Housing Department seeks home for 85-year-old facing eviction in San Juan
María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado, who has lived in the same rental for 27 years, awaits permanent housing options along with her three dogs after a Thursday eviction attempt was halted.
The short version
- El Nuevo Día reported that Housing Secretary Luis Augusto Martínez Román visited María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado and assured alternatives will be offered next week
- El Vocero reported that the 85-year-old has lived in the Roosevelt urbanization home for 27 years paying $475 monthly and has no close relatives
- El Vocero reported that neighbors alerted authorities after a marshal attempted to carry out the eviction order on Thursday
- El Vocero reported that the Municipality of San Juan offered temporary housing while the Housing Department seeks a permanent solution
Eviction halted
María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado, 85, faces eviction from the two-bedroom rental house in San Juan's Roosevelt urbanization where she has lived for 27 years. El Vocero reported that a marshal went to the property on Thursday to execute an eviction order filed in March but the removal was not completed because government agencies did not arrive at the scene. El Vocero reported
Ortiz Rosado told El Vocero she is willing to leave the property but wants to avoid street placement. She plans to take her three dogs, Nena, Blacky and Hachi, and insists on continuing to pay rent with her own money. The woman said she has no nearby family and that her efforts since March to find new housing on her own had been unsuccessful. Her attorney, Sofía Vázquez Laureano of Proyecto de Ciudad, told El Vocero that the senior has been proactive in searching for private rentals along Avenida Barbosa.
What the sources posted
Posts and statements below are the sources' own words, quoted as published. They are not independently verified.
Es complicado. No me siento muy bien, porque a mí las hipocresías no me gustan.
Our translation: It's complicated. I don't feel very well, because I don't like hypocrisies.
The source's own statement, as quoted by El Vocero. Not verified by PuertoRico.com.
Government response
El Vocero reported that Housing Secretary Luis Augusto Martínez visited the octogenarian. He stated there are no active cases with the department in her name. El Nuevo Día reported that he assured alternatives will be offered next week. El Nuevo Día reported
According to El Vocero, the secretary said the situation is not an isolated case and that the department must identify housing alternatives for which she qualifies to provide a definitive solution with the needed sensitivity. The agency continues to work with the Municipality of San Juan, which offered temporary placement, to secure a safe permanent space that includes her pets. The Department of the Family, through its Administration for Families and Children, told El Vocero it activated protocols to protect the woman's physical and emotional integrity and right to safe housing.
Where the sources differ
Both El Nuevo Día and El Vocero report that Housing Secretary Luis Augusto Martínez visited María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado and that the department is working to provide her with housing alternatives along with the Municipality of San Juan. El Vocero gives her age as 85, states the eviction attempt occurred on Thursday, quotes her directly, and reports the secretary's statement that she has no active cases with the agency. El Nuevo Día reports the secretary's assurance of alternatives next week but does not mention her age, the specific day of the eviction attempt, or the no-active-cases statement. El Vocero was published early on Saturday while El Nuevo Día was published later that day; both describe the visit as recent but use different time references relative to their publication.
What the reports do not say
The reports do not state whether a new eviction date has been set, the identity of the property owner, the reason the eviction order was granted in March, the specific temporary location offered by the Municipality of San Juan, or what permanent housing options may ultimately be presented to Ortiz Rosado and whether she will qualify for them. No information is given on the outcome of the judge's involvement mentioned at the end of one report.
Sources
Every link below was opened and checked when this story was published. Official means a government body, agency or the organization itself; Reporting means a news outlet.
- Official Buscan hogar para María Magdalena: Vivienda espera ofrecerle alternativas la próxima semana a la octogenaria
- Reporting Buscan hogar para María Magdalena: Vivienda espera ofrecerle alternativas la próxima semana a la octogenaria
- Reporting En espera de un hogar María Magdalena y sus tres perros tras intento de desahucio
How we checked this
El Nuevo Día and El Vocero both covered the efforts to house María Magdalena Ortiz Rosado after the eviction situation became public. Details on her statements, the Thursday eviction attempt, her pets, the lack of active Housing Department cases, and comments from her attorney and the founder of Solo Por Hoy rest solely on El Vocero. The assurance of alternatives next week rests on El Nuevo Día.
Compiled by the PuertoRico.com News Desk from the reports and statements listed above, and checked against them before publishing. It does not include original interviews. Spot an error? Email support@puertorico.com with a link to this story.