Not sure if this has been posted but the other side of the story has finally been reported on. Apparently the "squatter" does have a lease, it's just a lease he got scammed on by someone who claimed to be a realtor who had a key. This suggests the property sat for quite a while because this guy signed the lease, started renting it to a few other people, experienced leaks and other things wrong with it, and put $18k worth of renovations into the place. He's asking for that money back, or at the very least just wanting a timeline to move the residents out:
“I told her that I can’t just walk out; my money is there,” said Rodriguez, maintaining that will give up on the house immediately — if he gets paid. “I told her that she should let me figure it out or pay me my money. She was furious.”
Without the money, it will take “one or two months to move them out” and then “I will just give it back because it is the right thing to do.”
As to how he feels about all this, Rodriguez said, “I feel horrible for being conned. That money is everything I have. Of course I feel bad for Ms. Adele.”
“So I rented the rooms to local people who need places to sleep,” said Rodriguez. “They work for Uber and Instacart and can’t afford $2,000 a month for an apartment. Some pay $900; some pay $1,000.”
Once they began using the showers, water leaked into the living room and basement. “It was a mess,” said Rodriguez.
“But Ronnie told me to fix it myself because the owners are cheap. He said he would make sure I got a break on my rent and told me to not pay February.”
A few days later, Andaloro showed up with a locksmith and an ABC-7 TV news crew, leading to the viral confrontation with Rodriguez’s “tenants” which ended in her being cuffed.
Rodriguez raced over and again phoned “Ferg” for help.
“Ronnie said, ‘I told you what to do’ and he hung up; then his number went dead; I never spoke with him again,” Rodriguez recalled.
“Ms. Adele called the cops. I tried to stop them from [handcuffing] her. Ms. Adele could attest to this.”
What a terrible human being who deserves the frothing violence being expressed in here.
Brian Rodriguez wants money from the real owner for “repairs” to what he had planned to be his side-hustle.
nypost.com