A woman whose home was taken over by squatters has more hurdles to cross as the squatters have now rented her home to unsuspecting tenants.
The homeowner, Adele Andaloro, whose parents lived in the house until they died, began preparing the house for sale when she discovered that squatters had taken up residence and wouldn’t leave.
So, on Feb. 29 she showed up with a local TV crew and changed the locks. However, the squatters put up a fight and Adele Andaloro was put in handcuffs by cops and issued a summons for unlawful eviction because the occupants, although unwanted, had established squatter’s rights under New York City law.
As the case is still ongoing, investigators from the Queens District Attorney’s Office visited the $1 million Flushing home taken over by squatters on Thursday, March 21, but they were turned away as another tenant claimed he was duped into subletting the property.
The tenant, who declined to give his name, emerged from the house on 160th Street just 20 minutes after two DA investigators finally gave up and left after repeatedly knocking on the door and trying to get in.
“I’m not a squatter, I’m renting,” the man said. “I paid rent. I’m not a squatter. Everyone in there right now is paying rent. Yes, to the same landlord. It is no good.”
“People are taking pictures of us and yelling at us,” he added. “We are all paying rent. Everyone in there is paying rent. I don’t want to live with the squatter.”
Tenant
The Post reported Wednesday, March 20, that another subletter, Kevin Ballasty, acknowledged that he was scammed into paying $1,500 to a squatter identified as “Jay,” with a supposed realtor named David Dubon getting a $1,000 fee for allegedly brokering the deal.
“There’s nothing in my right mind that could lead me to believe there was going to be a problem like this,” Ballasty said. “I was brought in through a real estate. This is a great find, thank you very much. And I love the place, I love the neighborhood. But I guess I paid $3,500 to the landlord, Jay.”
Jay claimed he was “scammed” into living in the house, but did not clarify.
Under the law, anyone who occupies a property in New York for at least 30 days can claim squatter’s rights, which means the rightful owner has to work through the courts to kick them out.
Andaloro told WABC-TV News that she hired a lawyer and is working through the process. However, she expressed fears that the squatters and their tenants may end up taking her house.
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