Adele Sarno ( above ) has been living in her two-bedroom apartment for more than 50 years . An Italian-American grandmother is facing eviction from her $ 820-a-month apartment in Manhattan 's Little Italy neighborhood . Adele Sarno , 85 , who has lived there for more than 50 years received a letter seeking to increase rent to the market rate of $ 3,500 a month , far more than the retired shopkeeper can afford . Her landlord is the Italian American Museum which is dedicated to the legacy of Italian-Americans and is situated below her home . The fight over her two-bedroom apartment began five years ago . 'Why would you want to throw me out when I lived here all my life ? ' asked Sarno , a feisty , raspy-voiced woman who proudly tells how she once even served as queen of the annual Feast of San Gennaro , Little Italy 's most well-known event . 'This is my neighborhood . ' She has been living in the apartment since 1962 when rent was only $ 150 a month , according to CBS . The spat is the latest involving the museum to cause a commotion in Little Italy , a neighborhood of former tenement buildings and narrow streets in Lower Manhattan that was once a bustling center of Italian immigrant life . An Italian restaurant that had been open for decades closed its doors last week in a separate rent-related dispute . 'The negative press that this has caused is so detrimental to the spirit of the Italian immigrant , ' said Lou Di Palo , whose family has run an Italian specialty foods shop in Little Italy for over a century . ' I 'm upset over it . ' Scroll down for video . The grandmother tried to go through the courts to see if the city 's rent regulation laws could help , but it was determined that her apartment was n't covered ( Adele pictured above in her Little Italy apartment ) Her landlord is the Italian American Museum ( above ) which is dedicated to the legacy of Italian-Americans and is situated below her home . They sent her a letter five years ago seeking to increase rent to $ 3,500 . But in recent decades , the character of Little Italy has been transformed by waves of gentrification and wealthy newcomers . The latest Census data from 2013 shows only 554 out of 7,816 residents , about seven per cent , in the Census tract encompassing Sarno 's street identify as having Italian ancestry . Museum president Joseph Scelsa told The New York Times that even after all Italian-Americans had gone from the area , 'the legacy would still remain because we have an institution that does that . ' Neither the museum 's president nor its spokesman replied to multiple emails and phone messages from The Associated Press seeking comment . But they have said the museum is looking to expand its space , or sell the properties to a developer and remain there rent-free . Sarno , who has a daughter in Wisconsin and a granddaughter on Staten Island , believes the museum is just after more money , pointing out that her upstairs neighbors pay several thousand dollars a month in rent . The grandmother tried to go through the courts to see if the city 's rent regulation laws could help , but it was determined that her apartment was n't covered . Still , she is hopeful she can fight through the courts to forestall the eviction order . A judge has given her lawyers until April 13 to find some kind of solution . Il Palazzo , the shuttered restaurant , was evicted after being in business since the 1980s . Adele Sarno poses for picture in her apartment in the Little Italy section of Manhattan on March 31 , 2015 . Sarno believes the museum is just after more money as her neighbors pay several thousand dollars a month in rent she said . Perry Chrisciatelli , who ran the restaurant with his wife , said they had been late with a $ 17,000 rent payment in February , and were told they would have to go unless they were willing to pay almost twice that per month . 'Now another piece of Little Italy is gone , ' he said . Truthfully , there 's not a lot of Little Italy left , mainly a couple of blocks of Mulberry Street , populated with Italian restaurants and tourist stores featuring trinkets and 'Kiss me , I 'm Italian ' and 'Fuggedaboutit ' T-shirts . 'The sort of everyday lived experience of the place as a residence of Italian Americans for all intents has been over for decades , ' said Joseph Sciorra of the Italian-American Institute at Queens College . But for a museum dedicated to that history , turning Sarno out shows ' a lack of vision , ' he said , suggesting it could have tapped Sarno as a speaker or in some other capacity . Sarno , he said , 'is literally the living embodiment of the living history of Little Italy . ' On Saturday , a rally was held in support of Sarno keeping her apartment as protesters gathered outside of the museum to protest . The grandmother was due to be evicted on Monday but a judge has given her lawyers until April 13 to find a solution .
Italian-American tenant Adele Sarno , five years ago , received a letter from her landlord , Italian American Museum , seeking to increase rent to market rate of $ 3,500 . Fight over her two-bedroom apartment began 85 . She has been living there since 1962 when rent was just $ 150 a month .