They bought a house in Queens with money they’d saved and planned to renovate. But Dr. Young Seh Bae says she and her husband felt robbed.
“It’s really frustrating. Stunned. It’s a really traumatic experience,” Bae told NBC New York.
That’s because while they waited for renovation permits, someone broke into their home on Francis Lewis Boulevard in Flushing — then stayed there. Photos showed piled up bags of belongings that the squatters kept with them, and they even grew marijuana plants.
But when Bae called police? The squatters said they were the ones who lived there.
“Owning a home, that’s the American dream. But some people have turned it into the American nightmare,” said New York State Sen. John Liu.
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That’s why Liu is sponsoring a new bill that will clarify “one who enters onto a property or building without title, right, or permission, and therefore is not subject to the same rights and protections of lawful tenants.”
There is another proposed change that has come up in the New York City Council. The bill would change tenant protections from kicking in at 30 days, as it currently stands, to 180 days.
NYC Mayor Eric Adams said protections were designed to prevent unfair evictions. But now those protections are being abused by those looking to take advantage.
“There’s a reason squatter laws are in place,” Adams said. “Some people are starting to exploit what those reasons are.”
While it’s unclear how widespread of a problem it really is, lawmakers and police have said reports of squatting are on the rise.
“It’s up to us to periodically take a look at the laws find the loopholes and close them,” said State Sen. Toby Ann Stavisky, of Queens.
For Dr. Bae, getting a court order to evict the squatters took seven months. All because the squatters had fake IDs that listed the Bae’s address as their own.
“They claimed they had been there since October. We couldn’t really kick them out,” Bae said.
Now that the eviction is finally done, the homeowners hope to finish the construction and move in come the fall.
