Cameras were rolling when police arrested the owner of a $1 million New York City home for allegedly changing the locks of a squatter and charged him with unlawful eviction. WABC TV reported Monday.
“It’s not fair that I, as a homeowner, have to go through this,” Adele Andaloro told the station.
What are the details?
According to WABC, Andaloro inherited the family home in Flushing, Queens after his parents died, but was about to sell it when he noticed that the front door and locks had been changed.
She told the station it was discovered that squatters had moved into her home in February and refused to leave.
“I’m really worried that they’re going to steal my house and run away,” Andaloro told WABC.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
In New York, squatters get their rights after 30 days, the department said.
“By the time someone investigates, does their job, and is done, more than 30 days will have passed and this man will still be in my house,” Andaloro told WABC. .
According to police, a crew member was with Andaloro when they went to his property and saw the woman approach the home, unlock the door and leave.
According to WABC, Andaloro and his daughter decided to enter the property with the property title in hand.
“This proves everything I said,” Andaloro told the station as he entered the main room of his home. “This is my furniture, these are my curtains.”
“Sir, who are you?” Get out of the house.”
She then found two men inside her home, WABC reported.
As the cameras rolled, Andaloro said to the man sleeping in the bedroom, “Who are you? Get out of the house.”
When one of the men was asked how long he had been there, he replied, “I moved in two days ago,” according to WABC. Police said the second man refused to answer questions.
However, they called the police on Andaloro, WABC noted, adding that Andaloro in turn called a locksmith.
“We did not enter the country illegally,” Andaloro said, according to the agency. “The door was open.”
According to WABC, when police arrived, they began questioning the man and his neighbors and asked for documents.
“Do you have anything to show you’ve been here for more than 30 days?” one of the officers asked the men, according to the station.
As expected, the men failed to provide police documentation, and WABC said officers escorted them from the premises.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
Image source: YouTube screenshot
But police have also warned Andaloro about changing locks, the department said, and in New York state, turning off utilities, changing locks and removing belongings belonging to someone claiming to be a tenant. He added that doing so is against the law.
“If a man came here and claimed that I illegally evicted him, he could be handcuffed today,” Andaloro told WABC. “I wasn’t going to leave the house today, so I said, ‘They want me to take you to court, so let me take you to court.'”
“You can’t get rid of him.”
Just minutes after police left and the locks were changed, a man claiming to be renting the home appeared with one of the male officers who had just escorted him from the property and forced his way through the front door, the police department said. Announced.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
“You see this guy literally breaking down my door and pushing me and my daughter through,” Andaloro told WABC as the cameras continued to roll.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
When the cops showed up a second time, it was bad news for Andaloro.
Police told her, “We can’t get rid of him,” the station said. “You have to go to court.”
Image source: YouTube screenshot
WABC said police consider this to be a landlord-tenant issue and that the law requires this dispute to be handled through the housing court, not the police.
Kicker? According to the police station, Andaloro changed the keys, and police arrested him on suspicion of illegal eviction.
Image source: YouTube screenshot
More from WABC:
When Eyewitness News asked Brian Rodriguez, who claims to have the lease, for documents, he would not provide any. Instead, he showed her an invoice for work he claimed he had done on the house. He said he moved into the house a few months ago and signed papers with a real estate agent, but declined to say who the real estate agent was.
“Go to court and send me to court,” Rodriguez said. “If she pays me the money I put on her house, she’s going to leave,” Rodriguez said. “Pay me and I’ll leave. Or I’ll send you to court. It’s that simple.”
But the agency said these disputes are never simple, and the Rent Stabilization Association says it takes an average of 20 months to resolve an eviction case in New York City.
As for Andaloro, she told WABC her only option now is to start an eviction application in Landlord/Tenant Court.
Standoff between squatters caught on camera in Queensyoutube.be
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