A tenant of a single-room-occupancy residence on the Upper West Side allegedly stabbed and killed the building manager for not assigning him a different room. According to police, 56-year-old John Baisley was stabbed multiple times around 12:30 a.m. Friday morning. 34-year-old Bernardo Paulino was arrested and charged with second-degree murder. "Blood was everywhere in the elevator and in the hallway,” a tenant told the Daily News. Some residents said that Paulino used crystal meth, and may have been high at the time of the attack.
Police apparently struggled with Paulino before apprehending him, as he reportedly shouted, "Get the fuck out of my room" when authorities confronted him.
The paper notes that the building at 206 West 95th Street serves as an interim home for HIV patients, but another 21-year-old resident says, "Half of these tenants are on drugs." The woman, who gave her name as Shakira, added, "I feel like this is a travesty. It's a horrible situation." Some SROs have the notorious reputation for being run-down and rampant with drug activity.
