The frustrated owner of a Brooklyn home set on fire by squatters told the Post that he has repeatedly tried to do the right thing to repair the house, but the intruders “keep coming back.”
Zafar Iqbal, a 53-year-old MTA employee who bought his Dyker Heights home in 2017 for $1.1 million, said he is now paying a $6,000-a-month mortgage and is bankrupt because of the uninvited intruders. .
He is afraid to even approach his home for fear of the people who live there.
“I go there every two or three weeks, but I don’t go near it,” Iqbal said. “I don’t know if they have weapons or anything. My safety is also at a premium.”
Iqbal, the latest victim of the city’s squatting nightmare, said he has been waiting three months for an insurance claim to be finalized so he can finally spruce up his eyesore.
“We hired some contractors and started work on the house,” he said. “The next thing I knew, I got a call from the fire department saying my house was burnt down. Someone had broken in and set my house on fire.
“Then I found out there were squatters living there. Squatters have more rights than homeowners. I’m the owner of the house. How much more can I do? needs help.”
Squatters have become a threat across the Big Apple in recent years, experts say, thanks to a post-pandemic surge in homelessness, an immigration crisis and a large backlog in the city’s housing courts.
The eight-bedroom home at 1237 67th Street is just one of the targets and has been the source of neighborhood complaints.
The squatters wreaked havoc on the block, stealing from neighbors, damaging other homes, and destroying surveillance cameras, until one intruder managed to break into the house. It was completely destroyed, causing an estimated $900,000 in damage.
The alleged squatter, Cheng Cheng, 46, was charged with arson and criminal mischief in the Nov. 29 fire and was sentenced to six months in prison after pleading guilty.
According to a criminal complaint filed in the case, the man told police he had smoked a cigarette, lit a candle, went to boil water to warm himself, and was about to take a shower when he saw the flames. He stated that he had returned.
Iqbal said he had lived in his home for nearly three years before moving out for renovations and evicting the tenants, but he hasn’t had a chance to implement his plans yet.
He said he thought Chen was innocent after his arrest, but that was not the case.
“The problem is they keep coming back,” he said of the squatters. “What are you going to do to make food there?” There’s no heat or hot water. Nothing is working there.There are several safety personnel [who] They came and boarded up the house, but they still came in. ”
Mr. Iqbal is currently in a holding pattern as he waits for Wells Fargo to file a claim.
Meanwhile, the bills continue to increase.
“I don’t make that kind of money, so I pay all that money out of my own pocket,” he said. “This is expensive. It’s a mistake.
“It’s stressful for everyone,” he added.
“My wife is upset. Her health is not that good and this is making it even worse. This is not good for the neighbors. I treat my neighbors like family. Basically, your neighbors are yours. It’s an extension of your family.
“We apologize for the inconvenience, but there is nothing more we can do.”
