Residents of a luxury Upper West Side building at 370 Riverside Drive have filed a lawsuit against the city in an attempt to gain access to an apartment where an elderly woman and her nephew were found dead five months ago. The bodies of Alice Osman, 92, and Steven Osman, 64, were discovered in late June, and both were determined to have died of natural causes. Despite this, the apartment has remained sealed by the police, leaving it in a state of decay, emitting foul odors, and potentially attracting vermin.
The legal battle highlights a slow aspect of the city’s court system, as the rightful heir of the apartment has not been identified, leaving the tenants unable to clean or maintain the property. The lawsuit seeks a court order to temporarily remove the seal on the apartment to allow for cleaning, removal of garbage, fumigation, and disposal of perishable items.
Residents of the building, where apartments are valued at over $2 million, are frustrated by the situation and its impact on their own living conditions, with reports of roaches infesting the building. The NYPD says they cannot permit access to the apartment until Surrogate’s Court approval is obtained to determine who will inherit the property.
Doug Baruchin, a crime scene cleanup expert, explained that apartments where deaths occur can quickly deteriorate, especially in warm weather, and lead to unsanitary conditions for residents. The lawsuit underscores the challenges faced by buildings and cities when dealing with the aftermath of deaths in properties without clear heirs.
Source
Photo credit gothamist.com