NYC ‘sidewalk shover’ Lauren Pazienza trial date set despite objections from attorney 

An event planner charged with fatally shoving a beloved Broadway singing coach on a New York City street is set to go on trial for manslaughter in October 2023, a judge has ruled despite objections from her pricey high-profile defense attorney.

Lauren Pazienza, 26, appeared in court for a brief hearing on Tuesday where Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Felicia Mennin criticized her lawyer Arthur Aidala for doing everything he could to delay the trial. 

‘I’m not ready to commit to a trial date,’ he protested. ‘There’s thousands of hours of discovery we still haven’t gone through.’ 

Mennin replied: ‘I’m going to give you a trial date and you can explain to me at that time why you’re ready or not ready.’

The judge then set October 6, 2023, as the trial date for Pazienza, who faces manslaughter charges in the shoving death of 87-year-old Barbara Gustern.

Pazienza is accused of calling Gustern a ‘b–ch’ before shoving her onto the ground in an unprovoked attack in Chelsea on March 10.

Pazienza, a former event planner from Long Island, wore a white long-sleeved T-shirt, beige pants and a blue face mask when she appeared in court on Tuesday, the New York Post reported. 

She has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and assault charges and has rejected a plea deal for a 15-year sentence.

Last month, she retained celebrity attorney Arthur Aidala, 54, a well-known for taking on high-profile clients who attract harsh scrutiny from the press, and has previously represented the likes of Anthony Weiner, Harvey Weinstein, Rudolph Giuliani, Alan M. Dershowitz and Roger Ailes.

According to a recent New York Times profile, a friend of Aidala’s asked him if he would talk to Pazienza’s family on the day she was first identified as a suspect in Gustern’s death.

Pazienza’s parents, Daniel and Caroline, live on Long Island, where he owns a small business servicing cesspools.

According to the Times, they could not afford Aidala’s usual $950-an-hour rate, but they and Pazienza’s grandparents agreed to a payment plan with the attorney that tapped their combined savings and pensions.

In court, Aidala has argued that that family has little money, saying that Pazienza is not a flight risk. She is currently being held without bail on Rikers Island, a decision that Aidala blames on the intense media scrutiny on the case.

The 26-year-old event planner is accused of going on a ‘wine-fueled rampage’ and launching the unprovoked attack on the old woman as she tried to catch a cab.

She allegedly yelled at her – calling her a b**** – as she pushed her to the ground, with her victim dying of her injuries five days later.

Pazienza had been celebrating the countdown to her wedding with her fiancé, Naveen Pereira, visiting several art galleries in Chelsea.

The pair had 100 days to go until the big day and were anticipated to tie the knot on June 18.

Pazienza consumed several glasses of wine from numerous galleries before the couple headed to eat at a Chelsea park.

The two were enjoying their food when a park employee approached them and said they needed to leave because the park was closing soon.

‘The defendant became angry, started shouting and cursing at the park employee, threw her food onto her fiancé, and stormed out of the park,’ McNabney said.

Pazienza and her fiancé took off in two different directions, with Pereira heading towards the Astoria apartment the pair shared, he told prosecutors.

Meanwhile, she walked towards West 28th Street near Eighth Avenue, where she stumbled upon the vocal coach.

The victim had finished a rehearsal nearby when Pazienza allegedly called her a ‘b***h’ and shoved her onto the sidewalk.

Pazienza proceeded to call her fiancé after the incident and allegedly watched as an ambulance arrived to help Gustern and carry her away, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors say Pazienza didn’t mention anything about shoving Gustern to her fiancé.

‘Instead, she started to argue with her fiancé, accusing him of ruining her night,’ a prosecutor said.

‘Right before they went to bed that night, the defendant finally, for the first time, turned to her fiancé and told him that she had pushed someone. She said that she thought the person had fallen, and she walked away.’

Pazienza allegedly told her fiancé she pushed Gustern because she might have said something to her, but she wasn’t sure.

Following the incident, Pazienza fled to her parent’s house on Long Island and deleted her social media accounts and wedding website.

She was free for 11 days after the incident before turning herself in after the NYPD released photos allegedly of her.

She was charged with assault and manslaughter and released on $500,000 bail until May, when a judge revoked her bail because she is a flight risk.

Gustern had been a vocal coach for the likes of Blondie frontwoman Debbie Harry and was remembered fondly by her family.