After suffering a spinal cord injury and undergoing an operation yesterday, Vangelis Kapatos—the man whose nine-story suicidal jump was cushioned by a pile of trash that had accumulated during the blizzard—could possibly wind up paralyzed. His aunt told the Daily News that he will undergo another operation today, and explained why he jumped. After a harsh breakup and his father being diagnosed with cancer, his aunt says the last straw was learning that his building was going co-op.
Once his West 45th Street building flipped, a sponsor bought his $572-a-month apartment where he grew up and filed a suit to get him out. Kapatos's father had already moved out, but his lawyer said, "He had lived there his whole life and under succession rights the apartment was his. But he was very worried he would lose. There was no merit to the landlord's case, which makes this very, very shocking." He reportedly suffered a nervous breakdown in Housing Court last month.
His landlord* had a less sympathetic story for the Post, painting Kapatos as a deadbeat who needed to be kicked out. Jacques Michaane said, "He's an idiot because he tried to commit suicide and he failed. He's a danger to himself and a danger to everybody else. Nobody has paid rent in that apartment for almost two years. How about somebody pay the rent?...I met with him. He's mentally disturbed." His ex-girlfriend also said he abused drugs and alcohol, and frequently spoke about suicide. "He's always talked about ending it," she said. "He would say he should never have been born."
[UPDATE] Doctors have now told Kapatos's relatives that he will be left with some leg paralysis from his spinal injuries. His aunt, Katharina Capatos (she spells her name differently) told the Post, "I don't know if I should believe in a miracle. But he's going to be paralyzed. That's what they told us."
*Michaane represents the shareholder/landlord of Kapatos' apartment, but is not a representative of the building. The owners of the building have not started eviction proceedings.
