Age

"Anna DeFaria’s 21/2-year battle with the city of Long Branch came to a climax a week ago.

That was when she received a letter giving her two weeks to negotiate the sale of her longtime home or lose it through eminent domain proceedings.

“When I read the letter I was devastated,” said DeFaria, Marine Terrace.

“I am 80 years old and a widow. Where do you go if they take your home away?”

DeFaria has lived in her oceanfront home for 45 years and raised her four children in the house.

“It was my first home, and my family loved it here,” she said.

“I feel safe and secure here. I thought I would stay here until I died.”

Rose LaRosa, DeFaria’s neighbor in the three-street zone slated to be bulldozed and redeveloped as upscale housing, described the moment she received a similar “14-day letter” as “dreadful.”"

Is there an age factor in the use of eminent domain?