What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New York State
Dear Legal Representative:
What can I do in the case of a neighbor who has been harassing my sister & me, making false statements about the level of noise in our home and claiming we abuse our elderly parent. these statements have been made in the presence of other neighbors & could be extremely detrimental to my sister, who's a Public School Teacher and to me, being a former Labor & Political Organizer who walked away from my career to take care of my mother full time.
This woman has complained about noise in our home even before we moved in, when our Co-Op was being refurbished & prepared for my sister, my mom & me to move in. When she realized that the noise was due to the workers putting in new floors, she continued to ask them to keep the noise level down. Since then, we've had to remove wind chimes from our terrace, because they were "disruptive" to her sleep, have had to endure countless visits from her asking us to keep the noise down, when nothing more than the television & my mother's walker could be considered "noise", she's made statements about "elder abuse" in front of neighbors & when I invited her to call law enforcement to report the alleged "abuse", she stated that as a "good neighbor", she did not want to resort to calling the police.
The final incident, which forced me to call local law enforcement,myself, was another visit from her, banging on our door, ringing our doorbell as if she were a police officer or fire Personnel, asking us to stop making noise at all hours of the night -- these false allegations (as my sister, mom & I were in bed during the hours she mentioned) were made very loudly & with neighbors within hearing distance. After her tirade, I decided to call local law enforcement to report, what I felt to be, harassment. After explaining to the officer the situation, he stated that he had already looked into our record of conduct within the community & had found no reports of noise complaints or any other compromising activity or conduct. He advised us to ignore the situation but, if it escalated, to keep in contact with local law enforcement. He then, went to the perpetrator's home, to discuss the situation.
When he returned to report his discussion with our neighbor, he stated that the neighbor had made the same false allegations about elder abuse & the level of noise in our apartment. When the Officer explained her responsibility in reporting said allegations, she responded that she never reported the abuse or level of noise, due to the fact that she wanted to be a "good neighbor" -- the Officer later told my sister and me that this statement was a complete contradiction. I had already explained my mother's history of a fall which fractured her hip & all of the official medical documentation we had to support our denial of elder abuse, he told us, confidentially, that our neighbor seemed to be "in need of sleep" and reiterated his advise that she call the police should there be any other incidents. The police Officer advised us of the same and also stated, "off record", that he believed my sister & me, wholeheartedly & to contact him should we experience further difficulties.
At this point, after having endured 16 years of these consistent false allegations, false accusations & what I deem, harassment, I want to send this woman an official legal warning to CEASE & DESIST from compromising my sister & my reputation, our names & possibly, my sister's career as a NYC Public School Teacher. As a "mandatory reporter" of abuse, my sister could be compromised greatly by accusations of elder abuse. I want to send our neighbor a legal, notarized document, drawn up by a Lawyer, warning of possible litigation if the harassment & false allegations continue. I no longer want to be put through embarrassing situations in front of other neighbors, or worse, having legal ramifications lodged against my sister and me, due to her baseless accusations. What can I do, at this point? What documentation can I obtain, from a Lawyer, that would ensure the 16 years of false accusations, embarrassing confrontations in the presence of other neighbors & harassment will desist? What document can I request from a lawyer & what would be the cost? I thank you for your advice & assistance in this matter.
Dear Legal Representative:
What can I do in the case of a neighbor who has been harassing my sister & me, making false statements about the level of noise in our home and claiming we abuse our elderly parent. these statements have been made in the presence of other neighbors & could be extremely detrimental to my sister, who's a Public School Teacher and to me, being a former Labor & Political Organizer who walked away from my career to take care of my mother full time.
This woman has complained about noise in our home even before we moved in, when our Co-Op was being refurbished & prepared for my sister, my mom & me to move in. When she realized that the noise was due to the workers putting in new floors, she continued to ask them to keep the noise level down. Since then, we've had to remove wind chimes from our terrace, because they were "disruptive" to her sleep, have had to endure countless visits from her asking us to keep the noise down, when nothing more than the television & my mother's walker could be considered "noise", she's made statements about "elder abuse" in front of neighbors & when I invited her to call law enforcement to report the alleged "abuse", she stated that as a "good neighbor", she did not want to resort to calling the police.
The final incident, which forced me to call local law enforcement,myself, was another visit from her, banging on our door, ringing our doorbell as if she were a police officer or fire Personnel, asking us to stop making noise at all hours of the night -- these false allegations (as my sister, mom & I were in bed during the hours she mentioned) were made very loudly & with neighbors within hearing distance. After her tirade, I decided to call local law enforcement to report, what I felt to be, harassment. After explaining to the officer the situation, he stated that he had already looked into our record of conduct within the community & had found no reports of noise complaints or any other compromising activity or conduct. He advised us to ignore the situation but, if it escalated, to keep in contact with local law enforcement. He then, went to the perpetrator's home, to discuss the situation.
When he returned to report his discussion with our neighbor, he stated that the neighbor had made the same false allegations about elder abuse & the level of noise in our apartment. When the Officer explained her responsibility in reporting said allegations, she responded that she never reported the abuse or level of noise, due to the fact that she wanted to be a "good neighbor" -- the Officer later told my sister and me that this statement was a complete contradiction. I had already explained my mother's history of a fall which fractured her hip & all of the official medical documentation we had to support our denial of elder abuse, he told us, confidentially, that our neighbor seemed to be "in need of sleep" and reiterated his advise that she call the police should there be any other incidents. The police Officer advised us of the same and also stated, "off record", that he believed my sister & me, wholeheartedly & to contact him should we experience further difficulties.
At this point, after having endured 16 years of these consistent false allegations, false accusations & what I deem, harassment, I want to send this woman an official legal warning to CEASE & DESIST from compromising my sister & my reputation, our names & possibly, my sister's career as a NYC Public School Teacher. As a "mandatory reporter" of abuse, my sister could be compromised greatly by accusations of elder abuse. I want to send our neighbor a legal, notarized document, drawn up by a Lawyer, warning of possible litigation if the harassment & false allegations continue. I no longer want to be put through embarrassing situations in front of other neighbors, or worse, having legal ramifications lodged against my sister and me, due to her baseless accusations. What can I do, at this point? What documentation can I obtain, from a Lawyer, that would ensure the 16 years of false accusations, embarrassing confrontations in the presence of other neighbors & harassment will desist? What document can I request from a lawyer & what would be the cost? I thank you for your advice & assistance in this matter.
