Utica Weather

I am hoping to get a little help for my mother and am hoping that you may provide some assistance by doing a news story.

This is not “earth shattering” news, but it has certainly rocked her world.

Right before Christmas, the pipes from the house next door to my mother’s (Church Street) burst and created an “avalanche” effect. She has no more backyard, and what’s worse is that she has no place to live. The City of Little Falls has indicated that her house is now a hazard. She can remove her belongings, but she can no longer live there – all because owners who no longer live in their home left their water running. Approximately 31,000 gallons of water produced this bank erosion.

My mother’s insurance company will not help her; the Red Cross will not help her; her mortgage company will not help her (yes, she still has to pay a mortgage on a house she cannot live in). What is she to do? Right now, she is “living” if you can call it that, with my uncle; she is trying to run her diner (Sharyn’s Place on Route 49 in Marcy) and pay the rent there, and keep up with those bills, as well as try to afford a new place to live (while still paying a mortgage), and now storage fees.

Is there anything that can be done? Why is my mother suffering, and why will the Red Cross not help out? Why is her mortgage company not helping out? Why does her insurance company not pay out and go after the neighbor’s insurance company?

This woman has worked long and very hard to receive no help from a community that is supposed to care.

Thank you for your time.