Woman, 79, says she's being evicted from Boston retirement home after applying for rental subsidy
A Juilliard-educated former piano prodigy claims that she is being evicted from her Boston retirement home after applying for rental subsidy - and that her landlords are using her unruly Collies as scapegoats.
Ann Karnofsky, 79, moved to Fairview Estate in 2016 and did not have a lot of money so decided to apply for rent subsidy. She claims that the manager at the time told her people who apply for it 'can cause problems.'
Hawthorn, which owns the property, was then accused of dragging their feet with the subsidy paperwork, and the former child star was forced to file complaints with the attorney general's office and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.
Karnofsky told the Boston Globe: 'It was pretty obvious they were biased against anyone who receives a subsidy.'
Ann Karnofsky, 79, is being evicted from her Boston retirement home after applying for rental subsidy - and believes that her landlords are using her unruly Collies as a scapegoat
Hawthorn Senior Living, the company that owns Fairview Estates, charge $2,895 a month for a studio and $3,395 for a one bed in the building Karnofsky lived in
However, months after she received the reduced rent subsidy, Karnofsky was unceremoniously told she had to get rid of her two dogs - Flash and Blaze.
Flash and Blaze stand by her side to keep her balance, since Karnofsky has severe vertigo.
Judge Diana Horan ruled in housing court that the elderly woman must get rid of the dogs. And because she wouldn't remove them, the judge said she had to go too.
She will be kicked out of the apartment on April 30, just days after she turns 80.
Hawthorn Senior Living, the company that owns Fairview Estates, charge $2,895 a month for a studio and $3,395 for a one bed in the building Karnofsky lives in.
She was a child prodigy on the piano and studied at the famous Juilliard School in New York, before becoming a music history teacher at various universities.
Hawthorn claims the dogs knocked a resident, 89, to the ground and also surrounded another elderly resident who was walking her own dog. Karnofsky denies the allegations.
Months after she received the reduced rent subsidy, Karnofsky was unceremoniously told she had to get rid of her two dogs - Flash and Blaze
Hawthorn claims the dogs knocked a resident, 89, to the ground and also surrounded another elderly resident who was walking her own dog. Karnofsky denies the allegations
Lew Finfer, a community organizer for Massachusetts Action for Justice, said that he believes the reason she's being removed is not because of the dogs - but instead because of the subsidy.
He told the Boston Globe: 'The real reason for this is retaliation for her using her rights to make complaints' to state officials.'
Hawthorn has denied the claims - and insist that the only reason she is being kicked out is because of her uncontrollable dogs. The company offered her multiple opportunities to address the concerns, they claim.
Adam Bryan, a spokesman for Hawthorn, said: 'When these concerns were not addressed and it was clear that the dogs continued to pose a risk to other residents, we had no choice but to take legal action.
'While this was the right step to support the safety of our community, we are nonetheless saddened by the outcome.'
Flash and Blaze stand by her side to keep her balance, since Karnofsky has severe vertigo
She will be kicked out of the apartment on April 30, just days after she turns 80
The woman (pictured left on the piano) was a child prodigy on the piano and studied at the Juilliard School in New York, before becoming a music history teacher at various universities
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