- "No, Señor Foggy. We do no want money. We want to stay in our homes."
- ―Elena Cardenas[src]
Elena Cardenas' Apartment was a rent-controlled apartment in Hell's Kitchen formerly owned by Armand Tully and rented to Elena Cardenas.
History
Rent Control
Armand Tully acquired a series of apartments all over New York City and rented them for tenants. One of those apartments in Hell's Kitchen was rented to Elena Cardenas, who became a loved figure among her neighbours.[1]
Eviction
Over time, Armand Tully wanted to evict all tenants from his apartments, including Elena Cardenas, and offered each tenant $10,000 to leave. Cardenas and other neighbours refused the offer, wanting to stay in their homes.[1]
Fake Repairmen
Elena Cardenas requested a series of repairs at her apartment and called her landlord, Armand Tully, to send a couple of repairmen to perform the repairs. Tully seized the opportunity to force Cardenas and other tenants out of their homes, as he wanted to transform low rent-controlled apartments into condominiums.
Joseph Pike and Stewart Schmidt arrived posing as repairmen, having been hired through Westmeyer-Holt Contracting, and began to destroy the apartments with sledgehammers, damaging the whole building, and leaving the tenants without water or electricity for days.
Cardenas tried to dennounce Tully to the New York City Police Department, but they could not do anything, so she was advised by Bess Mahoney to contact a pair of lawyers she knew, Nelson and Murdock.[1]
Helping Elena Cardenas
Late Night Visit
Karen Page and Foggy Nelson went to visit Elena Cardenas at her apartment. Cardenas was glad to see them, but Nelson and Page were shocked by her living conditions due to the damage that the apartment had sustained when the landlord, Armand Tully, hired men to demolish them, posing as repairmen.
Cardenas, who had to light her living with candles, asked if they managed to make Tully fix the apartment, and though they had not, Nelson proposed to help with everything he could to make repairs himself. Page was surprised by the offer, and Nelson explained he learnt a few things as his father owned a hardware store.
Page also reminded Nelson about his cousin, who could help as he was a drywaller, and Nelson said that Ed, an electrician they had helped in their former case, owed him a favor. They were also going to talk to the neighbors, and Nelson promised Cardenas they would take of her.
Cardenas was moved to the point of almost crying, and thanked Nelson fervently in Spanish.[1]
Handy Repairman
Foggy Nelson managed to repair the sink and get water, greatly impressing Karen Page with his skills. Nelson admitted that hot did not work yet, but it was a start. Elena Cardenas was very grateful, and invited them to have dinner at her apartment.
Nelson tried to refuse, but Cardenas insisted, saying she would not admit a refusal. Nelson asked Page if she wanted to eat, and she said that it would be rude not to accept the invitation. Cardenas explained that she cooked a dish that her mother used to prepare in Guatemala, that she cooked for them as a way of thanking everything they were doing for her.
Page asked Cardenas where did she make the meal, given that she did not have gas at the apartment, but she revealed that she cooked in the apartament downstairs, as the neighbors took care for each other.
Cardenas looked at them, saying in Spanish that they made a wonderful couple, making Page laugh. Nelson, who had did not understand Cardenas, realized what she said, and asked Page if they could consider that a date. Page answered that it probably was, jokingly calling Nelson "Señor Foggy" just as Cardenas always did.[1]
Enjoying the Date
Foggy Nelson told Karen Page stories about his college days with Matt Murdock during their dinner, such as the time he hid Murdock's furniture in another dorm room, making him wonder if he was in the right room when he did not find them.
Page found the story hilarious, wishing to have known Nelson and Murdock during their college days, but Nelson pointed they were much more interesting at that moment, as they had their own practice, and he was more dashing than while he was in college. Page then asked him for photographs, and Nelson realized he had talked too much
Page then finally asked something she had in her head all day. Before she could ask, Nelson jokingly answered that he did not kiss on the first date. However, what she actually wanted to know is how Nelson had dated Marci Stahl, given that she did not looked like Nelson's type.
Nelson explained that Stahl was different when they dated, or maybe she just did not realize, as Murdock usually got involved with the wrong girls, and maybe that was his time. Page then asked about Murdock's dates, and though he had never been with a woman for more than one or two months, he got to touch a lot of pretty girls on their faces, as Murdock always claimed it was his way of knowing how somebody looked like.
