This past Mother’s Day, Carmen Vazquez was not able to celebrate with her youngest daughter.  In fact, while she said she talks to 11-year-old Megan Mateo roughly every other day by telephone, Vasquez has not seen her in person for more than 2 months.

Earlier this year, a housing court judge upheld the petition of her landlord, Alliance Housing II Associates , to evict Vazquez her from her home at 88 W. 167th Street.

Since then, the court has stayed the eviction warrant several times, and a City Marshal is yet to post a notice of possession on her door.  Still, Vazquez says the fear that, any day, she and her family could be removed from their home is strong enough that she sent
Megan to live with godparents in Long Island.

“You don’t want to have your child unstable,” Vazquez explained, “not knowing if they are coming to lock you out.”

Vasquez’ troubles began in September 2006, when she received a letter from property manager Miriam Rodriguez stating that her lease would be terminated. The letter charged that Vasquez, a Section 8 recipient, had consistently refused to produce the necessary documentation to recertify her eligibility for public assistance, which she is required to do annually.

Vasquez said her landlord began last winter to demand full market value rent for the unit, which Vasquez said was roughly $1200/month. In contradiction to the letter from Rodriguez, she said that it was actually  Alliance Housing II Associates who repeatedly stalled in submitting documents to the city until the recertification deadline had passed.

In a telephone interview, Rodriguez said that Vasquez’ husband was sharing the premises with her without reporting his income, and that there were reports of illegal activity at her home. However, neither of these accusations is mentioned in the letter informing Vasquez that her lease was being terminated.

“She’s lying through her teeth,” Vasquez said. 

Others tenants said management left hostile notices in their mail slots or dragged them into housing court consistently.  “OB” produced a series of letters addressed to her by Alliance Housing II Associates. The letters accused her of leaving her children unattended, with the alleged result being destruction and defacement of property.
OB said management did not offer proof of the accusations.

Melinda Rodriguez says management has sent her notices asking for as much as $1100 in back rent. Rodriguez also said she has been taken to housing court constantly for the past six years by her landlord.
A May 16, 2006 letter identified 18 residents who were being asked to contact management regarding rent payments.

Vasquez speculates that Miriam Rodriguez is trying to evict her to move in tenants who will pay higher rents than her Section 8 status allowed. Housing advocates said that, while not familiar with or able to comment specifically on Alliance Housing II Associates, this was a phenomenon they had observed in general.
“I’ve seen the landlords say ‘We don’t have to take your Section 8 anymore’ and then bring lawsuits in court for the non-Section 8 rent, which they know the tenants can’t pay,” said Judith Goldiner, an attorney with the Legal Aid Society.

Rodriguez emphatically denied she is trying to force Section 8 tenants out of Alliance-owned apartments, which include several properties on Anderson, Woodycrest, and Nelson Avenues, as well as W. 166th and W. 167th Streets. Rodriguez said the only conflicts she had with tenants were caused by delinquency in rent payments or other violations of the lease. “I have a good understanding with a lot of my tenants,” Rodriguez said. “If they have a problem with rent, they can come and speak to me.”