She posted an ad for a roommate. What's the worst that could happen?

[Demovictory9]

https://www.thecut.com/article/kate-gladstone-roommate-west-village-nyc.html

Heidi Russell in her bedroom. Her roommate has taken over the rest of the apartment. Photo: Gillian Laub



But Gladstone did not sign. Instead, the conversation seemed to embolden her in her campaign to occupy the 14-by-21-foot living room. She started planting Lily, out of school for the summer, in front of the TV for hours. When Russell asked to watch The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, Gladstone said the movies were educational, mandated by Lily’s custody lawyer. (One was the Dustin Hoffman–Meryl Streep divorce drama Kramer vs. Kramer.) Their dynamic became excruciatingly petty. At one point, Russell retaliated by hiding the remote in her purse. And once, when Russell managed to stretch out on the couch, Gladstone came into the room and perched silently behind her on the windowsill. The bathroom became another zone of contention; Russell began brushing her teeth in the building’s laundry room because Gladstone would run into the bathroom as soon as she heard her get up. On August 1, after a month of nonpayment, Gladstone began urgently asking for a second set of keys, sending Russell a text so long it arrived as an attachment.

In Gladstone’s version of these events, it was Russell who was waging the campaign of terror. She wrote in the text: “You intentionally intimidated us and used what you know is our biggest vulnerability: our home and safety […] We didn’t owe anything we weren’t dirty we’re so clean and organized we’re respectful beyond reason.” Gladstone said Lily was “profoundly afraid” of Russell but that she was “trying to make it livable and peaceful so I remain (beyond) civil but am I showing her that people can treat you like that and you just smile and fake it?”

Though Gladstone and Lily had arrived with virtually no belongings (other than Happy), Russell realized by the end of the summer that they had taken over the living room. Where there had been just a couch, a few chairs, a desk, and the TV, now there were dozens of shopping bags, schoolbooks, paperwork, cleaning supplies, candles, and empty Amazon boxes filling the room. When Russell moved her TV into her bedroom, Gladstone fashioned its stand into an arts-and-crafts table.


The Invasion of 129 Barrow Street: An 860-square-foot battle ground. (1) July 2019: Bathroom Blockade. (2) June 24 2019: The Bomb Drop. (3) March 2020: Cleaning Spray Blitz. (4) June 28 2019: The Secret Sandwich Ambush. (5) June 2019: The Great Leg-Sitting Offensive. (6) July 2019: TV Tug of War.


long read above.

shorter version here:

https://www.newser.com/story/302105/the-renter-was-a-nightmare-she-was-stuck-with-her.html

On March 20, 2020, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered a stop to all eviction proceedings in the state. It gave many residents the breathing room they needed amid pandemic job losses. For Heidi Russell, it prolonged an absolute nightmare. In a lengthy piece for New York Magazine, Bridget Read recounts Russell's saga, which started, seemingly fortuitously, in 2016. That was the year in which Read and her roommate Valentina Bajada were able to purchase their 860-square-foot West Village apartment for the "insider rate" of $450,000. For Manhattan it was a steal, but it was still more than they could afford, so they decided to AirBnb one of the bedrooms when Bajada left the country for an extended period. In December 2018, Katherine Gladstone and her 10-year-old stayed in the room for a few nights, uneventfully—leading Russell to think it would be a good move to rent to her long-term.

It most definitely was not, says Russell, whose claims include: Gladstone's refusal in June 2019 to leave by the end of the first month after it didn't seem like a good fit; her refusal to leave entirely; close to zero payment of rent; and Gladstone commandeering the bathroom every morning and taking control of the living room. What Read unspools is Russell's discovery that she was far from the first landlord to be stiffed by the 42-year-old and forced to fight tirelessly to get her out; in one case, someone who sublet his studio to her as a way of covering the last 4 months of his lease ended up out $20,000 after she didn't pay rent and didn't leave when the lease ended. Relief seemingly came in early 2020, when Russell was granted a warrant of eviction that would be carried out by marshals—with the date being 11 days after the eviction freeze.

[dalton99a]

1. 'Serial grifter' Kate Gladstone:

[chowder66]

2. I cried reading this article. I had this happen with a male roommate

who started doing meth and was physically very frightening. I only found out about the meth because I walked into his room one night and he was using it (this explained the aggression I was getting from him).

When I rented him a room he was very nice, he paid, etc. But then he stopped paying and started partying all night. He had sketchy friends showing up and as a woman this was becoming too unsafe.

At one point I had to call the cops because he started leaving feces everywhere and threatened to kill me.... but he beat me to it (calling the cops) and they listened to him because he "called first". After that my boyfriend at the time came and turned the water off and nailed a door shut that accessed my side of the apartment. He went ballistic. My landlord was sympathetic but he didn't own the building and couldn't get rid of him but he did let me out of my lease. At that point my boyfriend asked me to move in with him and we packed my stuff up and drove away. I never did find out what happened to that piece of shit.

I really wish they would do something about the laws.

[Demovictory9]

3. sorry to hear about your experience. THere is a british reality show... shows the impact

of tenants who move in, then wont pay... Painful to watch

[chowder66]

4. Wow. I haven't heard about that. Doubt I could watch.

Too many bad memories.

[BGBD]

5. There are ways to get people out of an apartment

if you are willing to stomach it.

Open a can of this and dump it in the trash can....or better yet stick it in the microwave.

Link to tweet

?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1031906057709268992%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Ftwistedfood.co.uk%2Fthese-are-the-9-smelliest-foods-on-the-face-of-the-planet

[Dorian Gray]

6. This story

was harrowing. The poor child with that woman. I can't imagine. She obviously has some mental illness issues, unaddressed, but the child she's dragging along for the craziness makes me so sad.