However, Murdock seemed to be able to know which girls where beautiful even before managing to touch them, something Nelson considered a real gift. Page asked if Murdock knew how Nelson looked like, and he said that he had an approximate idea, though he only let him touch his face once because it was weird.
Page then asked if Nelson had ever tell Murdock how did she look like, and though he did not, Nelson was sure that Murdock already had a picture of her in his head. Page then asked Nelson to touch her face, and though he said that he could actually see her, she just wanted to know how a blind man would see her.
Page proposed to do it to each other, and Nelson closed his eyes and began to touch her face.[1]
Bombing of Hell's Kitchen
The Sky is Falling Again
- "El cielo... ¡El cielo está cayendo otra vez!"
- ―Elena Cardenas[src]
Foggy Nelson and Karen Page were interrupted by a large explosion that broke the windows and thrw them to the floor. Nelson asked Page if she was okay, but Page then that Elena Cardenas was wandering in shock, with a wound in her head, and shouting that the sky was falling again.
Page realized they needed to stop the bleeding, and another explosion occured, shaking the whole building. Nelson told Page to stay with Cardenas, while he went to check if anyone else needed help.[1]
Repairmen Identities
Karen Page visited Elena Cardenas at her apartment, bringing a bag of groceries for her. Upon arriving, Pages asked Cardenas about the injury she sustained during an explosion that destroyed a nearby building. Cardenas was simply grateful of being alive.
Cardenas asked Page how much she owed her for the food she brought and Page refused to accept her money. Cardenas seriously told her that she did not accept charity, so Page proposed Cardenas to pay her with information.
Page explained that she was working on a legal case, and Cardenas believed she was doing it with her handsome partner. Page thought Cardenas was talking about Matt Murdock, but she clarified that the handsome one was Foggy Nelson, as it was obvious for her that Nelson was in love with Page, and Cardenas believed that there was no man more handsome than a man in love. Page was surprised for hearing that, and apoligized for mentioning Christ's name in her surprise.
Page then resumed the topic about her case, explaining that she was trying to make a connection between a construction company and the repairman that destroyed Cardenas' apartment. Cardenas advised her to ask her landlord, Armand Tully, as he was the one who sent the repairmen, but Page had been unable to find him as, according to his lawyers, he was on vacation.
Cardenas was enraged to hear that, given the conditions she had to live on, while Tully was on a beach. She quickly apologized to the image of Jesus that she had on her wall, and then she kissed the cross she was carrying on her neck. On the other hand, Page smiled, as she believed that insulting Tully was appropriate in that case.
Page asked for any receipts or papers she signed about the repairs, but Cardenas could not help her. However, she described the two repairmen, as one of them was bald and the other had a large tattoo on his arm up to his neck.
Cardenas was worried about the whole situation, but Page comforted her saying that the ones who did that to her were the ones that should be worried if she managed to find the connection. Page told her, with a vulgarism, that those men would be in a very bad situation, prompting Cardenas to ask Page how long had she used such language.
Page revealed it all happened since she got to New York City, and said goodbye, kissing Cardenas on her cheek before leaving the apartment, where Cardenas made the sign of the Cross once again.[2]
Assassination of Elena Cardenas
Elena Cardenas decided to stay at her apartment despite the offer made by Wilson Fisk, the new owner of the whole building. Upon Cardenas' made that decision, and being forced by Nobu, who wanted to obtain the specific block where Cardena's apartment was located, Fisk hired a junkie to kill her.
Jake jumped on Cardenas while she was fishing looking for her keys, and stabbed her multiple times, fleeing with her purse. An ambulance arrived quickly, but nothing could be done for Cardenas, who died in front of her apartment.[3]
Demolition
- "They started tearing down Elena's tenement building today. Did you know that?"
"No, I didn't." - ―Karen Page and Foggy Nelson[src]
Despite Nobu's death, Wilson Fisk ordered to transfer the titles for all the buildings in the city block that the Japanese wanted, including the one where the apartment was located, following their original agreement.
As the new owners, the Japanese ordered to demolish the buildings to follow their plans, effectively destroying Elena Cardenas' former apartment.[4]
Appearances
In chronological order:
- Daredevil
- Season One
- World on Fire
- Stick
- Speak of the Devil (mentioned)
- The Path of the Righteous (mentioned)
- Season One