666 Armstrong Avenue,

Staten Island, NY 10308

Nothing was positive.

From the very beginning, everything was wrong when I was first shown the apartment, which was actually the second floor of the house. There were obvious signs of water leaks on the ceiling of each of the three bedrooms. When I questioned the two real estate agents and the owners about this, they dismissed my concerns, saying, "Oh, that's just a bad paint job."

It was clear that the property had not been maintained at all during the 52 years it had been occupied by the same family. The elderly couple, both in their mid-80s, were no longer mentally coherent or competent enough to properly care for the property or ensure it was safe for tenants. During my nearly two-year tenancy, I experienced some of the worst health issues of my life. I am very active, maintain a healthy lifestyle, and do not consume alcohol, smoke cigarettes, or eat junk food, yet I felt physically ill every single day I lived there. After numerous visits to various doctors and extensive blood work, it was determined that I had been exposed to black mold, leading to mold poisoning. Every symptom and test result pointed directly to this: chest tightness, shortness of breath, constant exhaustion, watery eyes, and a persistent runny nose and cough that lasted for months and, ultimately, years. After also being diagnosed with pneumonitis, I informed the owner and requested that the hallway vent, which was caked in black dust, be cleaned. He immediately took offense, claiming, "I had it cleaned a year and a half ago." However, I had already been living there for that long, so his statement was clearly false. Scrooge McDuck also never repaired the entrance door to my apartment that had a lock that could never be fully locked, meaning you could insert the key and attempt to lock it, but it would still be open. He made me use a wooden block to "fully lock" it. He never fixed the broken side windows from the previous tenant, either. He never repaired the lock or replaced the entire door altogether with a new one.

I filed multiple complaints with the New York Department of Housing and the New York Police Department because the owner tried to forcibly enter my apartment several times without any prior notice. He even attempted to break down the front door while I was home, harassing me when I, a "dirty Pollock," denied him entry to "his fucking property that he can do whatever with." When I didn't respond, he would berate me, calling me a variety of offensive names outside my door (all caught on my Ring camera). He would spam my phone with angry voicemails, often using a derogatory term to harass me, as I am of Polish descent—calling me "Pollock."

This man, who has been a cancer patient multiple times, doesn’t maintain his house and is extremely tight-fisted about it. I strongly believe that his "inexplicable diagnoses of various cancers" are largely due to the black mold in the property. Both he and his wife have difficulty remembering basic information, including my name and even their own. Their kitchen is covered with Post-It notes listing names, phone numbers, and reminders, such as "Mr. X - Cardiologist, XXX-XXX-XXXX," and "Sam, don't forget to take your pills!!!" On several occasions, I heard his wife ask him, after seeing me enter the apartment, "Who is going upstairs?"—even though I had been living there for a year. She often struggled to remember my name, which was not difficult. I also recall hearing them argue violently every day without exception. Doors would be slammed aggressively, and he could be heard yelling at her to "shut the fuck up" after she repeatedly screamed, "Don’t you touch me, get the fuck away from me." I often saw bruises on her arms, suggesting she was physically abused.

Their arguments would last for hours, prompting me to file numerous noise complaints. While the old man vehemently denied the "ridiculous claims," his wife had asked for my help the day before I began filing them—this was the only time she ever asked me for anything. Many times, I would see her standing on the front porch, lost in thought, and if I happened to be taking out the trash, she would approach me, ask if I was okay, and apologize for the noise. On a few occasions when we chatted early in my tenancy, she advised me "never to get married because you become a man's property when you marry." Her memory was not as bad when I first met her, but over time, it significantly deteriorated—another sign of black mold exposure, which both of them exhibited.

Not only is this man an abuser, but he is also a misogynist, a racist, and someone who holds outdated beliefs that women are a man's property and that racism is acceptable. He is uneducated and consumes the paranoia spread by Fox News. I recall him making inappropriate comments to me, questioning my relationship status, chastising me for not being married, and then telling me not to marry, saying, "because his daughter got divorced and sex is better with her boyfriend, and she doesn't plan to move in with him." He had no problem being openly racist towards people of color and immigrants, and he would even talk about how a crime could be committed if he were the one doing it. To this day, I have a sneaking suspicion that he has done unspeakable things that he has never been punished for. I have video and audio recordings of these disturbing conversations. They also repeatedly "forgot" to give me my mail, specifically hiding my bills and tax-related documents for months. Fortunately, I received email notifications for my bills, but retrieving my mail was a nightmare, and I nearly missed filing my tax return because of this.

Initially, I was very considerate and went out of my way to help them in any way I could—I would cook them homemade meals without salt, pepper, or sugar (they were both diabetic and couldn’t consume salt or pepper), looked out for them when I received Ring notifications about crimes in the nearby areas, took out their trash, and personally delivered their mail. Once the old man started to accuse me of exaggerating my "dust allergy" and began harassing me about accessing the apartment when I wasn't there (which is illegal in New York State without prior notice), I would seek refuge in my apartment and only go out to go to the gym or for other necessities. I became increasingly terrified of leaving the apartment because of the continuous harassment. I never met their kids, but I saw their cars parked in the driveway maybe 2-3 times during my tenancy. They rarely visit, which doesn’t surprise me if they experienced the same abuse at the hands of this old man as their mother does.

If you are related to these people, please intervene. One day, he might strike her, and she won't get up again because she won't be alive. The police refuse to act because he lies to their faces, while she is quickly silenced and ushered back into the house whenever I call them.

All of this is to say that if you are considering renting or buying this house, please don’t. The house needs to be torn down to deal with the black mold, and the maintenance isn’t worth it. Don’t rent here if you value your health, peace of mind, and safety. This was an absolute nightmare, and I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone. This place almost killed me.

Check yourself into a psychiatric ward and turn yourself in to the police for being an abusive monster.