Can the City really not find an apartment for one elderly woman? Flatbush octogenerian still homeless.

FLATBUSH – It has not been easy reading the stories about the very elderly in our communities on the brink of eviction, or being evicted. They are well into their 80s or 90s, frail, in need of a home that is not the street, and many are in need of visiting nurse services or help from home health aides.

We wrote about the outrageous way that an 85-year-old was evicted from her apartment while away for medical care, after she had checked with the courts to make sure there were no cases from her aggressive and notorious landlord – Carnegie Management filed against her. Ms. Joy P. Noel was evicted never the less – with no notice and with her name misspelled on court documents.

The elderly Ms. Noel is still homeless, sleeping on the sofas of acquaintances, and this is taking a severe physical toll her. “My whole body collapsed,” Ms. Noel told us. “My stomach got hard and I couldn’t move. My body collapsed because of my living conditions.”

It was clearly painful for Ms. Noel to speak about her experiences and she was crying while telling us her story. “This is happening in the USA, it’s not fair,” she said. “I never did nothing wrong.”

The landlord, Isaac Jacobovitz of Carnegie Management, obtained two adjournments in housing court after promising the judge they would provide her with an apartment, so far – no apartment.

NYC Human Resources Administration (HRA) has confirmed to the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, a coalition of neighborhood Tenant Associations in Flatbush and Southern Crown Heights who are working to help find a place for Ms. Noel, that Ms. Noel will be receiving a voucher to help with rent – she had that prior to being evicted. HRA is looking for an apartment for her but again, nothing as of yet.

“We want the community to reach out to their elected officials and to tell them to call the HRA so that they can find her a place as soon as possible,” Estefania Trujillo of the Flatbush Tenant Coalition told us. “Ms. Noel should start the year in a new home in the community that she has lived in for more than 20 years. Let’s bring her back to Flatbush!”

“I need a home where I can get home care,” Ms. Noel said. “I’m weak as a feather, even more than that. This is not good.” She was hospitalized last week and is now in desperate need of visiting home medical care. Care that cannot be properly provided while Ms. Noel is on a couch.

Ms. Noel will be back in housing court on January 9th at 9:30 am, Room 406.

Can the City really not find an apartment for one elderly woman? The numbers for the relevant elected officials are as follows:

Council Member Mathieu Eugene: (718) 287-8762

Mayor: 311

Assembly Woman Rodneyse Bichotte: (718) 940-0428

State Senator Kevin Parker: (718) 629-6401

Additional reporting by Zainab Iqbal