Letter Posted On Queens Building Calls For Residents To Prove US Residency Or Face Eviction

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- A Queens landlord is now apologizing after threatening to evict tenants unless they could prove they were in the country legally.

A threatening letter was posted on the front door of a building on the corner of Junction Boulevard and 42nd Avenue in Corona asking residents to bring proof of their U.S. residency to the management office or face eviction, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.

Tenant Jimmy Valencia, who has been living in the building for 20 years, said he showed them his Green Card last week. He said a lot of residents have refused.

"Many people I think that they don't have a paper," Valencia said. He added that the threat came from new management. "We did a meeting over here last week we talked to the lawyers and they want to fix this problem."

The landlord contacted by the Daily News apologized and blamed the request on his electrician.

State Sen. Jose Peralta called the letter shocking.

He plans to file a complaint Monday with the state attorney general's office saying the request violates the city's human rights law.

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