A frustrated New York landlord has posted a huge sign on a property calling out his tenants for allegedly owing him $17,000 in rent.
“My tenants on the first floor are not paying rent,” reads the sign on the building owned by landlords Calvin and Jean Thompson in Queens.
The couple have owned the two-family home since 1989 and say they are in the process of evicting the tenants in Queens Housing Court, according to The New York Post.
In the meantime, the large sign can be seen by drivers on the city’s busy Belt Parkway and has featured in a TikTok video that has received more than 15,000 likes.
“Not paying your bills is ghetto,” said one comment.
There are currently almost 200,000 eviction cases pending in the city following pandemic protections and a state eviction moratorium.
“The signs are very embarrassing and shameful for them,” said the Thompsons’ son, Calvin Jr. “That’s the only voice we have at this stage: freedom of speech.”
The problems between the landlord and tenants began in July, when the Thompsons raised the rent on the three-bedroom unit from $1,800 to $1,900 per month, the first price hike in nine years, they say.
The Tennant dropped off a check for $1,800, and when the Thompson refused to cash it they stopped paying all together, reports The Post.
“I don’t think a $100 increase for almost a decade of living is unreasonable,” Calvin Jr. said. “There are plenty of landlords in our situation because of COVID. A lot of eviction cases are backlogged. She knows this and is going to ride this out.”
But for now both parties will continue to live in the same building as the legal process plays out.
