Brooklyn residents outraged over homeless man sleeping, performing lewd acts

Homeless man sleeping in stairwell in Brooklyn

People living in an apartment building in Brooklyn are demanding action after they say a homeless man has been sleeping in their hallway for two years. They say they've called the police, but the man always ends up coming back. FOX 5 NY's Michelle Ross has the story.

BROOKLYN - A homeless man has been living in the stairwell of an East Flatbush apartment building for the last two years, according to tenants, but his recent inappropriate actions, which were caught on surveillance video, have renewed their efforts to have him permanently removed.

"He was in the stairwell pleasuring himself, exposing himself," said Larissa A., a tenant in the building. "It’s really disgusting because elderly people and children, they go up and down the stairs and they see something like that."

FOX 5 NY has chosen not to air that surveillance footage.

There are more than 400 units at Rutland Plaza, located at 100 E. 93rd Street, and some residents created an Instagram account to document their everyday struggle having to step over the homeless man, who goes by the name Purple, and his trash.

The video of Purple masturbating was posted to the Instagram page but has since been taken down.

Residents say he lives in the stairwell between the sixth and ninth floors and claims he gets high on drugs.

"The smell is horrible," Nikira H., a tenant, said while in the stairwell. "It’s literally his smell."

Fox 5 went to the building to check it out, and he was not there. Police confirm he was arrested earlier in the week for robbing a nearby store, but residents are certain that he’ll be back. They say it’s a frequent cycle of him getting arrested and finding his way back to their building.

Larissa said he’s constantly able to return because the lock on the front door is broken, which Fox 5 verified in person. HPD said it hasn’t received complaints for broken locks but plans to send an inspector and issue violations if appropriate.

Edward is a 10-year-old boy who lives in the building. He said he accompanied his mother to the trash chute.

"I want to make sure she’s safe and nothing happens to her," Edward said. "I just want to make sure I take care of my mother because I love her."

Tenants created an online petition to get him removed from the building claiming he has a hot plate and ottoman.

"They take it down though, put it near the trash, and then he’ll come put it back upstairs," Nikira added.

The building also suffers from other quality of life issues like constant water leaks.

With multiple cameras installed throughout the building, residents hope something can be done soon before someone gets hurt.

The management office acknowledged Fox 5’s request for comment, and they said they’re investigating.