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A 73-year-old Black man in Harvey, Illinois says he was boarded up and locked inside his apartment without his knowledge.
Rudolph Williams claims he was at home when his door and windows were boarded up with plywood, per the Associated Press.
“I didn’t know exactly what was going on,” Williams recalled thinking. “What the hell?”
However, there are conflicting accounts of what occurred last week when a crew began boarding up units at the apartment complex. Other residents echoed Williams sentiments, saying no one from the city or property management company notified them of the apartment being boarded up.
Residents said they attempted to tell crew members that people were still in the building, but the workers allegedly ignored them.
“I feel sick,” resident Genevieve Tyler told AP. “I’m still sad.”
Tyler said she was also at home when the crew began boarding up her door. Unaware of what was happening, Tyler thought someone was trying to break into her home.
According to city officials, police performed well-being checks at the apartment earlier in the day. The property owners accused the residents of lying about being in the units while crew members were boarding up the complex.
The owners reportedly hired property management company, Chicago Style Management, in November. Before being boarded up, some of the apartment buildings had no heat, garbage filled the hallways, and a set of stairs were collapsed, according to reports. Police were called to the property more than 300 times in 2023, Harvey Police Chief Cameron Biddings said.
The owners said they attempted to negotiate more time with the city for renters to stay, and they aimed to have repairs finished and the building reopened by March.
Chicago Style Management's Tim Harstead also denied the residents' allegations, saying crew members only found one unauthorized person who left before they started boarding up units.
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