On October 19, 2024, Laurel Bay, a 49-year-old woman from Queens, New York, is facing charges of burglary, property damage, trespassing, petit larceny, and unlawful occupation of stolen property for forcibly occupying an abandoned property in Howard Beach in southern Queens. If convicted, she could potentially face a 15-year prison sentence.
Laurel Bay, who resides in Hollis, Queens, just a 24-minute drive away from Howard Beach, somehow became known as a “house squatter” after forcefully moving into a vacant house on 99th Street in Howard Beach that had been empty for 12 years.
Bay was arrested twice for her squatting actions and first appeared in court on August 7th.
Her first arrest occurred on July 18th of this year when eyewitnesses saw Bay moving items in and out of the vacant house on 99th Street around 8:40 p.m. The police arrived at the scene after receiving a report and found Bay exiting the front door of the house, leading to her arrest for unlawful entry and a court summons.
On the morning of July 21st around 9:20 a.m., the same eyewitness saw Bay carrying items inside the house, with the basement door left open. Upon returning to the scene, the police caught Bay climbing out of the basement window.
Bay was arrested for the second time and received a second court summons for unlawful entry.
Court documents revealed that Bay attempted to change the door locks and damaged the front and back doors of the house.
On October 17th, the Queens District Attorney’s Office, led by Melinda Katz, filed charges against Laurel Bay for the aforementioned offenses – marking the third time this year that Katz’s office has prosecuted a house squatter.
In a statement, District Attorney Katz emphasized that breaking into someone else’s home without permission and claiming the right to reside there is illegal, even if the property is vacant. Katz also commended the vigilant neighbors whose alerts enabled law enforcement to respond promptly.
According to a report by the Queens Chronicle on October 18th, local community activist PJ Marcel informed thousands of residents through his Facebook group “Howard Beach Dads” about the developments of the incident. Prior to this, Democratic New York State Assembly Member Stacey Pheffer Amato had confirmed with the actual homeowner that there was no sale of the property and no authorization for anyone to enter.