A New York homeowner is in a complicated battle with squatters who have taken over her property. She was arrested for trying to get them out.
Adele Andaloro, who put her $1.2 million Flushing, Queens, residence that she inherited from her family for sale, realized that someone randomly changed the locks, WABC reported. It was squatters that had been occupying the home where she grew up since February. In the city, squatters are considered tenants after living there for 30 days.
One day, Andaloro went to the home with the news station and saw a woman walking out. Because of the cameras, she quickly left the scene. The door was unlocked, so the owner entered the home with her property deed. She discovered two men inside, one of whom was sleeping.
“Who are you, sir? Get out of my house,” she said, according to the report. The man claimed he moved in two days prior and was taken into custody by police. The other person was booted off the property.
Police warned Andaloro that changing the locks could result in her arrest, but she called the locksmith anyway and said she wasn’t leaving her home.
Video recorded by WABC shows the heated dispute between Andaloro and one of the alleged squatters — who barged inside, claimed he was leasing the home, and called law enforcement. He was identified as Brian Rodriguez.
“So why is it that I have to leave, and he doesn’t have to leave?” Andaloro asked one of the officers.
“Technically, he can’t be kicked out. You have to go to court,” the cop responded.
Andaloro was arrested for unlawful eviction. In addition to changing locks on tenants, it’s also against the law for a homeowner to remove tenant possessions or shut off the utilities, per the New York Post.
When a WABC reporter asked Rodriguez for documentation, he refused but eventually showed him a bill. He claimed that he’d done work on the property, adding that he would leave if she paid him or went through the housing court. However, the decision on an eviction case could take nearly two years.
“It’s not fair that I, as the homeowner, have to be going through this,” Andaloro said.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, a neighbor said he’s been “on edge” since the squatters moved in, alleging that they’ve been doing random construction.
“I heard a drill and saw through my window that they were drilling holes into the wall and putting up boards,” Kosta told the outlet. “I don’t know if the board is still there, but it looked like they were trying to hide what was inside.”
The community has been brainstorming ways to get the squatters to leave, including creating a petition. This week, two random men decided to take matters into their own hands and were at the scene with the hopes of evicting them.
“We are looking to get this guy out,” one man said. “‘I am here to talk to him. I want to see why he is here.”
