New York Councilman helps Vietnam vet evicted by city

Vietnam vet evicted by city on the list for a new home after councilman intervention

BY DANIEL BEEKMAN
DAILY NEWS WRITER

Wednesday, September 28th 2011

David Maurinac served his country as a Marine, worked as a missionary, cared for his sick father and paid his rent on time.

But last Friday, the New York City Housing Authority kicked him to the curb, says a local City Councilman.

NYCHA moved to evict Maurinac from the Pelham Parkway Houses due to a technicality: the 70-year-old Vietnam War veteran never added his name to the lease for the apartment he inherited.

Maurinac was headed for the shelter system until City Councilman James Vacca (D-East Bronx) persuaded NYCHA to delay the eviction and found the vet a new home. Now Vacca wants NYCHA to do more to educate and relocate its tenants.

"I did absolutely nothing wrong," Maurinac said. "I paid my rent every month."

The Iona College graduate - who served 13 months in Vietnam and worked as a Catholic missionary in Taiwan - grew up in the Pelham Parkway Houses.

He moved back to the housing project more than 15 years ago to care for his cancer-stricken father, who died in 2004.
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