Teresa Cruz says she has lived in her apartment for seven years, but has been fighting eviction for several months now.

 

She lives directly above Neir’s Tavern, the bar the mayor and other city officials rescued from closure last week by securing a new agreement with the building’s owner.

She says her landlord has not been willing to negotiate with her.

“He don’t say nothing. Only move. I need the apartment. You have 30 days to move,” said Cruz.

The landlord did negotiate with the owner of the 190-year-old historic tavern, which was on the brink of closure when the city stepped in.

That deal has given Cruz and her advocates some hope that she might now be able to stay in the apartment she shares with three other family members.

“I’m feeling good that the mayor helped the bar. I hope there’s help for my situation,” said Cruz.

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Cruz has been working with the advocacy group Make the Road New York.

“We’ve been fighting this case since last summer, more or less, and we have been figuring out what defenses she has and how we can keep her in this home,” said Aura Zuniga, an attorney for Make The Road New York.

Make The Road is claiming that the building should be rent stabilized and that Cruz should be able to stay. They said she doesn’t mind paying an increase on the rent, which is now $1,375, because she wants to stay. They are due back in court next week.

“They offered her like $2,500 in 30 days to move out. We have not gotten a bigger offer. We’ve gotten a $3,000 offer with the same time to move out, and no other proposals have been put on the table. They have not been open to anything else,” said Zuniga.

Cruz's attorney says they have a scheduled phone call with the Mayor's Office on Friday.

Our attempts to reach the landlord and their attorneys were unsuccessful.