Jeannie Kraph has lived in the same apartment in Williamsburg, New York, for 50 years. In this rapidly gentrifying neighborhood, she currently pays $150 per month for her rent-controlled apartment, while comparable apartments are going for $1,500 per month. Kraph's landlord and the cooperative that owns the building issued Kraph an eviction notice on September 11, 2007, and she has been in housing court ever since.

Kraph, represented by Susan Barrie at LSC-funded Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, claims the motivation for the eviction is to increase the profitability of the apartment and to continue gentrifying the neighborhood. Members of the co-op say that debris, a cockroach infestation, and odors in the apartment justify the eviction. On inspection, the court found the apartment clean, but in need of an exterminator and someone to repair the floors.

At the most recent housing court appearance on March 12, 2007, the co-op proposed a settlement in which it would fully renovate Kraph's apartment and raise her rent to $250 per month. Kraph has not yet decided whether to settle the case.

Source:
James Fanelli, Tenant: Greed Turns Sweet Rent Deal Sour, Newsday (New York), Mar. 13, 2007.