ABSTRACT
Meri had covered a lot of territory since she had first submitted her application for public housing in 1968. Among the agencies she asked for help (in addition to informal local advocates) were the Mobilization for Youth, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Councilwoman Miriam Friedlander, and Adopt-a-Building, a local organization that took over dilapidated city-owned buildings and rehabilitated them using local human power. In order to have impeccable credentials, she had paid exorbitant Con Ed bills, even though I had presented her case to the Public Service Commission for investigation because it looked as if her landlord was hooked into her meter. Although the investigation would take a long time, she had to have a perfect record of paying in the meanwhile. She also kept all the receipts for her timely payments of rent, and she had obtained letters from her past landlords, testifying to her diligence. In addition she had obtained a letter from Bellevue Hospital attesting to her oldest son Julio's and her own severe asthmatic condition. But nothing seemed to work.
