UWS Building Super Found Shot in Apartment

The 26-year-old superintendent of 317 West 89th Street on the Upper West Side was found shot to death in his apartment. Police say that a doorman found Alen Gjonbalaj's body in his apartment hallway yesterday morning at 11:30AM; apparently Gjonbalaj hadn't been seen since a party he held earlier in the week. The doorman also found the super's front apartment door unlocked.

Gjonbalaj had been convicted of drug possession in 2002 and had served 17 months in jail, leading some to suspect drug dealing as a motive. Some residents said that strangers visited his apartment frequently and the police say drugs were found in the apartment. The police also took Gjonbalaj's Mercedes-Benz C20.

Some other details from residents: They told the Times that the building's front door lock had been broken for a week and told Newsday that Gjonbolaj "sometimes shirked his superintendent work." Gjonbalaj's father, who is a super in a nearby building owned by the same management company and sometimes helped his son with his duties, was seen at 317 West 89th yesterday afternoon, weeping.