Title: Long Island squatters finally move out after decades of not paying mortgage
Published: Dec. 23, 2023, 8:12 a.m. ET
By Georgett Roberts and Kathianne Boniello
A pair of allegedly racist Long Island squatters who hadn’t paid their mortgage in more than a decade appear to have finally moved out a week after their “abuse” of the court system was exposed by The Post.
Moving trucks were spotted in the driveway of the four-bedroom, two-bath, 1,536-square-foot home on Friendly Lane in Jericho Wednesday, said Bobby Chawla, whose family purchased the house 22 months ago in a bank auction but have been unable to move in because accused squatters Barry and Barbara Pollack wouldn’t leave.
By Friday, the house appeared empty and the Pollacks were nowhere to be seen.
“It feels like a Christmas Miracle, I can’t believe it,” said Chawla, who cannot officially take over the home without a judge’s approval.
“I did feel a sense of relief. . . . but I won’t be satisfied until I have possession of my home. This guy is not to be trusted.”
The Pollacks bought the home in September 1990 for $255,000, but by 2006 had fallen into financial trouble, and wound up fighting in three different courts for 17 years to stay.
The home ended up in a bank auction after the couple was sued for foreclosure in 2008 and dragged the case out for 11 years, records show.
They then began filing “skeleton” and “frivolous” bankruptcies, according to court papers.
The filings automatically paused any eviction — including in November, when movers hired by the Chawlas to empty the home were forced to abandon the effort after Barbara Pollack showed up with bankruptcy paperwork.
Barry Pollack was caught on video telling the Chawlas, whose parents are from India, to “go back to Pakistan.”
On Friday, a federal bankruptcy judge barred the Pollacks from further filings.
“While most debtors are honest and hard-working individuals who are looking for a fresh start in bankruptcy, these debtors are not,” said the Chawlas’ lawyer, Heath Berger.
“Hopefully, they have filed their last petition in bankruptcy court.”
Barry Pollack did not return a message.