According to the New York Post, the victim of a rape at the Baruch Houses this past November has filed a lawsuit against the New York City Housing Authority.
Police arrested 20-year-old Robert Bowie and charged him with the attack, as well as two other attempted rapes on the Lower East Side on the same day. Police said Bowie was waiting in a stairwell near the woman’s apartment. He’s accused of forcing his way inside and brutally attacking the 40-year-old victim. The locks were broken on the front door of the building, located at 577 FDR Drive.
The lawsuit states that the locks were “broken, unsafe [and] hazardous.” The woman is asking for unspecified damages. A NYCHA spokesperson told the Post that security is a “top priority” but declined to comment specifically on this lawsuit.
Residents of the Baruch Houses say door locks throughout the sprawling complex are routinely broken. The front door was unlocked when we stopped by 577 FDR Drive earlier today.
Bowie pleaded not guilty and is being held on $150,000 bail.
