On Oct. 19, author Ada Calhoun's parents, longtime residents of 53 St. Mark's Place, were displaced by a fire in their apartment here between First Avenue and Second Avenue.
Her parents, Peter Schjeldahl and Brooke Alderson, escaped in their pajamas and bare feet at 2 a.m. A firefighter found their cat Theo. However,
their other cat Bertie was missing.
They feared that he was dead. Many friends and neighbors kept an eye out for him on the block and nearby streets.
Then yesterday, Bertie turned up in a neighbor's closet downstairs.
"Apparently, he had been hiding expertly in the building and living on toilet water and mice," Ada wrote in an email. "He is skinny, but otherwise healthy and in good spirits."
As for the apartment, the unit is uninhabitable and will be for at least six months, Ada said. They were able to secure a furnished sublet in the East Village.
"It was important to them to stay in the neighborhood. They moved to that apartment 46 years ago, and have never wanted to live anywhere else!"
Previously on EV Grieve:
Bertie is missing after early morning fire on St. Marks Place