Readers of WestView have followed the case of Ruth Berk, the retired cabaret singer who spent eleven and a half months locked in a nursing home following a guardianship proceeding initiated by her landlord, who is seeking to recover her two-bedroom, penthouse, rent stabilized apartment on Christopher Street. Lots of court petitions and phone calls freed Ruth; she is home and able to come and go as she pleases. And for now, in order to assure her freedom, I have become her guardian.
Not long after Mrs. Berk was freed, I received a call from WestView reader Marilyn Schiff, a resident of Horatio Street. She called me from the Crown Nursing Home, out in Sheepshead Bay. She actually did not know the name of the facility and believed that she was going to be there for a long time.
She did know that sometime around February 23, she fainted, and been brought to Beth Israel Hospital, where she was diagnosed as suffering from syncope. The hospital had sent her to a nursing home. She told me that the conditions there were spartan—she’d had to “steal” a roll of toilet paper and was being given no fruit or fresh vegetables. She told me that she felt like a prisoner.
She also knew that the New York Foundation was her temporary guardian and gave me a phone number to call. I called and found that the New York Foundation’s plan was to “marshal” Mrs. Schiff’s assets, get her on Medicaid, arrange for home health care, and get her home.
They also told me about the previous temporary guardian, Melissa Steinberg, Esq. Ms. Steinberg was dismayed by what I told her. Apparently, she had “marshaled” Mrs. Schiff’s assets and paid her back bills (including ConEd, Verizon and Time Warner) and back rent, and had given Mrs. Schiff a food shopping allowance. Mrs. Schiff collects enough in Social Security and pension that she is not eligible for Medicaid.
Attorney Steinberg had arranged home care through Village Care, an arrangement which New York Foundation had not followed up on. It was also clear that they are not paying bills and that a non-payment proceeding is coming soon—apparently another landlord initiated guardianship case.
I contacted the judge—a smart, energetic jurist named Andrea Masley, who summoned NY Foundation to court, and ordered them to take the necessary steps to return Ms. Schiff to her home by April 1! Resources and volunteer time will be “marshaled” to take care of Marylin when she gets home, and hopefully the home health care will kick in immediately. The Judge has suggested that I apply to be the guardian.
I cannot stress the importance of learning this lesson: if friends or relatives of older New Yorkers hear about a “concerned” visit from Adult Protective Services and some mention of guardianship—please get involved. The process works quickly and can result in a terrible loss of rights for those without an advocate.
Arthur Schwartz is the Village’s Male Democratic District Leader.
