael Bistreich’s problems were caused by his “own negligent or otherwise culpable conduct,’’ according to city lawyers in documents filed this week in response to his $10 million lawsuit against his former boss, Brooklyn Councilman Vincent Gentile, and the city.
Bistreich, 28, the pol’s former legislative director, sued in December, accusing Gentile and fellow staffers of horribly mistreating him because of his Asperger’s.
Messages left with Gentile’s office Thursday were not returned.
A city Law Department spokesman said, “The language used in the city’s answer is drawn from court cases that establish the legal standard for stating a claim under the city Human Rights Law.”
Bistreich’s lawyer, Brian Heller, responded, “I don’t think that anybody hearing these allegations would dismiss them as petty or trivial.’’