Alec Baldwin sues man who says actor punched him in parking dispute

Alec Baldwin has filed a defamation suit against the driver who accused the actor of punching him last year during a parking dispute.

"When two New Yorkers get into an argument over a parking space, typically what happens is they exchange a few sharp words and then move on with their lives," the 61-year-old Baldwin states in the lawsuit filed Friday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan, provided to Newsday by the star's attorney, Luke Nikas. "But that is not what happened here," it continues, contending that Wojciech Cieszkowski of upstate Pearl River "has instead made up a false story about the encounter and refused to move on unless Baldwin succumbs to his extortionate demands."

The suit goes on to state that after the dispute on Nov. 2, 2018 — in which Cieszkowski allegedly took a spot Baldwin was preparing to enter on East 10th Street near the actor's apartment building — Cieszkowski "lied" both to police and to staff at the emergency room where "he sought out to treat his supposed 'injuries.’ ... Yet the doctors who saw him immediately after the incident thought he needed, at most, one dose of Tylenol."

According to the suit, video surveillance footage shows that "Cieszkowski's under-oath account of this interaction — that Baldwin 'struck [him] in the left jaw with his right hand' — is also false." The footage, the document states, shows Baldwin "lightly push Cieszkowski once and then push him a second time while the men argued, after which Cieszkowski returned to continue the confrontation. ... Baldwin never raises his arm above his shoulder; he doesn't swivel his shoulders to throw a punch; he doesn't cock his arm back; and he doesn't make contact with Cieszkowski's face."

In January, the Massapequa-raised Baldwin pleaded guilty to harassment — a violation, the lowest level of offense — with a misdemeanor attempted assault charge dropped. He was sentenced to a short-term anger-management class. Cieszkowski sued Baldwin in March and amended the filing May 17. He accuses the Emmy-winning former "30 Rock" star of assault, battery and slander.

Cieszkowski's attorney, Doug Lieb, did not respond to a Newsday request for comment. Baldwin has not commented on social media.

The day of the dispute, the actor had tweeted, "Normally, I would not comment on something as egregiously misstated as today's story. However, the assertion that I punched anyone over a parking spot is false. I wanted to go on the record stating as much. I realize that it has become a sport to tag people w as many negative charges and defaming allegations as possible for the purposes of clickbait entertainment. Fortunately, no matter how reverberating the echo[e]s, it doesn't make the statements true."