Woman, 80, Fighting Eviction from Her Mission District Home of 43 Years

An 80-year-old woman is fighting to stay at her home of nearly 44 years in San Francisco's Mission District, even though her landlords are trying to evict her, according to organizers providing assistance to the woman. About 50 people rallied outside the landlord's office, Joseph Galu Realty located at 3243 24th St., to show support for Maria del Carmen Pagan.

Pagan, who suffers from a disability, received a notice nearly two months ago from the landlord regarding a hoarding issue. Since then Pagan has thoroughly cleaned her apartment and mitigated the issue, according to organizers with Causa Justa, who are providing assistance to Pagan.

Then on Tuesday Pagan received a notice that sheriff's deputies would be at her house on Wednesday to help evict her, spokeswoman for Causa Justa Maria Zamudio said. Pagan's lawyers were able to get her a one-week extension, which delayed her eviction until May 18, according to Zamudio.

Pagan is being represented by a team at Legal Assistance to the Elderly. Pagan has lived at 3172 24th St. for more than 43 years, and said if she is evicted, she will have nowhere to go.

"At this point, the landlord has full capacity to drop this eviction, even though a judge has already said that this eviction is going to go through," Zamudio said. "It's really up to the landlord if he wants to be the kind of landlord that evicts an 80-year-old resident of 43 years."

The organization is demanding that Joseph Galu Realty not only stop the eviction process but that they also provide repairs to Pagan's apartment, which is in need of new carpets and has mold and water damage, according to Zamudio.

Attorney Frank Kim, who is representing Joseph Galu Realty, said he was working on a deal with Pagan's lawyers to get her to stay there, but declined to comment any further. Pagan's lawyers are set to appear in court on Tuesday.

By Bay City News

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