Uproar at Queens condo: Residents say their property manager is a bully
Spectrum News
By Clodagh McGowan
21 August 2017
Imagine living in an apartment building where there are images of
Hitler and Mussolini in the lobby, and you are fined $100 for having a
visitor overnight. NY1's Clodagh McGowan has this exclusive story about
the strange goings-on at a Queens condominium, where some residents say
they are being bullied by an overbearing property manager.
Twin Uncle Sams stand outside a condominium on 39th Place in Sunnyside.
The lobby decor is even more unusual. Pictures of Hitler, a Swastika
and Mussolini; NRA stickers; tributes to President Trump and Martin
Luther King; patriotic and political messages.
"Just completely radical, national nonsense," said condo owner Greg
Hunt. "And my concern is, when a potential buyer for my apartment walks
in, they're going to walk right out."
Hunt is one of 14 tenants and condo owners who spoke to NY1.
They say the decorations are the work of Neal Milano, who heads the condo board and is listed as property manager.
They accuse him of imposing near dictatorial control, threatening and
badgering tenants, and imposing absurd fees like $200 for not folding
cardboard properly for recycling.
"People are in terror over there. They don't have the money he's asking for," said condo owner Lynn Calvacca.
Calvacca owns two apartments here. She was one of the few people
willing to talk on camera. Others declined, saying they feared
retaliation.
Tenants say Milano regularly posts notices like one that identifies a
tenant as having "a male visitor who is Asian" and "a six-foot-four
Middle Eastern person of interest...sleep over more than 20 times."
It complains of "moaning, groaning, screaming of passion and thumping"
coming from her apartment, and declares that tenants must get written
permission and pay a $100 fee, for overnight visitors.
Calvacca says Milano took one of her tenants to court in a dispute over Christmas Tree pine needles.
"He called him a vile, despicable, animalistic person, and he put that in a flier," she said.
Calvacca says she has filed a lawsuit against Miliano over another fee dispute.
NY1 was unable to reach Milano by phone or at his apartment. Messages
left on the condo board's answering machine were not returned.
An attorney representing Milano in disputes with tenants and owners
told us in response, "The board in the spirit of patriotism has
approved various murals, that appear in the public area of the
condominium. There are regular elections for membership on the board
and any person who wishes membership on the board to impact its
decision making can run for election."
Calvacca says she is not aware of anyone else on the condo board. She says she ran for a seat a few years ago but lost.
"I heard that he tried to intimidate the tenants and they voted for him," she said.
But it appears someone is firing back. The neighborhood has been
papered with bogus NYPD fliers accusing Milano of being a sex offender.
The NYPD tell us they did not issue the fliers and that Milano is not
an offender.
His lawyer vows to sue the "coward" responsible, if that person can be identified.
The NYPD does confirm that someone filed a stalking complaint against Milano last month. The investigation is ongoing.
"The people in there are losing the sanctity of their home," Calvacca
said. "Feeling safe, secure, happy, it's not like that in that
building. It really is a horror."
A horror she hopes will soon come to an end.
Comments
Recall
This is interesting... If this is
truly the case, the condo board should have the ability to remove this
person from office. Unfortunately, this will probably take time and
money for legal fees, but it may just need to be done.
Sunnyside_Lady
According to the complaint, there's
question on whether there is a board at all. It looks to be just him,
and he's intimidating people not to say anything/only vote for him
(lots of elderly people and immigrants live in this area so I can
certainly imagine it) I live by this building, and I've seen the
exterior/lobby. its absolutely bizarre and to be honest, scary. It's
absolutely affecting their property value - how anyone could live there
is beyond me.
Melissa
It's all true. I have been in
that building many times. The man is a radical, racist nut job
who is in charge of a building in a diverse neighborhood and it's a
matter of time before he snaps.
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