Water damage forces Hempstead woman out of her apartment

Carolyn Morrison, or "Nonie Baker" as everyone knows her, relies on a walker and has lived in the same unit on Columbia Street for over a decade.

News 12 Staff

Jul 13, 2024, 10:11 PM

Updated 147 days ago

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A Hempstead woman says she has nowhere else to go since she was forced out of her apartment due to water damaged caused by a burst valve.
Carolyn Morrison, or "Nonie Baker" as everyone knows her, relies on a walker and has lived in the same unit on Columbia Street for over a decade. She says she has been a good tenant – even paying her rent in advance.
She says she was awoken by water pouring from her ceiling on Thursday night. The leak was apparently caused by a valve that burst in the bathroom above her.
While the fire department and super were able to come and clean up the water, Morrison was not able to go back into her apartment.
She says management gave her an empty unit to stay in at first, but then forced her out after only a couple hours because they claimed someone would be moving in there soon. Morrison says she was told that there were no free apartments for her to use.
With her family scattered across the country, Morrison says she has nowhere to go. She has spent the last couple days and nights just walking around the area and the building halls. She hopes she might be able to get a little bit of sleep while sitting in her walker.
"You're not going to tell me that I can't stay in this building or on the building's premises when I live here," Morrison says. "I'm going to sleep in this hallway, I'm going to sleep anywhere, I want to sleep in this building because I live here. I'm freaked out. Never have I been in a situation like this."
News 12 left voicemails for both the building super and management but had not heard back as of Saturday evening.
Morrison says ownership told her they would be at the building on Monday to look at the damage and get someone in to make repairs so she can hopefully move back into her home.