By Tom Nicholson
Police did not identify the three suspects or provide any information about charges.
The vandals, according to Chuck Sansone, the owner of the two apartments at 78-05 Myrtle Ave., broke into the second floor apartments, broke windows and screens, and spray-painted graffiti on nearly every wall in about eight rooms.
“I was shocked,” Sansone said about the vandalism. “We do everything in our power to keep our neighborhood in good condition. We pay taxes up the gazoo and then something like this happens. It's pretty disturbing.”
The apartments were unoccupied and were undergoing restoration in preparation to be rented by Integrity Realty company, which Sansone owns.
Sansone said he believes the vandals climbed onto a roof of a nearby building on 79th Street and then dropped down to a lower rooftop where they gained entry to his apartments.
Workers at a uniform store one floor below the vandalized apartments said they heard people moving around on the second floor at about 2 p.m. Saturday.
“We heard them up there, but at the time we just thought it was the remodelers,” said Jo Ann Hladun. “Then when I came to work on Monday morning, I saw the windows broken out. It was kids. I have a 14-year-old kid myself and I would beat his behind if he did something like that.”
Inside the apartments Tuesday, spray-painted “tags” were emblazoned in large patterns across the apartments' white walls. Refrigerators, toilets and mirrors were also covered in the graffiti.
“I'm not sure how much this will cost us, but it will be a lot,” Sansone said. “The refrigerator was brand new and the remodeling work was almost done.”
The vandals also spray painted portions of the building's outside walls.
According to Frank Kotnik, president of the Glendale Civilian Observation Patrol, several other buildings in the neighborhood were also vandalized. In those cases the vandals used the same color paint and the same “tags.”
Reach Reporter Tom Nicholson by e-mail at news@timesledger.com or call 718-229-0300, Ext. 157.
