Over the weekend in Harvey, Illinois, shocking footage emerged of residents in apartment buildings allegedly being boarded up in their units, which were deemed uninhabitable by local officials.
Though residents claimed their neighbors were stuck in apartments that were boarded up, a local alderman denied those claims. Moreover, the property owners called those allegations categorically false.
In a statement provided to The Chicago Defender on Monday evening, the property owners of the buildings located at 14445 and 14437 S. Halsted St. say that they were following the city’s recommendations of having residents vacated so that the properties could undergo needed repairs for resident safety. They also stated that the plan was to have those buildings reopen in March.
“While we cannot control the actions of our tenants, we try to enforce policies that provide a safe environment to those who call the building home and once we are notified of any issues, we act quickly to ensure that the situation is resolved,” said the property owners in a statement.
On Saturday, the City of Harvey did not acknowledge whether residents were shut inside those units. Instead, the city issued the following statement regarding the buildings located at 14445 and 14437 S. Halsted St.: “Contrary to recent claims, the city did not evict anyone from these properties but has communicated with the property owners regarding the unsafe conditions of the buildings and need to immediately rectify the dangerous living conditions.”
The City of Harvey posted pictures of the properties in question in a Facebook post. The photos depicted damaged stairwells and a garbage-strewn parking lot with degraded fencing. The city also deemed both buildings as high crime locations.
Harvey Buildings Required Mandatory Evacuation
On Oct. 28, the City of Harvey determined that one of the buildings was unsafe and wrote property owners to inform them that the structural integrity of that building “had surpassed its life expectancy, and evacuation was mandatory.”
On Dec. 14, after further assessments, the City of Harvey Building Department determined that the 14445 and 14437 S. Halsted properties posed “an imminent safety risk, particularly due to extensive deterioration of balconies and stair risers.”
In that same statement, the city said that on Friday, Jan. 5, the owners of both buildings boarded them up, and Harvey Police conducted several inspections and wellness checks.
Residents Tell a Different Story
Social media posts emerged over the weekend that seemed to depict elderly residents boarded up inside their units at the Harvey Building.
One TikTok video appears to depict a man knocking on a boarded-up unit and informing viewers that a 73-year-old man resides there.
“They broke the handle off the door, and you stuck up in there?” the video’s narrator asks a man behind a boarded-up unit.
@bigbootybella52 73 years old!!! BOARDED INSIDE HIS CRIB
@bigbootybella52 They are boarding people up in their homes!!! 2 old people 70+, a mother and her 2 childen and 2 other apartments with people still in them. Knocked they door handles off and boarded these apparments up with people in It. This is crazy. Harvey police, rfn consulting bogus as hell.
An update posted by the same TikTok user, with a Jan. 6 at 12:30 p.m. timestamp, shows someone saying that the boards were removed from the units that allegedly had residents living in them. From there, the narrator and another person enter the apartment of a 90-year-old woman who eventually shows them a letter she received from the City of Harvey informing her that she must evacuate her unit.
@bigbootybella52
Harvey Alderman Calls Resident Claims a ‘Total Exaggeration’
As for the claims that residents were indeed boarded up in those buildings over the weekend, City of Harvey 6th Ward Alderman Tyrone Rogers dismissed those allegations.
“That’s a total exaggeration,” Rogers told WGN. “Nobody’s been boarded up inside any of the apartments. I know for a fact. I spoke with the police chief. Nobody has been boarded up inside any apartment.
“I repeat: The City of Harvey would never do that. The City of Harvey does not have the right to do that.”
Residents also informed WGN that they had received letters on Dec. 14 informing them that they must evacuate by Dec. 29.
Some residents remain in their units that receive Section 8 housing. They are unable to relocate because landing another subsidized apartment takes longer.
While some remain at their homes, many are questioning why residents are being forced to leave at a time when the region is experiencing its harshest weather.
This story will be updated as more details are made known.
Property Owners: Tenants Boarded Into Their Apartments ‘Categorically False’
The property owners issued the following statement via a representative:
Prior to the initial purchase of the property in Feb. 2023, we were given the “all-clear” to move forward, following multiple inspections, including one from the city of Harvey, with only a few minor issues needing to be addressed.
After several months of operation, we were surprised by the city’s notice to immediately have the building vacated to begin structural repairs to the staircases, but we were committed to following their guidance and promptly rectifying any issues for the safety of the residents.
We aimed to treat the tenants with as much respect and consideration as possible, given the difficult and unexpected circumstances they were facing – including negotiating with the city to prolong the evacuation time, swiftly notifying the residents through various channels, as well as offering concessions to try to aid in this challenging transition.
Our property management firm coordinated the shutdown of the building with the city of Harvey, and onsite vendors reported that on Friday, January 5th, the viral allegations regarding tenants being boarded into their apartments are categorically false.
While we cannot control the actions of our tenants, we try to enforce policies that provide a safe environment to those who call the building home and once we are notified of any issues, we act quickly to ensure that the situation is resolved.
We place our tenant’s safety at the forefront of all our decisions and we hope to reopen our building to the city’s standards around March, as we continue to cooperate and begin quality repairs and follow the appropriate guidelines.
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