Peter Saltina the owner of a cinderblocked, crumbling brownstone at 174 Garfield Place in Park Slope doesn’t really care what his neighbors think according to a report in the Brooklyn Paper. The condition of the property, which Saltina moved out of 10 years ago, is so bad that a tree from the absentee owner’s “jungle” of a backyard once fell over and crushed a neighbor’s balcony. Local officials are now trying to get the bank holding the mortgage on the property to force fixes or repossess it.
Brooklyn Paper: Neighbors have been complaining about the unoccupied three-story house — and its owner, Saltina — for years, and city inspectors have written up the building for dozens of violations.
But Saltina, who lives in upstate Westchester, doesn’t care.
“Let them complain,” he told us. “I’ve been a big contribution to the quality of life on that block and all I get from the neighbors is grief. Whatever liens and citations I have at this point, I will work them out when I [sell it]. I’ve been here since 1969 and dealing with these people has made my skin thick.”
He even threatened his neighbors, saying he would “sue all their asses” if they continue to fight his stewardship of the property.
It’s something of a misnomer to say you’ve “been [there] since 1969″ if you’ve lived in Westchester for the last ten years.