I am not a vigilante type, but if this property was mine, me and a couple buds would have cleaned it out long ago..
Back in ancient times, the early seventies, my sister worked for New York State auditing New York City welfare roles, when anyone cared. One of her coworkers, a large and aggressive young man was also a landlord. He had a deadbeat tenant and knew is would take years to evict him by going to housing court. So went to a stationary store (quaint old institution) and purchased a bunch of authentic looking seals and documents and made a do-it-yourself eviction notice, which he served on the tenant, as he cleared his belongings onto the sidewalk and changed the locks.
Unsurprisingly, the tenant called the cops. The tenant explained the situation to the police when they arrived. They asked if he a utility bill or any evidence that he actually lived in the apartment. He did not. They asked if he had a cancelled rent check. He said that he didn't pay rent. They told him it was a civil matter, and they could take him to court. (I don't know how it ended up.)
No, you would not. Internet braggadocio. Because, if you tried, you’d be in jail, properties confiscated, etc.
‘Vigilante’ is a bureaucratic word for those who would oppose the state in dispensing righteous justice.
Stating the obvious: There’s right & wrong, and NYC is in left field on this (go figure)...to state nothing of the fact that it took THREE YEARS to accomplish getting them out. The fine is insult to injury.
Agreed on having ‘cleaned it out long ago’...