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Homeless Man Squatting In Ann Curry's Still-Unrenovated-UWS Townhouse
By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 14, 2011
Modified Aug 14, 2011
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By
Jen Chung
Published Aug 14, 2011
Modified Aug 14, 2011
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Eight years ago, Today Show anchor Ann Curry and her husband Brian Ross bought a townhouse on West 71st Street, with a plan to renovate the building for their family. But then their neighbors got upset at the construction, claiming in a 2006 lawsuit that Curry and Ross's crew had damaged their properties and caused too much noise. Now, the one person who is living in the multi-million dollar townhouse today is someone the NY Post describes as a "hobo."
According to the Post, one of the litigious neighbors found a homeless man sleeping at the home yesterday. Eight cops were sent over to remove him. While he said, "Ann Curry means crap to me!" explaining, "The reason I lived there was because they chased me out of Central Park," he would be more than okay with returning: "I'll go back if someone says, 'Here's the key. Maintain the building.'"
Apparently a contractor never locked the door a while back and the unidentified man says he went there for warmth, "I've been living there for about a year now. I'm not a drug addict; I just don't have a place to sleep." He wasn't arrested because he was just sleeping in the vestibule. Dr. John Lee, one of plaintiffs in the suit against Curry, said, "The building is abandoned, for all practical purposes. It's become an eyesore and a problem." So, what's more annoying: Bad construction work or an abandoned, eyesore of a neighboring house?
You can read the lawsuit here. In 2006, Curry and Ross's lawyer said the neighbors were trying to milk the couple for money for their own renovation projects, "I don't think they [Curry and Ross] have the same feeling for [the townhouse] now. I don't know if they will move in at this point." That stretch of West 71st Street, between West End Avenue and Riverside Boulevard, is a dead end, which makes it a quiet and secluded area.
Tagged
ann curry
construction
homeless
lawsuit
real estate
squatter
unrenovated
west 71st street
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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