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Thirty-year-old man evicted by parents: 'I'm not a crazy person'

To him, it's simple: he doesn't have the means to move out now and he was planning his exit anyway.
Credit: Micha? Chodyra
Photo: Thinkstock

After a judge ordered Michael Rotondo out of his parent's New York home Tuesday, the 30-year-old bumped into his father while reheating food in the family kitchen.

"I said, 'excuse me,'" Rotondo said Thursday, explaining he was hungry after all the media interviews that day. His father, Rotondo claims, did not excuse himself.

"What am I supposed to say to that?" he asked. "Am I supposed to be like, 'maybe you should treat people the way that you would like to be treated.'"

It's easy to form an opinion on Rotondo, a 30-year-old grown man refusing to leave his parent's home despite a judge's ruling to evict him on Tuesday. But for him, his various media appearances and his defense of himself in court are part of a personal mission, to reunite with his son.

And his living situation with his parents isn't that awkward. It's the same relationship they shared in the months he lived with them, avoiding their eviction letters.

"We stay out of each others' way, we don't really interact," he said. The family talks only when they have to, such as when coordinating how much coffee to make, he said.

Despite the eviction, he isn't out of the house yet, he said. Syracuse.com reports the attorney for his parents Christina and Mark Rotondo would draft an eviction order giving him time to relocate. He said he wouldn't appeal if they gave him three months to get out.

To him, it's simple: he doesn't have the means to move out now and he was planning his exit anyway.

"I don't want to stay in my parents' house forever. I want to get out as soon as possible," he said. "I've been working towards that and I expect to achieve it in the near future."

Rotondo, who has long hair and a bushy beard, said his hobbies include bicycling, listening to music and the outdoors. He has a business, which he said generates revenue, but wouldn't elaborate further.

He's definitely embraced his sudden fame. In two days, he's appeared on CNN, in major newspapers and TMZ. He's hoping the media coverage will somehow allow him to see his son, of whom he's lost custody and visitation rights, he said.

"Hopefully, by doing these interviews, people would start to support that I should be able to see my son again," he said.

And he wants to make one thing clear: he doesn't deny his age makes him a millennial, he just doesn't think he fits the stereotype.

"I'm not a crazy person," he said. "I'm a little weird, or quirky or whatever. But I'm a great father."

Follow Sean Rossman on Twitter: @SeanRossman

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