Glendale resident Rene Zupancic has not enjoyed sitting in her backyard for quite some time now because of unwanted and uninvited neighbors who arrive after dark and leave before dawn.
Zupancic said that young people, whom she referred to as squatters, have occupied a vacant building at 80-93 Cypress Ave. in Glendale, near an unguarded lot.
She brought up the issue at the public hearing session during the Community Board 5 meeting on June 13 at Christ the King High School in Middle Village.
“We can’t enjoy sitting in the backyard. The mosquitoes that come from them are too much,” Zupancic said. “They are heroine addicts and there are animals as well. It is hazardous to our health.”
The occupiers are reportedly narcotic abusers with “needles sticking out of their arms,” according to CB 5 District Manager Gary Giordano, who said he was also informed about the situation by an individual who owns a business nearby.
The individuals have been seen by Zupancic urinating on the roof of the vacant building and throwing mirrors into traffic.
“These people are roamers,” Giordano said. “It is getting pretty crazy.”
Giordano also said that the board has been aware of the problem for a few months and the board members have contacted the property owner and police.
The property is owned by a subsidiary of PSCH, an agency specializing in mental health. PSCH has gone to housing court to get the occupiers evicted. The company said it will take the grand marshal at least a week to execute the eviction. Afterward, the property will be professionally sealed.
In other board news, Giordano reported that the renovations of the Ridgewood Reservoir have been delayed further because of a break in two locations of the reservoir basin walls, which are under repair. That portion of the renovation was expected to be completed in February.
“I have not seen much work taking place there, and that does raise some cause for concern,” he said.
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