War of the Roses, Borough Park Style

Here’s a story that will make some married renters take heart. Chana and Simon Taub built their Borough Park dream house in 1985: a five-bedroom, three-and-a-half bath, two-garage brick job with a mahogany spiral staircase and green marble walls. When the marriage fell apart, though, they could not agree on who should lay claim to their creation. So they’re sharing it. Sort of. They’ve essentially divided it in half, courtesy of some plywood planks, and now they spend their days duking out the details in and out of court. “The house that had been the Taubs’ showpiece became a front in their domestic war, one involving more than a dozen attorneys and allegations of abuse, corruption, libel, perjury, fraud and forgery,” reports the NY Times’ Key magazine. “In the three years since Chana Taub filed for divorce, the couple has spent more money in litigation over the house than the house itself is worth.” The suffering they endure is both emotional and physical; Simon controls the A/C switch, and “now the only way for Chana to get to her car from inside the house is to crouch down and shuffle under the staircase.” For her part, Chana still sleeps in the bed Simon has demanded back in the divorce.
Love Their House, but . . . They Loathe Each Other [Key Magazine]
Photo by Kate Leonova for Property Shark