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NewsChannel 3 takes action for woman forced out of home due to repairs

Posted at 11:56 PM, Apr 01, 2015
and last updated 2015-04-02 23:53:13-04

Norfolk, Va. - A Norfolk woman blames the City of Norfolk for making her home unfit to live in.

Sylvia Madison has lived off of East Virginia Beach Blvd in Norfolk for more than 60 years, but now she has to find a new place to live. This week, the City of Norfolk posted a notice stating that the home is unfit to live in. Madison claims the reason why the home is deteriorating is because of repairs the city made 20 years ago.

"This house is 101-years-old, and if they had done what they were supposed to do in the first place, it wouldn't be like it," says Madison.

Madison says she applied for a grant with the Norfolk Redevelopment Housing Authority in 1993. Workers came to fix some of the issues, but Madison says the job wasn't done well.

"Don’t put me outdoors because you didn’t do the work. That doesn’t make sense."

Madison has to be out of her home by Saturday and the City of Norfolk still has not told her where she can stay while the home is repaired.

NewsChannel 3 continued to try to get answers for her.

We spoke with CEO John Kownack with the Norfolk  Redevelopment and Housing Authority who then told us to talk to someone at the Department of Neighborhood Development.

No one was there so we made our way to City Hall for answers.

We were told representatives sat down with Sylvia earlier to  help her try to apply for grants. But there may not be one grant that can cover all of the damages to her home.

She has already started to pack up her belongings and on Friday, she'll be out of her home of 68 years.