The Brief
- New York City officials admitted an administrative error wrongfully denied storage assistance to a Brooklyn mother before her storage unit was auctioned off.
- The auction resulted in the loss of irreplaceable personal items, including the ashes of Nina Davila’s stillborn son, Shavon.
- The case has sparked a push for state legislation called “Shavon’s Law” to pause storage auctions while city assistance applications are pending.
NEW YORK – A Brooklyn mother lost her most cherished possessions—including the ashes of her stillborn son — after an administrative error by New York City resulted in her storage assistance application being wrongly denied before her unit was auctioned off.
The backstory:
Nina Davila had kept her son Shavon’s ashes in a marble urn for 27 years, taking them with her through every stage of her life. In May 2024, while experiencing housing instability, her Public Storage unit in the Bronx was auctioned off, selling nearly everything she owned. Among the lost items were childhood photos, family keepsakes, and her son’s urn. While her pets’ ashes were later recovered, she was told her son’s ashes had been thrown away. Records show Davila requested storage assistance on May 15, 2024. Eight days later, her storage unit was auctioned. Seven days after the auction took place, HRA officially issued a denial for her application.
What they’re saying:
The Department of Social Services (DSS) now admits the denial was a mistake.…