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Women Suing Landlord Over Bat-Infested Manhattan Apartment
By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Aug 25, 2011
Modified Aug 25, 2011
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By
Jamie Feldmar
Published Aug 25, 2011
Modified Aug 25, 2011
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Two women say they were driven out of the Washington Heights apartment they just moved into by an infestation of bats that kept them up all night and possibly bit them in their sleep. Holy smokes! And now, the women are suing the landlord for a cool $1 million.
Dimitra Mallarios and Irene Katehis said they paid a full year's rent up front (totaling $36,000) to Fairline Management and moved in on July 25 for the start of a yearlong lease. But two nights later, Mallarios "encountered a bat" flying around the apartment. She freaked out and called the landlord, who "was able to catch the bat in a plastic bag and remove it from the premises," but that was just the tip of the iceberg! Four nights later, the pair was getting ready for bed when Malliaros noticed "a weird bustling coming from her window." When she went to the curtain, "a bat flew out from behind the curtain headed directly at her," the suit says. She screamed and fled the apartment, leaving behind her purse and cell phone.
Since then, Malliaros and Katehis have been staying with a relative, and receiving "painful" rabies shots with "very large needles" after a doctor noticed two marks on Katehis. They're suing their landlord for $1 million in damages for their "emotional distress," "severe anxiety" and "problems they’ve had sleeping since," plus a refund for their rent from August on. The building's superintendent told The Post that there was "No way!" there was an infestation.
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Washington Heights
Jamie Feldmar
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