California WWII veteran, cancer survivor faces eviction

Published March 14, 2017

A 92-year old WWII veteran and cancer survivor is reportedly being evicted from his California apartment so the property owner can conduct renovations.

According to The Mercury News, Paul Mayer has lived in the same San Jose apartment for 44 years but was told he has until April 4 to vacate the place he called home for decades.

“I’d be willing to pay more rent if we could work something out with them,” Mayer told the paper, “But they didn’t even bother. They just said ‘Get Out.’ And I don’t know where to go.”

Property owner Peggy Ramirez DeMaio told Mercury News that the move is “nothing personal” and that everybody in the complex is being evicted for the renovation.

“At first I felt really bad, and I tried to work around him, but I couldn’t,” said DeMaio.

According to the paper, Mayer pays a $525 monthly rate as a result of a deal he made when he managed the building for 25 years.

“I don’t want you to think I’m cold-hearted,” DeMaio told Mercury News. “There’s nothing I can do. Does anyone feel bad for me that my mortgage is so high and I’m only getting ($525) from him?”

The average overall rent in San Jose, California is $2,936 as of 2017.

Mayer’s daughter, Anne Sherman, told the paper her dad wants to remain independent and she plans to take the case to city hall.

“To put someone out on the street at his age — how could you do that to another human being?” Sherman told Mercury News. “He risked his life for this country and now he’s being discarded. We never in a million years saw this coming. We thought our dad would die in this place.”