91-year-old Clay widow sues Onondaga County to stop eviction from Micron site

Syracuse, N.Y. -- The 91-year-old widow who was promised she could live in her house for the rest of her life has filed a lawsuit against the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency for trying to evict her.

Azalia King, who lives on Caughdenoy Road, said in the lawsuit through her attorney that OCIDA’s eviction notice of Sept. 4 violated the agreement she and her late husband signed with the agency 20 years ago.

OCIDA bought the land from Glenn and Azalia King in 2005 but agreed in writing to allow the couple to live in their family home until the last of them died. Glenn died in 2015.

OCIDA is trying to get King out of the house to make way for Micron Technology’s massive chipmaking complex planned at Route 31 and Caughdenoy Road.

The lawsuit says OCIDA breached the 2005 agreement by serving her with the eviction notice. The suit asks a judge to declare that the 2005 agreement remains in effect and to declare the eviction notice improper. The suit also asks for attorneys’ fees.

King wants to live out the rest of her life in the home “free of any (further) bullying, harassment, intimidation or retaliation by” OCIDA, said the lawsuit, filed in state Supreme Court.

Negotiations between OCIDA and the family failed to produce an agreement, so on Sept. 4, the agency served King with an eviction notice and told her to be out by Jan. 16. The eviction notice was signed by agency Executive Director Robert Petrovich.

In a separate action, OCIDA is also trying to get King out by using the power of eminent domain. The agency will hold a public hearing on the eminent domain proceeding at 9 a.m. Thursday in Clay Town Hall.

The eviction and eminent domain proceedings are “parallel paths” to get King out of the house, said Justin Sayles, communications director for County Executive Ryan McMahon.

OCIDA is set to formally approve to the Micron project on Tuesday and grant the company more than $2 billion in tax breaks.