Last weekend, Adele Andaloro, the homeowner in the Flushing neighborhood of Queens, finally managed to evict all the occupiers who had taken over her house, reclaiming her property.
Andaloro took matters into her own hands last month when her house was unlawfully occupied, by hiring a locksmith to change the locks in an attempt to drive out the squatters. However, this led to her arrest on charges of illegal eviction after Brian Rodriguez, who claimed to be a “tenant,” reported her to the police.
The footage of Andaloro’s arrest sparked public outrage and resulted in the dismissal of charges against her. Following this, the Queens District Attorney subsequently arrested Rodriguez on five counts, with a maximum sentence of 15 years.
District Attorney Melinda Katz stated in a release, “When you unlawfully occupy someone else’s property, you will face criminal charges. You cannot barge into someone’s home and claim you have the right to stay. You cannot enter a home without permission, stay without authorization, and then claim a right simply because the lawful owner did not know or could not evict you within 30 days.”
After a series of house occupation incidents in New York City, the state legislature promptly amended property laws in the 2025 fiscal year budget, explicitly specifying that “tenants do not include unauthorized occupiers.” The new law, signed by Governor Hochu on the morning of April 22nd, immediately went into effect, enabling property owners to directly call the police for intervention and eviction of unauthorized occupants without the need for court orders.
Despite Rodriguez’s arrest, prosecution, and prohibition from returning to Andaloro’s property, he continued to rent out rooms to others. Only last weekend did the authorities finally clear out all the “tenants” from the house. Andaloro has since hired a locksmith to change the locks again, intending to clean up and restore the house to normal. She expressed her gratitude for the news coverage and public support in helping her seek justice.
Rodriguez maintains his innocence, claiming to have signed a “fake lease” with an undisclosed agent and is scheduled to return to court on the 13th of next month.