How Did A Booming Real Estate Market Create A Deadly Drug Den For Squatters?

When a 29-year-old man was found dead last week in front of the vacant, two-story home at Banner Avenue and East 11th Street, neighbors found the news shocking, but not surprising. They say the building has become a flop house for squatters who live among the trash bags, broken liquor bottles, raccoons, and human waste that have overrun the property.

“I wish they would just level the place,” said Gezim Dzemili, who lives across the street. “It’s unacceptable for a place to be like that.”

The house has been unoccupied since it was sold in 2005 for $500,000 — during a frenzy of speculative real estate purchases in the neighborhood. Many of the properties bought during that time were demolished to make way for the 102-unit condo building across the street, which sold in 2014 for $39.5 million.

But instead of building condos, or flipping the home, the new owner sat on it for almost a decade. A 10-foot high wooden wall surrounds the property. Most of the windows and doors have been sealed up with cement. Department of Buildings records show complaints going back to 2006 about the house being occupied by vagrants. The owner, Milla Faks, who could not be reached for comment, has been cited by the Environmental Control Board for failing to maintain the property.

Police believe the man discovered in front of the building died of a drug overdose. First responders found him Friday morning fully-clothed, unconscious, with no signs of physical trauma. He was declared dead at the scene. The Medical Examiner’s office is still waiting for test results to determine the cause of death. A spokesperson for the agency also said the man has not been identified.

Robert Lake, who lives two houses down, said he’s found heroin needles on the sidewalk outside the home. But he explained any number of hazards on the crumbling property could have become deadly for someone living there.

“The mold alone could have killed him. That place was flooded during Sandy and it was never repaired,” Lake said.

Barricading some of the entrances and walling off the property seems to have done little to keep out squatters. The fort-like appearance looks impregnable, but a quick survey reveals that obstacles surrounding the house could easily be overcome. A person can hop over the chain link fence along the border with the neighboring home. There’s also an unlocked wooden entryway in the wall on East 11th Street that can be opened by turning a latch.

Inside the walls, at least two doors, one leading into the basement and the other to the second floor, are not blocked by concrete. Someone willing to wade through the mounds of garbage, scraps of human feces, and broken bottles could shelter in the home.

Like Dzemili, Lake said “they should bring in demolition crews and knock [the house] down.”

Neighbors may get their wish. In 2014, the property was sold again. And despite the disrepair, its value almost doubled. Property records show the home was purchased by Joseph Saadia for $995,000. Almost immediately after the sale, Saadia submitted a pre-filing plan with the Department of Buildings to construct a nine-story residential building on the property. However, he never followed through on the project and the home continued to deteriorate.

Saadia did not reply to an email requesting information about the property. A phone call to the number listed in DOB records was picked up by P.S. 971 — an elementary school in Sunset Park. The person who answered the phone said he had never heard of Joseph Saadia.

We did manage to connect with one number listed on the property. A sign on the wooden wall, advertising “WE BUY HOUSES,” had a phone number that was answered by a man who identified himself as Isaac Alon.

Alon claimed he tried to purchase the long-neglected property, but the owner disappeared during negotiations and the home is now facing foreclosure. He said he did snap up another property last year at the opposite end of the block, but he is already looking to sell.

“It’s a very good area. Lots of development,” he said. “I want to sell. If you can find me a buyer, let me know.”