Residents at an apartment building in south suburban Harvey made a plea for answers on Sunday following allegations multiple units were boarded up, trapping residents inside.
Genevieve Tyler, who resides at the building near 145th and South Halsted, said she heard workers outside on Friday and quickly realized they were nailing pieces of wood to windows and doors.
Tyler, along with multiple other residents, said she received no notice.
“I’m very upset,” she said. “’ve never gone through this in my life. I’ve never seen anything like this in my life. Never.”
Several peopled posted videos on social media, claiming residents were trapped inside boarded-up apartments and demanded help.
“My nephew called me… and said, ‘You’re boarded up here?’ I said, ‘What?’ I opened the door and that’s when I saw there was a board right there. I looked at the window, same thing,” resident Rudolph Williams explained.
At least four people were inside their apartments at the time, including a mother and her two children, according to community activist Andrew Holmes.
One resident told NBC Chicago said she received a letter, which stated it was in residents’ best interests to evacuate, but didn’t believe it was real.
“I said well I can’t move, I only have a monthly income,” Mary Brooks said. “And this is the letter… that doesn’t appear to be a legitimate letter.”
The city of Harvey reported it has experienced issues regarding unsafe conditions at two buildings, 14445 and 14437 Halsted, since last fall. In a statement, city officials explained the buildings’ owners were told that evacuations were mandatory by Oct. 28
Then, in mid-December, the city’s Building Department determined both buildings posed an imminent safety risk due to the “extensive deterioration of balconies and stair risers.”
City leaders said it was the property owners’ responsibility to tell tenants that they needed to evaculate. A city of Harvey spokesperson said the “city did not evict anyone nor participate in the board ups.”
On Friday, crews arrived and started boarding up apartments.
“It’s getting cold out here,” Tyler said. “Where we supposed to go? You can’t do this to us. We don’t want anybody to do that to yall.”
NBC Chicago has reached out to the property owners for comment, but we had yet to hear back as of Sunday afternoon.
