RIP Magdalena Wassiltschuk

Several readers have shared the news that Magdalena (Maggie) Wassiltschuk, a longtime resident on Ninth Street, died early last week.

I don't have any biographical information at the moment. A reader who lives on the same block between Avenue A and First Avenue said that she had cancer.

According to the reader, she lived for at least two decades at 415 E. Ninth St. and prior to that on Avenue B. She came to the city some years ago from Gettysburg, Pa., where she was a registered nurse.

Per the reader:

She was a huge animal lover and daily would sit on the stoop at 415, talking to everyone who passed by (well, primarily if they had a dog with them). She was a great neighbor. She was the first person who introduced herself to me when I moved to the East Village. Then, in typical fashion, she told me I should get a cat — and pointed at Ollie’s, that cat adoption place across Ninth street. When I finally did get a dog, it took her about two days to tell me the dog needed a friend and that I should adopt another!

She had very little, if any, family.

A neighbor created a small memorial, which has grown in recent days, on her building's entryway with a sign reading "Queen of the Stoop."