Long Island Woman Claims She Is Being Terrorized By Neighbor: 'He Has Said He Can Get Me Erased'
VALLEY STREAM, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island nurse and single mother says she's being harassed by neighbors.
Community members have started to rally around her, CBS2's Carolyn Gusoff reported Tuesday.
The sign on the door of a Valley Stream home tells the story of the woman inside living in fear.
"My S.O.S. if you will. And I said, look, this is what's happening to me here. If I'm dead in here, there's a baby inside," Jennifer McLeggan wrote.
An S.O.S., McLeggan says, after three years of tensions between her and next-door neighbors, who she says she has caught on camera throwing feces onto her lawn, spitting, and leaving four dead squirrels in her yard.
"If I get a dead squirrel, that's a sign to me. It means you want me dead," McLeggan said.
She said the neighbor has even worn black face and intimidated her with BB guns and threats.
"He has said he can get me erased. I've heard him say I don't know who he knows, I can get eliminated," McLeggan said.
The single mom and registered nurse admits when she first moved in her property was not maintained, adding she was pregnant and working full-time and lets things go.
But after spending thousands of dollars to clean up, the harassment, she claims, has only escalated -- a blow torch taken to her home, BBs shot through her back yard.
"I feel like I'm terrorized. It's a nightmare living next to him," McLeggan said.
No one answered at the neighbor's home when Gusoff tried to get their side of the story, a story that has now prompted a GoFundMe page and an outpouring of support for McLeggan.
"The people in Valley Stream are really upset about this," one resident said.
That includes Good Samaritan Gregory Benloss.
"I seen when she said she was cutting the lawn herself. I said, you know what? From now on she ain't cutting her lawn by herself no more. So, I'm here," Benloss said.
Nassau police said they've responded to 45 complaints between McLeggan and the father and son next door. They've not yet found criminality, but have offered protection to McLeggan and mediation between the neighbors.
"At this time, we do not have any evidence of any bias, but that does not mean that it is not there. We have more work to do. But we want to get out in front of this," Nassau County Police Commissioner Patrick Ryder said.
"I would just ask everyone to let the experts do their job and know that here in Nassau County hate crimes and bigotry have absolutely no place," County Executive Laura Curran added.
A peaceful protest is planned for Thursday evening.
The mayor of Valley Stream, Ed Fare, told CBS2 he is proud of his diverse community and takes allegations of racism very seriously, adding no one should tolerate any kind of abuse.