Residents of a Sunnyside condominium have been terrorized in their own homes, subjected daily to Nazi and Confederate posters, racist images and tributes to President Donald Trump festooning the building’s lobby, according the City Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer (D-Sunnyside).
Dozens of community leaders and elected officials joined tenants of the building Wednesday for a rally at 47-55 39th Place, protesting against the property manager. Neal Milano, who Van Bramer said has been harassing residents for years.
“Today we rallied against a property manager who has created a house of horrors for the owners and renters in this Sunnyside condominium. These tenants are living in terror,” Van Bramer said. “After seeing this lobby firsthand and spending several days with these tenants, I can say without a doubt that they are rightfully terrified of a property manager who posts images of hate and racism, boasts of guns in his apartment while hanging posters celebrating guns and the NRA, and who retaliates against anyone who speaks out.”
Milano’s attorney said he was out of the country on an extended vacation and was only displaying a spirit of patriotism, according to Van Bramer, who “froze and became terrified” when he discovered the names of Nazis Josef Mengela and Rudolph Hess on the building’s directory.
“There is nothing patriotic about having the names of infamous Nazis in the building directory or having a large swastika above an apartment door,” he said. “There are clear illegalities and violations inside this building that extend far beyond the offensive and hate-filled messages posted in the lobby and throughout the condominium common areas. I have asked the de Blasio administration, the NYPD, and the attorney general of New York to investigate this property manager and condominium board member and deliver justice for the tenants of this condominium who are living in terror. Hate has no home in Sunnyside, in Queens, or in our city.”
Throughout the rally, residents came and went from the building quickly and without comment fearing they would be caught on one of many surveillance cameras and retaliated against with threats of outrageous fines, eviction and even physical violence, Van Bramer said.
“There are more cameras in this building than in Fort Knox,” he said. “And they are not necessarily to guard against someone breaking into the building. They are to watch and monitor the people who live in this building. That is chilling.”
Attorney Lynn Calvacca owns two units in the building but doesn’t live there. She filed a lawsuit against Milano and the condo board.
“He’s a bully,” Calvacca said. “He’s a terrorist in this country, in this Sunnyside area. Everybody is so afraid.”
Michael Miller, the executive vice president and CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, was disgusted by the flagrant public display of racist, anti-Semitic imagery in the lobby.
“The Jewish community, together with its diverse allies, will not tolerate the offensive and frightening glorification of Nazism and Nazi war criminals, especially as our nation faces threats from white supremacists.”
State Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria) agreed.
“The news is littered with stories of racism and bigotry on the rise throughout our nation,” Gianaris said. “We like to think we’re in a safe haven here in New York. But, unfortunately, these things are happening right here in our very own community, as well.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
