Woman fights New York City Housing Authority over right to home

On Behalf of | Nov 7, 2016 | Landlord/Tenant Matters, New York City Real Estate Law Blog

When a real estate dispute erupts between a housing authority and a tenant, the results may not be in favor of allowing a tenant to stay. In some cases, this might violate a tenant’s rights, in which case a tenant might want to appeal. That’s what’s happening in this case, which has caught the media’s attention.

A lifelong resident in Brooklyn’s Pink Houses may be forced to leave her home, because the New York City Housing Authority claims that she has never been a tenant. This is an odd accusation, since this woman grew up in the home. Today, she’s 20 years old and facing eviction all because her mother never listed her on the apartment’s family composition records.

You would think that it would be easy for the NYCHA to look at other records of her living in the home and to correct their inaccurate records. Even though it should be easy, the NYCHA has ruled that she no longer has the right to remain in the apartment. The agency completely disregarded over 200 pages of documents that showed that the woman lived there from 1996 until present.

Working with her attorney, they amassed more than 200 pages of records from hospitals, courts and the Administration for Children’s Services. They collected anything they could to show that she had been living in the apartment and that the woman who had passed away was her mother.

The agency refused to have a new hearing for the woman and told her to take it to court. That’s what she’s doing, and she’ll be heading to the Manhattan Supreme Court with her case against the agency shortly. Until the case is reviewed and a determination is made, she will be allowed to remain in the apartment.

If you find yourself in a similar situation, know that all is not lost. Agencies like this can make mistakes, and you have the right to question any determinations they make.

Source: New York Daily News, “Exclusive: Life-long resident at Brooklyn NYCHA home faces eviction because her late mother never added her name to list,” John Marzulli, Oct. 27, 2016

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