María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado, 85, will move with her pets into public housing after accepting one of the relocation options offered by the Puerto Rico Housing Department. She faces an eviction order on the home in the Roosevelt neighborhood of San Juan, where she lived for 27 years, and must leave before November 18. Nivia Díaz Pacheco, the department’s assistant secretary for Housing Subsidy and Community Development, said Ortiz chose a public housing residential project after close communication with her lawyer, and that the lease signing and utilities arrangements are about to be completed.
Díaz announced it at the En Récord press conference at La Fortaleza. Ortiz visited the complex on Friday and decided on Monday; the location was not disclosed out of respect for her privacy. On April 6, Superior Judge Glenn Velázquez Morales ruled for the owner, Jeannette Marina Negrón Ramírez, ordering the eviction and requiring Ortiz to pay $3,130 owed plus other costs.
The August 24 eviction was delayed to October 8 after a request from the Office of the Ombudsman for the Elderly (Oppea), then suspended on October 8 because Family Department and Oppea staff were absent; the owner asked the judge to have the agencies show cause and be sanctioned. Housing Secretary Luis Augusto Martínez visited her on October 9 and ordered the process sped up.
Her lawyer, Sofía Vázquez Laureano of the Oficina Legal de la Comunidad (Proyecto DeCiudad), said the relocation was rushed and that Housing only sought alternatives after the October 8 date. She confirmed the unit is in good condition and allows her three dogs. Bailiffs will return on November 18 to formally hand the property to the owner.