Sexual abuse survivor fights for her abuser’s shared apartment on the Upper West Side

An Upper West Side co-op is at the center of a conflict between a Long Island-born victim of child abuse and her abuser.

Michael Malvin, 55, won a $30 million settlement in 2022 after suing his former teacher, David Savage. Savage allegedly sexually abused Malvin repeatedly, starting in 1979, when Malvin was just 10 years old. Malvin says the abuse continued for four years while he was a student at Hewitt Elementary School in Rockville Centre.

The New York Post reports that Malvin has not yet received any part of the $30 million settlement, so Malvin is seeking a court order transferring ownership of Savage’s one-bedroom apartment in the Lincoln Towers at 140 West End Ave. (at West 66th St.). The apartment was briefly on the market in 2023 and was listed for $675,000.

“In our legal system, just because you win a civil case and someone owes you money, the loser has no legal right to pay the money,” Malvin’s lawyer Bernard D’Orazio told the Washington Post. “The onus is on the winner to look for assets or income from which to collect the money.”

Malvin, who currently lives in California, doesn’t seem particularly interested in the apartment itself. Instead, he wants to use any means possible to collect his debt and continue to hold Savage accountable.

“(This is more about) the fuck-you factor of being the person who gets that spot,” he told The Post.

The article reports that Malvin was awarded the property in June, but Savage, who lives in Florida, ignored requests to transfer ownership.

Malvin’s lawsuit against 73-year-old Savage was made possible by New York State’s Child Victims Act, passed in 2019, which allows victims to file civil lawsuits until their 55th birthday. Previously, the age limit was 23.

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