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What will it take for city legislators to get real about Gotham’s squatter-friendly laws?
The latest outrage, blessedly resolved, centers on the three-story, $4 million brownstone at 60 S. Fourth St. in South Williamsburg.
A gang of nearly two dozen young drug abusers commandeered the property last month and proceeded to terrorize locals and businesses, stealing neighbors’ packages, destroying private property, getting high on the stoop, threatening passersby and setting off late-night fireworks.
Cops finally ousted them this last week, putting all the building’s contents on the street and arresting one squatter: Ryan Grewal, 26, now charged with felony criminal mischief for damaging a motorbike outside a local shop.
The rest apparently decamped to some other building: They showed up in a van to collect their belongings, and per the new super, P.J. Ximenez: “When they were getting into that van, one of them had said they were going home, and another goes, ‘Which one?’ ”
“When I first came in here, I found a bunch of needles and [heroin] spoons, and two used Narcans,” Ximenez said. “So, I guess two people must’ve OD’d in here.”
When police first visited the site, the squatters presented a “lease” dated July 25 and signed by the building’s prior owner, Francine Rosado — who died four years ago.
“They’re professionals, they planned this,” Ximenez offered.
Stella Tsang bought the building in 2021 but had delayed her plans to refurbish it; now she finally has security guards on-site to prevent another squat.
“These idiot kids were always blocking the sidewalk, and they’d get real nasty if you asked them to step aside,” said neighbor Cordelia Dalle. “They were loud and they smelled, and I’m really glad this didn’t drag on for months and months, which happens.”
Indeed it does: The Post has exposed all manner of squatting outrages across all five boroughs in recent months, yet the City Council can’t be bothered to tighten the laws that can grant “ownership” rights after as little as a 30-day squat.
Queens state Sen. John Liu got one state law fixed this year, clarifying that squatters don’t have the same rights as actual tenants, but attempted squats are still hard to punish: As this case shows, the NYPD was only able to arrest one of the gang, because it had evidence of a separate crime.
Property owners still face long court fights to evict less-disorderly thieves (even when they’re dealing drugs!), and even find it easiest to simply pay them to move out.
A City Council serious about improving the quality of New Yorkers’ lives would ensure these thieves could do serious hard time for these thefts, which can last for years.
But the council’s progressive majority would rather find new ways to handcuff the police. Is it any wonder that gangs like this simply move on to their next victim when they do get forced out?