When you’re in the process of renting a New York City apartment, there are thousands of things you need to cover. What’s included in the rent? What are the lease terms? Is it pet-friendly? Those are commonly asked questions for renters. Renters may forget to ask about any spooky buildings in New York City. However, there are plenty of frightening spots!
New York Law does not require brokers or landlords to disclose this information. Would you change your mind about the perfect apartment if you found out someone was murdered in it? Check out this post to see if your building has some spooky history attached to it.
The Octagon. Photo by stu_spivack (CC BY-SA 2.0)
1. 129 Mulberry St
On April 7, 1972, one of the most notorious mobsters, Joey Gallo, nicknamed Crazy Joe for his extreme criminal behavior and love for violence, was celebrating his 43rd birthday after a long night out at Umberto’s Clam House, located at 129 Mulberry St.
Joey’s accompanying gangsters fired 20 bullets, and Joey took five of them. Umberto’s Clam House later moved a few blocks away. The scene of the crime turned into an apartment building.
2. 82-70 Austin St, Queens
March 16, 1964, marked one of the darkest nights in New York City’s history. 28-year-old Kitty Genovese was coming home from work at a bar around 3:15 am, when she caught the eye of predator and necrophiliac, Winston Moseley. He chased her down and began stabbing her. Neighbors turned on their lights, scaring Moseley away. However, the neighbors turned their lights off and went back to sleep, allowing the killer to return. Winston proceeded to stab her twelve more times, rape her, and leave her dead in her foyer.
3. 150-22 72nd Drive, Kew Gardens, Queens
In 1965, Alice Crimmins’ two children, Eddie Jr., 5, and Missy, 4, went missing from the Crimmins’ apartment. Missy was found strangled just a few days after they went missing. Eddie’s corpse was found later on, too decomposed to gather evidence. The mother’s promiscuous reputation, along with her nonchalant reaction, led the media to believe that she had murdered her children. With no physical evidence connecting Alice to the crime, she was tried and found guilty in 1968.
4. 200 Water St. Financial District
In 2008, the Russian model Ruslana Korshunova lost her life after leaping out of her ninth-floor apartment in the Financial District. Being constantly mistreated by men and missing her family, Ruslana turned to a cult called Rose of the World for guidance. Days after joining this cult, Ruslana chose to take her own life, cutting a hole in construction netting and landing 28 feet away from the building she leapt from.
5. 242 Fifth Ave
In 1920, the most mysterious murder of all time took place. Joseph Elwell was found dead in his beautiful NoMad apartment. The only evidence left behind was a kimono. The spooky thing about his death was that the door was locked; it had never been unlocked. Officials concluded that it was physically impossible for someone to have left the room after the murder. So the question is, are they still there? There is still no resolution.
6. 169 Avenue B
The love died in 1967, when someone bludgeoned hippies James Hutchinson and Linda Fitzpatrick in their East Village apartment. Linda Fitzpatrick came from a wealthy family in Greenwich, CT, and James Hutchinson was a wanderer from Rhode Island. All about peace and love, luck was just not on this couple’s side.
7. 253 West 72nd Street
In 1973, someone found Roseann Quinn dead in her studio apartment on the Upper West Side. When she didn’t show up for her first day of school, someone reported her missing. The police found her naked body was found slain in bed, and traced a man from a bar. He later killed himself while awaiting trial.
8. 888 Main St, New York
Most New Yorkers know about The Octagon (1834). In 1841, the building originally served as the main entrance to the New York City Lunatic Asylum. In 1887, journalist Nellie Bly disclosed the mistreatment of patients at the asylum in her book, “Ten Days in a Mad-House.” Today, the building is an apartment complex. Residents of the apartment building also shared stories of unusual incidents, strange things occurring, and paranormal activity in the building.
9. 15 Abingdon Square
In 2006, someone murdered the talented actress Adrienne Shelley and staged it as a suicide. Diego Pillco was working in the building and apparently went to the apartment to address a noise complaint. While arguing, Diego struck Adrienne in the head and thought she was dead. He tied a sheet around her neck, attached it to the shower curtain rod, and left her.
Editor’s Note: We updated this article to enhance readability.
