March 7, 2024
Stuffed Monkey With Noose Around Neck Found Hanging In Brooklyn Apartment Building
These tenants deserve better protection.
Tenants in a Brooklyn-based apartment building demand answers about why a stuffed monkey was found hanging from a ceiling.
The act of blatant racism occurred in February 2024 at the Boulevard Houses in East New York. Following repairs from a New Year’s Eve fire, tenant Kim Darkens said she found the stuffed toy after AVK Contracting Corp. workers left her door open with no one in sight. Confused by the act, Darkens said she was triggered by thoughts of slavery. “It brought me back to slavery times when they were hanging people from the tree,” Darkens said.
“And I’m in here saying to myself, what does that mean? Somebody trying to get me?”
Tenants of the property, which is owned by the New York State Housing Authority, are frustrated with the lack of security experienced during repairs. Other occupants, like Joseph Serrano, lost several items in the fire. While his door was also left wide open for anyone to get in, Serrano said his place is savaged, and people have gone through his leftover belongings.
“This case right here, the gray case, is where I have all my tattoo equipment, and they ended up going through it like savages,” he said.
Lawmakers at the city and state levels have continuously contacted the tenants to listen to their growing concerns. A NYCHA spokesperson issued a statement of little words saying, “We will refer you to the NYPD at this time, as this is an active investigation.”
City Councilman Chris Banks says that’s not enough. “NYCHA has been…they disappeared! We don’t see them anywhere,” he said.
State Assemblywoman Nikki Lucas called the agency out during a weekly Zoom meeting for its lack of proper construction oversight. “If they cannot continue this in a respectful, dignified manner for our community members, then we’re asking for their removal,” Lucas said.
Following the discovery, a spokesperson for the subcontractor released a statement saying they were “outraged to hear about our employee’s unacceptable behavior.” After they said the employee violated their zero-tolerance policy, the employee was immediately terminated. However, the damage is done for Darkens. “I don’t know who did it,” she said. “And it’s frustrating, and it’s very scary.”
Brooklyn is seeing a rise in racist acts, despite being known as a fairly diverse community.
In September 2023, Steven Attanasso was arrested after being accused of being the mastermind behind incidents at the Ebbets Field Apartments. Black neighbors said they were terrorized for more than a year. The 67-year-old man was documented waving knives around the hall, slamming doors with a hammer, and shouting racial slurs. “He’ll scream ‘Ahhh, f— you n—–s, I’m gonna kill you,'” one neighbor remembered.
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