My landlord let me know after an argument he has a gun on him (NYC) : legaladvice

I’ve had some issues with my landlord in the past, nothing about rent or money(always paid on time luckily), but he tends to be very aggressive and yells quite a bit.

Last week for the third time in a few weeks he approached me yelling and bickering as I was standing out front talking to my neighbors. I went to go inside when I saw him but he yells “son of a bitch is leaving because of me, take your damn dog inside”, I was actually just getting more bags so I could walk the dog further. I handed the leash to my friend and had been walking inside when this happened.

I got pissed, I admit it. So I said “listen mother fucker, at no time am I afraid of you. “

He lunged at me with his laundry cart and starts ramming it at me screaming “don’t you ever disrespect my mother” I mean he was wide eyed his lips got foamy he was spitting all In a few seconds. “Take it back right now or I swear! Take it back take it back take it back”

I have to say that actually made me laugh so I simply said “ok I take it back”

He goes right back to super calm and says “ok” and smiles.

The neighbors were holding him back when he was lunging with his cart.

I said to my neighbors to let him go and to let us handle it like two Men. I went inside with him and as the door closed I said “listen if that word offended you I apologize, but you have to stop harassing me and yelling at me in public like this” He says quietly “ you are the most horrible tenant in the world” then he unlocked the basement and went downstairs.

I went back outside to give some space, but apparently he went inside and stood in front of my door yelling loudly about me calling me names and saying I was a horrible person.

My wife came out and asked him to stop and he got very loud and angry and began yelling into her face.

I had thought part of the problem was defused, and had not followed him inside of the building. So my first glimpse this was happening was when I heard him yelling at my wife and standing over her in the doorway where she could not back up. I got between them and said please stop and just stayed between them.

He began just screaming in the street different random things that he had a problem with. Some completely unrelated to me. His bills and taxes and his kids.

My wife begins to yell back that she was tired of his intimidation and yelling and that he was a slum lord.

So he walked away and I went and tried to calm everything down.

The next day as I was leaving the house I walked out the door and saw him standing there so immediately stepped back inside to avoid conflict.

He asked me in a low tone for f he could speak with me quietly.

Then he said the following things in order.

He apologized for reacting like mother fucker. He said the way he learned English he thought I was saying he fucked his own mother. He said his adult kids told him he over reacted.

He also said he apologized for blaming me for all the dog poop in the neigbor hood. (He had just found out I have a camera on my porch aimed at the area where the poop always happens. )

He said he was having a stressful time and was having trouble paying his bills.

He said he was sorry for yelling at me in front of people he didn’t know(I was walking with a neighbor who had a job opening she was discussing with me when he started yelling about piss on a fire hydrant outside.)

He said he didn’t like that my wife disrespected him by yelling at him.

I stopped him there, and said “listen. She got mad because you have a history of harassing me. You constantly yell my name through the walls when your in the building, and blame me for every thing you seem to have an issue with in Life.”

I let him know that she gets nervous when he does this because I am a military veteran and in NYC there seems to be this weird prejudice against veterans. And that I never want to get into a situation where I or anyone else gets hurt or arrested. I said “I don’t ever want to be hurt by someone in a fight or to have some cop think I’m a crazy veteran and pull a gun on me.

He then said “I have a conceal carry (and patted the small of his back to indicate he had a gun on him) I’m always carrying and don’t want to have to shoot or kill you or anyone else” I said right then “I definitely don’t want you to shoot me.

Then he let me know that the whole reason he had come over in the first place was to talk to me about a small rent increase.

I’ll be honest, I told him I would think about it overnight and I would need to see the changed contract in writing.

But honestly I just wanted to get away from him at that moment. He has gotten into many angry fights with different people and has started so many violent verbal confrontations and he did this with a gun on him?

He’s been coming into my home with a fucking gun!

I’ve been up all night. I literally put a can on top of my door so if anyone opens it I will know immediately. And am now sitting on the couch with a cricket bat in case he comes in.

For all of you who say just move. I would if I had the money. I just got two new jobs this week and have been struggling for a few years financially. I am now trying to see if we could just put our stuff in storage and stay with local family but it is NYC and no one in my family has that big of an apartment.

I don’t know what to do next. I feel threatened in my own home and am having a physical and mental reaction to the whole thing. My seizures are thru the roof and my heart rate is insane.

Is it appropriate to get an attorney solely to handle communication with us until I move out?

TL:DR after an argument my landlord let me know he was carrying a gun and didn’t want to shoot me.

Edit: Holy crap he came back

It got bad. He was yelling in the door. I got a call from my wife indicating he was standing outside yelling my name.

I showed up and asked him to step outside.

He came out and before he could continue I let him know I was very nervous and was filming him. On camera he admitted to telling me he had a gun. And that he did not have to tell me if he was carrying one. I got everything on film and he eventually left. He then sent me this text verbatim

”You have terrified, horrified, and drilled me so much that my body is now shaking and my family might be taking me to the emergency room right now ....all because the false accusations and the stories you're trying to make up because I do not know what you want to do or what your intentions are ....I'm very scared of you and I do not trust to be around you ever... Because you told me that you are military and you can do what you want to me ...bury my head in the concrete, slit my throat and all these things ... how can I relieve these things? I am extremely terrified, horrified, and this will put me in the emergency room because I do not want to go into the grave yet because I have my children to support”

This is exactly what he sent. I’m honestly terrified now. I called 911 and they said it was a civil matter.

Edit 2 I recalled the precinct this morning. They are sending a unit to take a statement now. The SGT said that that the first officer was wrong but I misunderstood the second one. They would only act if I called 911 not the precinct number.