Elected officials from all across Brooklyn came together today in East Flatbush to protest the wrongful eviction of one Ms. Joy P. Noel.
Councilmember Jumaane Williams (D-Flatbush, East Flatbush, Midwood), Councilmember Mathieu Eugene, (D-Prospect Park Lefferts Gardens, Flatbush, Ditmas Park) and Democratic District Leader Josue Pierre along with over 50 representatives of the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, convened in the lobby of Noel’s former residence at 585 East 21st Street demanding that the elderly tenant be given her home back.
“We, the members of the Flatbush Tenant Coalition, are standing with Ms. Noel today because she is a senior who was unjustly evicted by her ‘predatory’ landlord who believes Ms. Noel has no one to support her,” said Beverly Rivers, Flatbush Tenant Coalition leader.
Noel, who had lived in said apartment for more than 20 years, was unexpectedly kicked out of her home when her landlord, Issac Jacobowitz of Carnegie Management, Inc., started an eviction proceeding against her, accusing her of failing to sign a lease renewal.
This is really the first time I’ve known of a substantial case where someone’s being evicted for not signing the lease,” said Williams. “That’s important, because there’s so many mechanisms in there, so many times when someone can sign a lease; even when they pass the time, they’re usually allowed to sign the lease if something happens. This is some malicious, egregious intent by this landlord to evict an elderly woman.”
Noel never showed up to the court case – because she never knew about it. The case was filed to the wrong zip code, and her name was misspelled. The court proceedings went on without her while she was away for medical treatment, and she “lost” the case by default. By the time she returned to her building, all of her possessions were removed and placed into storage. Currently, said possessions are slated to be auctioned off on Nov. 20.
When news of the eviction spread throughout Brooklyn, the borough’s biggest names came together to defend the longtime tenant and demand that she receive the justice she’s entitled to.
“As we gather here today as a collective community, we are demanding the following,” said Estefania Trujillo, an organizer for the Flatbush Tenant Coalition. “Number one, that Miss Noel returns to her original apartment, and that when she is getting all of those things done, she gets a home temporarily, because no one should be homeless for something that was unfairly done. Number two, that her belongings are safe and accessible. Number three, lastly, that her landlord Isaac Jacobowitz pay for his actions, of not only evicting Miss Noel, but other tenants in this building that are no longer here with us.”
By Noel’s account, her eviction is just one part of Jacobowitz’s aggressive attempts to deregulate her apartment building, taking advantage of weak rent laws in the borough.
“Housing is a basic human necessity,” said Noel. “But Carnegie Management and other landlords are making it a commodity. We demand that this landlord stops the harassing, and gives me back my home.”
Jacob Friedman, an operations manager for Carnegie Management, was accosted by the protesters when he tried to walk through the lobby of the building. Friedman admitted that he knew about Noel’s case, but was not personally involved in it, which did little to quell the protesters, some of whom badgered him with cries of, “Shame! Shame!”
When Friedman suggested the possibility that Noel was evicted for owing money, Williams was quick to point out that Noel’s eviction was a holdover – meaning it had nothing to with her ability to keep up with rent payments.
Noel concluded with a declaration that this press conference wasn’t just about her, but also about all of the tenants across Brooklyn who were wrongfully evicted.
“We are gathered here today not for Joy P. Noel, but to bring justice to our community,” said Noel. “I am asking one and all to hold hands together, and to stop this advantage.”
Currently, a fundraiser to get Noel reinstated and stop the auction on her belongings has raised $585 of its $1,400 goal. It can be accessed at www.razoo.com/story/Joypnoel.
