Michael Rotondo (left) sits during an eviction proceeding in Syracuse, New Yotk, brought by his parents, Mark and Christina, of Camillus. The two parents confer with their lawyer, Anthony Adorante, in the court gallery behind. Rotondo told the judge on Tuesday, May 22, 2018, he knows his parents want him out of their Camillus home, near Syracuse. But he argued he is entitled to six months more time. (Douglass Dowty /The Syracuse Newspapers via AP)
Most parents are living the life of “empty nesters” by the time their children reach 30 but one US couple had to go to court to give their son that extra little push.
Michael Rotondo, who was still living in his parents’ home in New York at that age, argued he was not a burden to them, saying they “don’t provide laundry or food.”
“We don’t talk, we stay out of each other’s way,” Rotondo told US media.
“I just want … a reasonable amount of time to vacate with consideration to the fact that I was not really prepared to support myself at the time where I was served these notices,” he also said.
A “reasonable amount of time,” in his view, was six months but his parents disagreed, sending him notices directing him to leave, including one that said they were providing $1,100 for him to find his own accommodations, US media reported.
Speaking to CNN on Wednesday, he admitted the atmosphere at home was “very tense” and “very awkward.”
“I’ll leave, I don’t like living here, but I need reasonable time,” he reiterated.
“I have plans to be able to provide myself with the income I need to support myself. But it’s not something that’s going to come together tomorrow,” he added.
A lawyer for Rotondo’s parents had argued in court: “They have no obligation to provide support; he’s well over the age of 21.” The state’s age of majority in fact is 18.
“There is no reason for these people to have him in their home,” the lawyer said.
The judge agreed and granted the eviction.
Rotondo condemned the decision and said he plans to appeal – although he added that he would not appeal if his parents allowed him three months to move out.
“I don’t see why the judge wants to throw people out on the street,” he told US media.
Rotondo is far from the only older child still living at home in the US. According to a Pew Research Center study, nearly a third of 18 to 34-year-olds lived with their parents in 2016. /kga