It wasn’t a horse’s head, but it was close.
Construction workers building a community center for an Italian-American group left dead animals outside a 96-year-old woman’s home to intimidate her into tearing down her garage, a new Brooklyn Supreme Court lawsuit charges.
Workers allegedly left a dead cat and pigeons outside Rose Garofalo’s Bensonhurst home after she and her family stood up to a construction boss from D’Onofrio General Contractors Corp.
“They’ve made our lives a living hell . . . When they first started excavation, they never even told us the work was starting. It was like our home was hit by an earthquake,” said niece Libby Garofalo, 65, who lives with her husband, Mel, and his nonagenarian aunt.
“They’ve thrown eggs at my door, too. I swear to God it’s like something out of the ‘Godfather’ movies,” Libby told The Post.
Work began on the Federation of Italian-American Organizations of Brooklyn’s new center on Benson Avenue in 2011, and a construction manager asked the Garofalos for permission to tear down the garage and a wall, the suit says. The family refused and the harassment and threats allegedly started soon after.
They’ve made our lives a living hell . . . When they first started excavation, they never even told us the work was starting. It was like our home was hit by an earthquake.
- Libby Garofalo
Workers urinate through the Garofalos’ front gate, throw lit cigarettes and construction trash in their yard and even “make threats of physical violence as retribution,” according to the lawsuit.
“My Aunt Rose is so afraid of these men, she won’t make another complaint. We’re genuinely afraid,” Libby said.
“Our home is a safe haven for animals. I’ve rescued pigeons, and I have rescued at least five cats,” she added. “Those workers see that I love them and they hurt them and leave them on my front steps.”
Mel Garofalo, 61, said he wouldn’t expect an Italian organization and construction company to pick on his Italian family.
“This neighborhood is predominantly Middle Eastern and Asian and Polish. We are the token Italian people here. I figured we would be the last people the other Italians would want to mess with,” he said.
Neither D’Onofrio nor the Federation of Italian-American Organizations responded to calls and emails seeking comment.