Inset: images posted in the building's lobby included a photo of Hitler and a Jim Crow-like caricature. The outside of the building is flanked by two Uncle Sam statues. View Full Caption DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly

SUNNYSIDE — The city has launched an investigation into the property manager who neighbors say filled their condo lobby with a number of offensive images including pro-gun posters and pictures of Hitler, Stalin and Mussolini.

The NYC Commission on Human Rights is currently investigating reports of tenant harassment at 47-55 39th Place, where officials say condo board member Neal Milano has "terrified" neighbors with his bizarre display of images in the lobby, as well as threatening them with fines and evictions if they break his rules.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has also opened an investigation into residents' complaints, according a spokeswoman for his office.

"There's no question that people are living in fear, there’s no question that people are very, very afraid of retaliation," Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer said at a press conference announcing the investigation Tuesday, at which city staff handed out pamphlets to Sunnyside residents about tenants' rights.

On Monday, a vigilante activist entered the building near 48th Avenue and tore down some of the controversial images on the first floor, including a World War II display that featured Joseph Stalin, Benito Mussolini and a picture of Adolf Hitler doing a Nazi salute alongside a swastika.

Hollis Pfitsch, a deputy commissioner at the city's Commission on Human Rights, said the agency is currently interviewing residents at Milano's building to investigate what's been reported as "a pattern of threatening and harassing behavior."

If civil rights violations are found to have taken place, Milano could be forced to compensate affected tenants for emotional distress, and could potentially face civil penalties of up to $250,000.

"We're looking for people to step forward and file formal complaints based on their experience," Pfitsch said.

Van Bramer said tenants in the 39th Place condominium building are afraid to speak out because they are "terrified" of Milano, who has reportedly told neighbors that he owns guns, according to the councilman.

Tenants previously told DNAinfo New York that the property manager has slapped Donald Trump stickers on their doors without permission and sent out letters to everyone in the building accusing residents by name of various misdeeds, from not properly sorting their recycling to having guests stay overnight.

Some of the other images displayed in the lobby of the building at 47-55 39th Place. (DNAinfo/Jeanmarie Evelly)

Though some of the most jarring images posted in the building's lobby were torn down, the space was still plastered with a number of other images Monday. It included American flags and a 9/11 tribute, as well as a poster of gangster Al Capone, a Jim Crow-era caricature of a black man and stickers supporting President Trump's plan to "Build the Wall."

"Just removing the poster or one of the posters does not remove the fear that people are living under in their building," Van Bramer said.

The property is home to a mix of condo owners and tenants who rent from them, though Milano appears to be the property's only publicly identified board member, officials and residents said.

"[He] is essentially the only person in charge of the building," Van Bramer said.

Milano is believed to be on a trip overseas, and messages left for a number listed as the building's board of managers were not returned. Milano's attorney also did not return calls seeking comment.

The city says it's cracking down on discriminatory housing practices, with the Commission on Human Rights currently investigating 565 such claims, 75 of which involve tenant harassment, according to the agency.

Last year, reports of "discriminatory harassment" — when someone uses physical force, threatens or interferes with another's legal rights based on their race, religion, immigration status, sexual orientation or other protected class — skyrocketed 480 percent in the city, with 203 incidents reported in 2016 compared to just 35 in 2015, officials said.