Squatters terrorized NYC block for months before burning house down, fed-up neighbors say

A crew of squatters wreaked havoc on a Brooklyn block for months, stealing from — and threatening — neighbors before burning a house to the ground last November, fed-up locals and politicians said Thursday.

The reign of terror in Dyker Heights landed one troublesome intruder behind bars on an arson rap — but that was little compensation for area residents left reeling over yet another Big Apple squatter nightmare.

“It was a very quiet neighborhood before and then suddenly when it happened, those people break into the house,” said Ming Zhu, who lives two houses from the home at 1237 67th Street.

“They went to our neighbor’s backyard and grabbed a brick and they say, ‘We are going to break your window’ and we can’t do nothing,'” said Zhu, 42. “It’s not fair. We pay for property taxes, we pay for expensive house costs. We are working hard for the American Dream but that’s what we get for it?”

The squatters broke into the empty home over the summer, and quickly became a nuisance — ripping off security cameras and other goods from other houses and menacing residents.

Cheng Chen, 46, was charged with arson and criminal mischief for the Nov. 29 blaze, and was later hit with a six-month prison sentence after pleading guilty, prosecutors said.

“The fire was caused by candles,” Chen told cops, according to a criminal complaint. “I was smoking cigarettes, lit a candle. While I had the stove on to heat up the water and to keep myself warm, [I] went downstairs to take a shower. When I came back I saw flames and smoke everywhere.”

The blaze caused $900,000 worth of damage to the home.

“In our neighborhood, we don’t have the Hamptons houses,” city Councilwoman Susan Zhuang told reporters at a Gravesend press conference on Thursday.

“We the people have the small houses. We work hard, check by check,” she said. “They are hardworking families that pay their mortgages from paycheck to paycheck. Meanwhile, squatters enter their home while they are on vacation. People’s lives are turned upside down.”

The Dyker Heights dilemma is just the latest in the recent rash of high-profile squatter horrors.

Under New York City law, anyone who beds down in a home or apartment for at least 30 days can claim squatter’s rights, even if they broke into the property without permission from the rightful owner.

Last week, a pair of squatters at a Jamaica duplex sued the legal owners of a $930,000 home, claiming they were locked out despite establishing tenancy — and included a Shake Shack receipt as “proof.”

In Flushing, squatter Brian Rodriguez demanded an $18,000 ransom to move out of the four-bedroom $1 million house he claimed rights to — with cops even handcuffing the rightful owner when she showed up.

One Big Apple case turned deadly when a pair of teen squatters allegedly killed property owner Nadia Vitels after she showed up at the East 31st apartment owned by her late mom on March 12.

And last week, federal agents raided a Bronx home where a troublesome troupe of gun-toting migrants were squatting and causing chaos in the neighborhood.

“Enough is enough,” Zhuan said in a release Thursday. “We must address the growing issue of squatters in our communities before the issue gets more out of hand than it already is.

“Unless something is done soon, the concept of homeownership will be completely thrown out.”