83-year-old might get kicked out of apartment for taking too many cookies, other violations
FAIRFAX, Va. - The first indication that 83-year-old Elsie Cruey could be kicked out of her apartment came in an email in June.
The subject line read, "Notice of Lease Violation."
Within the email, in red, impossible-to-miss print, appeared this warning: "Failure to immediately comply with the required action will result in all remedies available under the lease contract, including negatively impacting the ability to remain in the community."
So, what had the grandmother of five (and great-grandmother of five) done? Had she not paid her rent on time? Had she failed to keep her place clean? Was she using the apartment to conduct illegal business?
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Her violation, according to that email, was that she had taken too many cookies from a community event. That's right. She was warned that she could lose her home because of cookies. The email outlined her offense, her supposed confession and her responsibility going forward:
"On 06/12/2019 - The Resident was stopped from taking a partial gallon of milk by the Assistant Community Manager at Breakfast," it reads. "During Mix and Mingle the Resident was observed by the Community Manager taking a plate full of cookies."
"On 06/13/2019, the resident and Community Manager had a conversation and the resident admitted to taking the cookies and having them with milk before bedtime."
"The Resident must immediately cease taking and/or attempting to remove food, beverages and other service items from the community events."
Cruey gets upset whenever the conversation turns to that email. The apartment complex, called Overture Fair Ridge, is intended for people age 62 and older, and since moving there in May 2018, she has formed friendships. She insists her friends baked those cookies and gave them to her to try. She says the Mix and Mingle was at 4:30 p.m., too late to eat them, so she shared them with two women the next day.
"I don't appreciate them sending notes about me and lies about me," Cruey says on a recent afternoon as she sits in her tidy, one-bedroom apartment.
She was the daughter of a coal miner and the wife of a soldier. She has known poverty and has raised three children while worrying about her husband's safety. She doesn't easily get emotional. But on this day, her daughter Sandra Cruey sits on a nearby sofa and watches her mother wipe away tears. At first, she dabs them gently with a tissue that she quickly tucks out of sight. Later, she rubs them with her palms.
Elsie Cruey hasn't told many of her friends what she has known for a month: She may soon have to leave.
On Sept. 16, another email arrived. This time, it contained a letter that held the title "Notice of Lease Termination" and described a violation as "not remediable."
This one, like the previous one, was sent to Sandra Cruey because her name is on the lease. A copy was also left on her mother's door. It informed them that they needed to "surrender and vacate possession to the premises" by Oct. 17.
Or put more simply, Elsie Cruey is expected to pack up and get out by Thursday. If she doesn't, the letter advises, the landlord will take the matter to a court.
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One former Overture resident, who spoke to me on the condition of anonymity because she still has friends who live there, says Cruey's situation is not unique. She describes other residents receiving lease violations for cursing or taking an extra pork sausage at the free breakfast that is offered. She says people worry these violations will cause their rents to go up and some stay home out of fear they might get evicted.
https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/83-year-old-might-get-kicked-out-of-apartment-for-14539572.php
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