A notorious “squatter from hell” has finally been banned from the pricey Greenwich Village building he’s been terrorizing for nearly a year.
Melvin DeJesus, who transformed 400 Bleecker St. in the hip Manhattan neighborhood into a real-life house of horrors — with all-night death threats howled at terrified tenants — is no longer allowed to enter the building, at least for now, according to the judge handling the lawsuit filed by the building’s owner earlier this year.
The extraordinary ruling goes into effect immediately and states that DeJesus is “enjoined and restrained from entering the building” pending the lawsuit’s resolution, wrote Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Kathy J. King
He also must entirely steer clear of the property.
“This is a major win for residents,” a relieved tenant crowed to The Post. “I’m definitely breathing a little easier now.
“But it shouldn’t have taken this long,” the resident said. “It shouldn’t take six articles from the New York Post for the legal system to kick into action.”
DeJesus previously ignored a court order to cease his “disruptive behavior,” which “demonstrates that he is either unable or unwilling to abide by a Court order directing him to cease the objectionable conduct,” King wrote in her decision.
“The balance of equities tips in Plaintiff’s favor, based on [DeJesus’] ongoing and flagrant disregard with the peace and quiet enjoyment of the staff, tenants, and occupants at the premises,” the order reads.
DeJesus also has an ongoing Housing Court eviction case but hasn’t shown up to recent hearings.
Owners of the tony building, The Brodsky Organization, filed a $5 million lawsuit against DeJesus in February — just after a 4-gallon jug of gasoline was oddly discovered outside the the fifth-floor rent-controlled unit he commandeered after lifelong tenant John Grafenecker’s death at 84 in the fall.
The lawsuit cited months of all-night terrors, where DeJesus allegedly pounded on his neighbors’ doors, screaming death threats and blasted music all night.
In March, he was arrested for allegedly smashing a neighbor’s Ring doorbell camera.
“He began his reign of terror in the building with death threats,” said Paul Coppe, a lawyer for the building owners, in court last month
“He’s said ‘I have a knife, and I’m going to use it,’ ” Coppe said of DeJesus — who has a 30-year-old attempted-murder conviction.
Tenants have said DeJesus’s erratic behavior persisted despite the judge first issuing an order that he cease his harassment, forcing some to flee the building in the middle of the night.
Lawyer David Schwartz, who is not connected to the case, told The Post on Monday, “The laws in New York City heavily favor the tenant, but here in this particular instance, it’s pretty clear that the building made the strong case here and the judge made the right call.”
Schwartz said while it’s not common for landlords to succeed with de-facto evictions in state Supreme Court, “it does happen where these circumstances are present, like threatening neighbors with a knife, storing gasoline in the hallway — this is pretty bad stuff.”