#NYC woman wins motion to stave off eviction — months after her death

A Bronx woman fighting eviction won a reprieve in housing court — even though she’s dead.

Pamela Williamson died May 6 of cancer, after battling for more than a year to stay in the two-bedroom apartment she shared with her fiance and 18-year-old son after the landlord claimed she owed $2,300.

The mom said her rent was covered by the federally funded Section 8 program and accused the landlord, Daly 180 Housing Development Fund Corp., of miscalculating the arrears.

But the case was repeatedly delayed, until the pandemic shuttered in-person hearings in New York’s courts.

By the time a July 23 virtual hearing was held, Williamson had died of cancer.

Her Legal Aid lawyer asked to withdraw from the case, while the landlord pushed to evict Williamson’s 18-year-old son, Terry Wainsaiu, from the apartment.

Faced with a choice of booting Wainsaiu in the wake of the “unusual circumstances” of his mom’s death and the pandemic, Housing Court Judge Diane Lutwak called the decision a “novel question,” and chose to let Wainsaiu stay until someone comes forward on behalf of Williamson’s estate.

“It’s been hard, but I’ve been getting through it, trying to stay focused,” said Wainsaiu, who attends Borough of Manhattan Community College.