The eviction epidemic is afflicting real New Yorkers just trying to get by. Patanjali Nath, 52, is one of those people.
Patanjali Nath and his wife lost their apartment after a foreclosure sale. Bachner for News
In April, he was served with eviction papers from Wells Fargo Bank. Nath rented a second-floor apartment at 97-12 77th St. in Ozone Park and Wells Fargo had acquired the property at a February foreclosure sale.
Nath, a security guard, went to Queens Housing Court and was given two months to leave. In June, he moved into a basement apartment in Richmond Hill with his wife and two children, 13 and 14.
"I no happy," said Nath, a Bangladesh national. He has struggled to pay the rent, which nearly doubled from $625 to $1,100.
"Now, I spend my saving money," he said.
Nath's landlord Shaheen Batel, 36, was also served with eviction papers. She lost the house after she got sick and could not work.
Like Nath, Batel was given until June to leave. In June, she had still not found a new home and was given until August to leave.
"I had known it was coming, but I didn't know it would be so quick," she said.
Batel and her family found an apartment around the corner on 78th St.
"It's been really hard adjusting to living in a rental, in a smaller place," she said.
