What, He Thought Eva Moskowitz Wouldn’t Notice?

Another day, another instance of an over-aggressive landlord trying to bully a tenant out of a fantastically undervalued rent-controlled apartment:

An Upper East Side landlord cleared out his tenant’s $158-a-month rent-controlled apartment – then dragged the 87-year-old man out of the building when he tried to complain, authorities said yesterday.

Dominick Galofaro, 38, of Brooklyn was released on his own recognizance after being arraigned on felony charges yesterday, authorities said.

Retired Chinatown cook Hop Eng found the lock changed on his fourth-floor walkup at 172 E. 89th St. when he returned Saturday from a two-month vacation in Boston.

When he complained to Galofaro, the landlord told him he had taken over the apartment, said Eng’s son, Peter. “The defendant approached the victim, grabbed him by the hand, and forced him down the stairs and out of the building,” said Barbara Thompson, spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney’s office.

Police arrested Galofaro on Wednesday and let Eng back into his apartment – but all that was left was a calendar, a salt shaker and La-Z-Boy chair.

Eng said, through an interpreter, “99.99% of everything was gone, just missing. “Our memories, clothes, everything. Everything that’s been inside the apartment for 46 years.”

However, never fear, Council Member and Manhattan Borough President hopeful Eva Moskowitz is on the case:

Eng pays just $158.06 for the dilapidated two-bedroom pad, while other tenants pay $1,500 for smaller units. Galofaro bought the building five months ago. Councilwoman Eva Moskowitz was helping Eng find temporary housing yesterday. “This is an outrage,” she said. “This is every tenant’s worst nightmare.”

(Do you sometimes wonder what percentage of renters would take the risk of being thrown out on the streets in exchange for $158-a-month rent? Just asking . . .)