Nazi Lobby Spurs City To Launch Harassment Probe Into Queens Landlord

SUNNYSIDE, QUEENS – A landlord who packed an apartment lobby packed with images of Hitler, swastikas and other other symbols of hate is being investigated for harassing tenants, the city said Tuesday.

The city Commission on Human Rights is looking into whether the lobby in Sunnyside, Queens, which displays posters of Hitler and Stalin along with symbols of the Confederacy, constitutes illegal harassment, the mayor's office said.

“It is now more important than ever for New Yorkers to stand united as one city and reject discrimination and intolerance,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a statement. “We will not let tenants in Sunnyside or across the five boroughs be intimidated or threatened for speaking out against hatred.”

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The announcement comes after Queens Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and other officials held a rally last week outside the building, on 39th Place near 48th Avenue.

“The tenants of this Sunnyside condominium have been terrorized at the hands of this property manager for far too long,” Van Bramer said in a statement. "Clearly, their rights are being violated."

The attorney for property manager Neal Milano told the Daily News the images are meant as a "history lesson."

A resident previously told CBS they actually inspire terror.

"It's real fear. It's not, 'Oh, I'm afraid,'" she said. "It's real fear, real terror."

Residents told the station Milano created a 9/11 memorial several years ago, but recently transformed the lobby into a shrine of hate.

Lead image courtesy Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer.