New York State Senator Mario Mattera has introduced legislation aimed at cracking down on squatting in New York.
The bill would allow police to immediately evict suspected squatters based on a property owner’s complaint.
“We need to make sure that we fix this huge epidemic right now. And it’s coming more and more and more,” Mattera said.
Mattera cited increasing squatting problems across New York, including incidents of violence.
He argued that loose squatting laws have enabled criminals by allowing squatters to claim rights after just 30 days in New York City.
“We need to fix this now, so we can stop the bleeding. The bleeding needs to stop. People are getting hurt. People are getting killed. And what are we doing about it? Guess what, my bill gives the tools to all law enforcement to do their job,” Mattera said.
Mattera praised similar legislation passed in Florida and wants New York Democrats to support his bill.
He contended that lax criminal justice policies under Democrats have contributed to safety issues.
“Just by a complaint, calling police officers, prove that you are [in] ownership of that home, and you have the attesting to certain facts, can immediately cause a squatter or other unauthorized persons to be evicted from residential property by a police officer on the spot, without court intervention,” Mattera said.
“You know, the American dream. Just think about it: life, liberty, and property. The American Dream, and you know what, it is shattered by bad laws of the land of New York State. This is a great law. Governor Ron DeSantis signed it. It was a bipartisan law. He signed it into law effective July 1 of 2024,” Mattera said.
“A married couple invested … in a home in Queens, Jamaica, Queens, several years ago. Now they’re forced to go to court right now,” Mattera said. “An alleged squatter hired an attorney. There it is. Imagine, this squatter hired an attorney. And there they are, they have a burger chain receipt that says that that’s the proof that they live in that house. By a burger shack giving them a receipt with the address on it when they delivered it,” he said.
“This is serious. My bill is a very, again, a very aggressive bill. It gives the tools to our police officers to do their job.”
“Twenty-one [priors] … that person should have been in jail. And we wouldn’t be talking about Officer Diller. We would not be talking about that right now. And you know what, these cashless bail laws, shame on all of the people on the other side, with the Democrats, what they have done to pass these laws,” Mattera said.
If passed, the legislation would streamline the eviction of squatters while also providing protections for wrongful removals.
Mattera linked squatting with issues like illegal immigration and bail reform as exacerbating public safety challenges in the state.
“Look at what just happened with the illegal migrant going on TikTok … and saying to everybody, ‘This is what you need to do. You could go do this. Go find vacant homes. Go do what you could do.’ … Yes, he got arrested, but the damage is done already,” Mattera said.
“They’re enabling the illegal migrants right now. They’re being enabled. They don’t want to go to work. They’re like, ‘You brought me here. Now you take care of me.’ But again, the governor and the mayor could have signed an executive order … rescinding the sanctuary state and the sanctuary city [policies]. Please, all New Yorkers understand that, and call the governor, call the mayor of New York, and ask them: What are you doing to fix this disaster that they both created,” he said.
“We just had another situation in the Bronx. It was another thing with the drugs, guns. … The owner of the property in the Bronx … he couldn’t get rid of them either. So this bill, S. 8867, will do the job, give the tools to our law enforcement to remove these people that do not have any permission to be on anybody’s property or in anybody’s property,” he said.
“There’s a reason why we have people exiting New York to go to Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, especially, and Texas … We lost over 1.5 million people that exited New York State because of bad laws. And you know what? People are frightened. People do not feel safe anymore,” he said.
