Borough President Ruben Diaz, Jr. held a press conference on Thursday, April 11 to highlight a specific case of tenant neglect allegedly carried out by NYCHA.
Diaz discussed the case of Beinvenido Martinez, a 72-year old former resident of NYCHA’s Union Avenue Consolidation who was evicted late last year from his apartment while he recovered from an emergency above-the-knee leg amputation in Beth Abraham Center after he didn’t pay over $800 in past due rent while being hospitalized.
Adding insult to injury, NYCHA allegedly disposed of his belongings in the garbage, rather than putting them in storage as is required by law.
NYCHA also allegedly disposed of his state identification, birth certificate, Social Security and other difficult-to-replace documents.
A Centers Health Care spokesman confirmed that Beth Abraham Center and its social workers attempted to return Martinez to his apartment, but were unsuccessful.
Beth Abraham Center is allowing Martinez to reside at its facility while his housing situation is rectified.
Diaz has been working on Martinez’s case for several months.
In March, the borough president sent a letter to Kathryn Garcia, interim NYCHA chairwoman and CEO, regarding the case, to which the agency has not yet replied.
Diaz closed the press conference by demanding that NYCHA provide Martinez with a new apartment and compensate him for his lost possessions.
