Conflict with the landlord: a teenager from Brooklyn is being illegally evicted in the midst of a pandemic

A teenager from Brooklyn fights alone for the right to stay in the apartment he rents with his father. The family had problems paying after his father suffered a stroke and his student son was unable to find a job and pay rent on his own. Despite the existence of a lease agreement, all the family's personal belongings were taken out, and the door lock was changed. So the guy went to the police. He does not want to move out, having conceded in this conflict - he worries that the owner of the home will do this to someone else. The edition writes about it Daily News.

Edward Wosu Jr., 18, a theater student at Brooklyn College, lives in a brick house on 85th Street in Brooklyn. The building is owned by Agnes Jackson.

In February, Jackson filed a petition to evict tenants at Brooklyn Housing Court. Since then, Vosu has been fighting for the right to stay in the place that he considers his home since the age of 8.

The conflict with Jackson began on Christmas 2019, when Edward Vosu Sr. suffered a stroke. Now an immigrant from Nigeria is recovering at a rehabilitation center. Because he lost his job as a salesman, he was unable to pay the rent.

In the spring, Vosu Jr. switched to online education at Brooklyn College. He is currently taking summer acting classes at the Police Sports League and looking for a job, but finding one is difficult in the midst of the pandemic.

His uncle Edwin, who occasionally contributed $ 1500 in rent, eventually decided to move out, tired of the landlord's constant attempts to evict them. So Vosu Jr. was left alone with his problem. “She screamed. It was really crazy, ”he said of the landlord's behavior. - I don't live in a very good apartment. It's a basement, but I've been here for ten years. I have memories. "

Once, the guy noted, Jackson called the police and accused him of threatening her. Edward denies this.

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In June, the mistress of the house changed the locks. And on Saturday, August 8, Vosu returned home to find that the locks were changed again. All the guy's personal belongings disappeared, and his copy of the agreement with the landlord also disappeared. Jackson denies being involved.

Gardy Brazela, chairman of the 18th Brooklyn Community, helped Vos find a place to sleep before the carpenters could open the outer steel door. He confirmed that the teenager's belongings had been taken out of the apartment. “We called the carpenter and he opened the door,” he said. "She left the child with nothing."

Now the apartment has no stove, according to Vosu and Brasela, the teenager has only a mattress, blanket and pillow.

At least twice, Vosu asked his friend to come over to witness his conflicts with Jackson in case the woman called the police again. Now the tenant and the landlord seem to have switched places. Vosu himself went to the police to report the removal of his belongings and the change of locks.

Jackson said that she sees the situation differently. She called Vosu Jr. "illegal" and said that he, like his father, did not have a lease. Vosu Jr. said it was a lie.

“He has a mother and he has to leave this place,” said the owner of the apartment. Jackson also denies taking out Vos's belongings. She says the teen turned her home into a breeding ground for cockroaches, adding that he needed "psychological help."

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NYPD did not confirm whether Jackson or Vosu filed complaints against each other.

Financial strains following the shutdown of businesses in the wake of the pandemic prompted New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to impose a moratorium on evictions. He renewed this order last week. And on August 10, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the launch of a new portal for tenants facing eviction.

But Vosu is worried and depressed. The teen is now seeking free legal aid through the City's Tenant Eviction Assistance Program. “My dad keeps telling me to get up and leave,” he said. "But I don't want her to think that you can do that to any other tenant."