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Queens families displaced by Ida get temporary reprieve from hotel eviction

By FOX 5 NY Staff
Updated  November 20, 2021 8:24am EST
East Elmhurst
FOX 5 NY

NYC residents still displaced

Several families that were displaced by the damage caused by the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida have been living in a hotel in Queens. But the city has informed them they will have to be relocated to shelters in Downtown Brooklyn.

NEW YORK - Eileen Bendoyro, a single mother, has been living at the Radisson Hotel near JFK Airport for over two months after Ida destroyed her East Elmhurst apartment. She said water went up to her waist and damaged all of her belongings.

Last week, the NYC Department of Housing Preservation and Development sent her and other families staying at the hotel a letter notifying them that their stay at the hotel in Queens is over and that they will be relocated to shelters in Downtown Brooklyn.

Bendoyro said the location is too far for her kids to get to school and for her to get to work. She reached out to state lawmakers, including Sen. Jessica Ramos, for help.

HPD told FOX 5 NY it has reached a new agreement and that displaced families will be allowed to stay at the hotel for at least three more months. It is a temporary solution while many residents continue to look for a new place to call home.

President Biden surveys storm damage in New Jersey and Queens

Despite receiving help from FEMA, a lot of residents displaced from Ida have yet to find permanent housing. Lawmakers say that points to a bigger problem: a lack of affordable housing in the city.

HPD is also working with other agencies to help families find apartments, officials said.

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