'Girl from high society': how the granddaughter of a Russian-speaking businessman-millionaire became homeless in New York

Marianne Friedman-Foot once lived in a $ 10 million apartment on Park Avenue. Today she sleeps in Central Park in New York. The sad story of the once rich heiress of a Russian immigrant was published on the site zvez-dec.ru.

“I grew up in a house with a reception hall”

Marianne Friedman-Foot was once a high society girl, the heiress and granddaughter of an influential fabric manufacturer in Manhattan.

Her grandfather, Isidore Kaplan, was an immigrant from the Russian Empire. Until his death, he lived in Essex House, located in southern Manhattan, across from Central Park, the newspaper writes. The New York Times.

Besides heading a house named after him, which he founded in 1919, Isidore Kaplan also owned the factories of Donny Brook Fab rics, Ltd., and Feature Fabrics, Inc. His entire business was located at 220 West 40th Street.

Today, his granddaughter, 63-year-old Marianne Friedman-Foote, spends almost every night in Central Park - just a mile from the $ 10 million Park Avenue apartment in which she grew up.

When Marianne was a child, she had a housekeeper. The girl studied ballet and graduated from a prestigious private school. She studied dance at the famous Calhoun School in the Upper East Side.

Life went downhill after the death of her mother. The woman survived depression, heroin addiction, and in August she was evicted from home. Now she sleeps in the park. “I grew up in a house with a reception hall. Shit happens, doesn't it? ” - said Marianne in an interview with the New York Post.

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After that, she and her husband Frank settled north of the pond in Central Park. Now they store things in garbage bags and sleep on foam mattresses.

$ 10 million apartment

Marianne's childhood went in a luxurious apartment of 370 square meters in a beautiful Art Deco house at Park Avenue, 940. Today this apartment costs $ 10 million. But after the death of her mother, Marianne, along with her sister Georgia, sold her for only $ 3 million, and spent the money.

The woman did not have good memories of her childhood: her mother was often depressed and suffered from panic attacks. “I remember that my mother was sitting in the dressing room like that,” says Marianne and stoops over on the park bench.

In the graduation photo of 1971, Marianne has long hair, a wide smile and a carefree look.

When life went downhill

Grandfather Marianne died in 1970. Her mother sold the family business for several million. Then Marianne left her home.

The girl graduated from Boston University and became a nurse. Then she first got married. She had a daughter, Giselle. Soon the marriage broke up, the couple divorced.

An ex-husband took their common child and left for Florida. The last time Marianne saw her daughter when she was three years old. She still clearly remembers what Giselle was wearing: “She was wearing a blue T-shirt and a hem with white crosses, checkers on the sides. I still see her. It gnaws me every day. Especially when I see children in the park. This is not good. Here is no longer sarcasm. Please, change the subject. ”

Marianne lost contact with her sister and mother. According to her, the sister believed that the ex-husband should get custody of Giselle.

Marianne had depression, then heroin addiction. She took methadone four times a week for six years.

"We were letting money down like crazy"

When her mother died, she and her sister halved the remaining inheritance of three million dollars. Together with her new husband, Frank, in 2000, they bought a house in Amityville on Long Island. But then there was a financial crisis and they lost their homes. “We were just letting my mother’s money go crazy,” Marianne said.

As a result, the family was forced to stay in the apartment of a friend who had already introduced their current spouses, Donna Eltinger. The woman had cirrhosis and lung cancer. Marianne and Frank began courting her. Donna died three years ago, and in August 2019 the couple was kicked out of her apartment.

The lawyer undertook the case of the spouses at no cost. He hopes that city officials will find housing for them.

In the meantime, Marianne and Frank stop as much as possible with friends. A woman tries not to lose her sense of humor and presence of mind.

“I don’t believe in suicide, but if I can’t find some bit of humor, at least something, I will climb the highest tree and jump. I need to find something that will help me survive all this, ”says Marianne.