86-year-old Holocaust survivor struggles with New York’s housing costs

As a toddler, Sami Steigmann survived Nazi medical experimentation. Now, at 86, he is struggling to find safe housing in New York City.

His situation comes as New York City residents face rising housing costs, despite campaign promises from city leaders to improve affordability

Steigmann, who has called New York City home since the 1980s, can no longer safely navigate his second-story apartment in Harlem. Earlier this year, he asked to have a one-on-one meeting with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who ran on a platform centered on lowering housing costs. Although the meeting was scheduled, Steigmann says the 34-year-old mayor never kept the appointment.

“Promises made, not kept,” Steigmann told Fox News Digital. “His claim to fame was affordable housing. I’m not disappointed because I didn’t expect him to keep his word. It is what it is.” 

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“It would have been nice, but you know politicians,” he said with a smile. 

He added that he was no longer interested in meeting with Mamdani.

Mamdani’s office did not respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

For now, Steigmann said his focus is on finding a safe place to live as New York City’s costs continue to climb.

“New York is the most expensive city in the country, especially for independent living. Rent is about $6,000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment,” he said.

Steigmann, who lives on a fixed income of $1,649 per month, said he cannot afford an apartment that is both safe and accessible to public transportation.

The physical toll of his current living situation has only added to the challenge.

Born in 1939 in Romania, Steigmann was deported with his parents to a Nazi labor camp at about age 2. Too young to work, he was subjected to medical experimentation for at least three years before the camp was liberated.

“I was subjected to medical experiments, so I’m in pain every single second, but I learned to live with it. Now, because of my age, 86, I have difficulty walking and climbing stairs,” he said.

While relocating to a more affordable city may seem like an option, he said leaving New York is not a simple decision.

“I did not give it serious thought because here I have agencies that are helping me,” he said. “I don’t know what it would be like in other cities because I don’t have those connections there.”

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“I’m very safe here,” Steigmann said of his neighborhood, adding that his neighbors know him and watch his back.

He said a nursing home is a last resort he hopes to avoid.

“If I’m going to a nursing home, which I may have to go to if I cannot find something, basically, it’s the way to die because there is no life there.”

“It’s not for me. I’m still active. I don’t need assisted living in the sense that I can take a bath by myself. I can still do a lot of things,” he said.

Now, advocates are stepping in to help.

The Chicago Jewish Alliance recently launched “Project Ahava,” a fundraising initiative aimed at securing safe, stable housing for Steigmann as he struggles to remain independent in New York City. 

Facing a roughly $2,200 monthly shortfall, the initiative aims to raise $132,000 to cover five years of housing. The group has so far raised about $18,000 for Steigmann.

“Sami has never asked for a dime, and he has given back to so many people. That’s just another reason why we wanted to give back to him and make sure that he has safe housing,” Susan Haggard, president of the Chicago Jewish Alliance, told Fox News Digital.

“And it’s important for him to stay in Manhattan where he is close to public transportation and still have that independence that is so important to him,” she added.

Maintaining that independence is key to his daily work and outreach.

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He spends his days volunteering aboard the aircraft carrier Intrepid, docked in New York City’s harbor, and speaking to school groups across the country about the Holocaust — a mission that has come to define his life.

“This is my life. Without it, there’s nothing for me, no reason to live,” he said.