(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Juan Ardila, the Democratic controversy-ridden and AOC-endorsed New York assemblyman, faces yet another scandal as a landlord claims he owes a staggering $19,200 in overdue payments for a former apartment in Queens.
Anne O’Reilly, Ardila’s former landlord and a nurse who is struggling to meet ends, slammed the embattled assemblyman, who is also facing two sexual assault allegations, in a Friday interview with the New York Post.
“I feel like it’s an injustice to me,” O’Reilly told the Post.
Ardila moved out in November but not before O’Reilly served him with a lawsuit. The lawsuit was dismissed after she failed to serve the lawmaker within the required days.
Proud to be endorsed by @AOC alongside the amazing @NYWFP #WeCantWait slate, fighting for healthcare & housing for all NYers. Together we win! #Sunnyside #Ridgewood #Woodside #LIC #Maspeth pic.twitter.com/31LuagyFuD
— Juan Ardila (@JuanArdilaNYS) May 30, 2022
O’Reilly told the Post she is planning on filing a second lawsuit against the Democrat.
“I’m a nurse and try to take care of people and I think people should respect everybody and if I’m working hard I expect everyone else to work hard — if they’re working — to pay their rent,” she said.
Ardila attempted to downplay O’Reilly’s claims, alleging that he, not the landlord, is the victim and that he does not owe any rent.
🚨 ENDORSEMENT ALERT! I am proud to announce that our campaign has been endorsed by @AOC, a champion in many of the progressive values we believe in! (1/4) pic.twitter.com/Aah6zK8TUy
— Juan Ardila (@JuanArdilaNYS) May 23, 2022
“My mother and I moved to this apartment when I was 14,” he said, according to statements obtained by the Post. “I was staying with my girlfriend but my mother has endured relentless harassment from her landlord, particularly throughout the pandemic & even left her without heat during some of the coldest days.”
Ardila’s rent-related scandal comes two months after a March expose published by The Queens Chronicle accused the first-term Democrat of inappropriately touching a woman while she was heavily intoxicated at a house party. A second woman accused Ardila of indecent exposure in a bathroom the same night in October 2015.
Ardila received the endorsement of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. through her PAC, Courage of Change, when he announced his candidacy in 2021, even receiving his own highlight feature on AOC’s website.
AOC has severed ties with the freshman lawmaker after he was first accused of sexual assault, joining a large group of politicians who demand Ardila step down.
