A Queens woman who claims to be “close” to a squatter refuses to leave the $2 million dream mansion she bought to live with her disabled son, claiming the squatter was actually her sick self. He claims to be a “wonderful” man who takes care of his children.
The woman, who said she was “very close” to squatter Brett Flores, said the squatter had taken care of her sickly infant at the luxurious Douglaston mansion purchased by retired couple Suzana and Joseph Landa in October. I explained that I was taking care of her. She refused to leave.
“His lungs weren’t inflated when he was born. He’s on a ventilator,” she told the Post of Flores’ child, echoing the claims of the squatters’ attorney Dennis J. O’Sullivan. repeated.
The woman declined to say whether the child was a relative or friend of the squatter, but said the child’s mother is married to Flores and they live together, but the couple did not know whether the child was a relative or a friend of the squatter. He did not reveal whether they live together as a family.
“I couldn’t say where they lived,” she said of the children and their mother.
Other neighbors who spoke to the newspaper said they had never seen the baby or the woman in the house and that Flores had not been out much since his previous owner died.
Flores, 32, has repeatedly maintained that he had an agreement with the home’s previous owner, Bernie Fernandez, who died in January 2023, to continue living in the property, and the property’s new owners. has done so even though Mr. Flores wants him to leave.
O’Sullivan said Flores worked as Fernandez’s 24-hour live-in caretaker. According to court documents, he was paid $3,000 a week for gigs.
Flores’ colleagues said they did not recall him mentioning any agreement to keep the house or plans to continue living there, but said the community backlash over rent-free housing was “absolutely egregious.”
“There is no end to what people do,” she exclaimed.
The Landa family was excited to settle into a 3,100-square-foot home that was close to relatives and perfect for their son Alex, who has Down syndrome.
“All I want to know is that I could die tomorrow and he’ll be next to my brother,” Susana Landa told ABC 7.
Neighbors, enraged by the couple’s struggle to move into their home, are driving by, banging on the door and shouting, “Squatters get out!”
Although the couple has not entered the house, they have hired a celebrity security guard to keep an eye on their home.
As the fight to evict the property’s squatters continues, the Landa family is collecting cash to pay the property’s bills, including thousands of dollars in utilities, while Flores lists the mansion for rent. I keep spitting it out.
The couple has been struggling with eviction, in part because Flores recently declared bankruptcy and has had five civil court hearings since purchasing the property in October.
A landlord vs. tenant court hearing is scheduled for April.
