A Brooklyn subtenant’s movies documenting his roommate from hell have gone viral on social media, depicting a hellish dwelling state of affairs that features safety cameras, padlocked doorways — and roomies compelled to go to the toilet in jars.
Kyle “Bobby” Harvey, 30, mentioned he began filming his nightmare antics of roomie Stephen Pulido in what he concluded was an effort by Pulido to drive him and his different roommates out of the four-bedroom, $4,200-a-month Bushwick house.
“That’s why I began filming … as a result of I didn’t even know what to make of it. Like there was a lot stuff taking place that I simply wanted to doc it,” mentioned Harvey, a video editor who additionally designs web sites for content material creators.
Harvey started subleasing the house in November 2023 after discovering it on-line. He initially waved off Pulido, who’s an overtenant, as simply having “somewhat little bit of an off vibe.”
However what began as a clumsy dwelling state of affairs rapidly acquired out of hand — with accusations of locked loos, dismantled doorknobs, bottles filled with urine, and safety cameras pointed at his bed room door, Harvey informed The Publish.
The viral reels, which have racked up over 20 million views on Instagram, function compilations of the NYPD visits and lots of different awkward interactions, as if within the model of a “Love Island” spinoff. They embody clips exhibiting Pulido yelling at his roommates to “get off his sofa,” turning off all of the lights, and slamming fridge doorways shut of their faces.
“I’ve simply been enhancing the movies to be as partaking as attainable, to be considerably entertaining, perhaps even humorous, as a result of I needed it to have the biggest attain,” Harvey mentioned.
However in line with interviews with Harvey and former roommates, the movies solely present a part of the cycle of Pulido’s weird conduct that they suppose is aimed toward pushing them till they voluntarily pack up and go away.
When Harvey was caught in mattress with extreme pneumonia in February, Pulido allegedly locked the house’s solely working rest room from the within and sealed the door with duct tape so his roommates couldn’t use it.
When Harvey tried to unlock the door, Pulido allegedly charged throughout the house to bodily shove him out of the way in which, prompting the cops to be known as twice.
The roommates, pushed to desperation, claimed they resorted to urinating in water bottles — a behavior roommate Joe Medina mentioned he’s continued on a number of events to keep away from confrontations with Pulido.
“I’ve handled a variety of nervousness dwelling in the home … you by no means know for those who’re gonna get right into a battle or not,” mentioned Medina, who has lived within the house for 2 years.
Only a few weeks earlier than sealing the door shut, Pulido smiled and laughed whereas slamming a heavy steel door onto Harvey’s foot, inflicting him ache, in line with video and picture proof.
Pulido additionally put in a safety digital camera within the shared lounge, pointing it instantly at Harvey’s $1,050-a-month bed room, in line with photographs.
The roommate later texted Medina to say, “Keep in mind that I’ve video and audio proof. I document all the things within the widespread space now.”
In a separate heated March textual content alternate over Harvey’s refusal to pay a higher-than-usual bathroom paper invoice, Pulido informed Harvey he may now not use the kitchen and loo.
“NO ONE LIVES IN MY HOME FOR FREE, YOU WORTHLESS TRASHCAN OF A HUMAN BEING,” he wrote to Harvey, in line with a textual content message seen by The Publish.
Since Pulido is the first leaseholder and never a conventional landlord, the NYPD and Brooklyn Housing Court docket have repeatedly informed Harvey that he has few choices, leaving him trapped in a legally ambiguous space.
Former roommate Carlos Brumfield, who lived with Pulido from March 2023 till June 2024, alleged Pulido as soon as locked him out of his bed room whereas he was showering, forcing him to climb throughout a hearth escape in a towel to dress.
“He would get in my face at any time when we had been on the rest room door and simply curse at me and say, ‘I may kick your ass at any time when I would like, that is my place,’” Brumfield mentioned.
Leo Mark Avery, who lived within the hellhole from January 2023 to the top of July 2024, mentioned issues would usually get heated and finish with screaming and banging fists on tables.
“I spotted it made extra sense for me to only go away there than attempt to stay someplace the place I’m already not comfy and undergo no matter this man is … I didn’t know what he was able to,” Avery mentioned.
In late June, Pulido employed a course of server to ship a “discover to vacate” to Harvey whereas he was leaving the bathe, nonetheless in a towel. The discover didn’t adjust to the 90-day requirement for tenants who’ve resided at a property for over two years and ordered the pair to go away in lower than a month.
Harvey and Medina have since withheld hire on the recommendation of a housing lawyer. Harvey mentioned he plans to remain within the house and maintain filming till he’s served a authorized eviction discover.
Pulido has since allegedly put in a brand new padlock on the toilet, hiding all the bathroom paper in the home, and dismantled the house’s air-conditioning panel throughout a scorching July heatwave.
In a number of caught-on-camera incidents, Pulido has additionally entered the roommates’ rooms with out their permission to maneuver issues round or to indicate their rooms to potential tenants.
Harvey’s landlord, Justin Rubinstein, acquired a number of written notices of Pulido’s conduct, in line with emails reviewed by The Publish. The owner didn’t reply or intervene, stating he was reluctant to become involved in roommate squabbles.
Data additionally present the constructing’s registration expired in September 2024.
Rubinstein didn’t instantly reply to The Publish’s a number of requests for remark.
In a press release, Pulido declined to touch upon the allegations, citing authorized proceedings towards his roommates and a harassment grievance filed with police.
A number of harassment experiences filed with the NYPD seem to indicate that Pulido filed complaints alleging that his roommates antagonized him.
The experiences embody one filed on July 15 for getting right into a verbal dispute that left him feeling “aggravated and harassed,” and one other on June 29 for receiving “threatening textual content messages” that left him feeling “aggravated and alarmed,” in line with an NYPD spokesperson.
