What to Know
- Families living in a New Jersey building are being forced out of their homes with only 24 hours' notice after the city condemned their building
- Dozens of families in the building in Plainfield have been notified that they must be out of their homes by 4 p.m. Wednesday
- The families being forced out has nothing to do with them in particular, but rather their apartment complex: It has been condemned by the city
Families living in a New Jersey building are being forced out of their homes with only 24 hours' notice after the city condemned their building.
The sudden notice has caused immeasurable panic for dozens of families in the building in Plainfield. All have been notified that they must be out of their homes by 4 p.m. Wednesday -- given barely a day to gather their things and go somewhere else, leaving them scrambling to find a new place to live.
"This is the worst ever. I have no place else to go," said tenant Jacqueline Greene. "I don’t have any place to stay, but I am checking out some things."
The reason families are being forced out has nothing to do with them in particular, but rather their apartment complex: It has been condemned by the city.
Some residents have lived in the complex for more than two decades; others said they just moved in recently. They've regularly paid their rent and now are being told to leave in a rush, without any direct communication from the city of Plainfield or the property owner, residents said.
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"I don’t understand. Give us at least a week. I’d say 30 days, but give us at least a week," Greene said.
News
One of the buildings in question is 501-15 on West 7th Street. It has a total of 40 apartment units spread across four floors, housing more than 80 families, most of whom are Hispanic, and includes seniors, women and children.
"A lot of people here don’t speak English, that’s one of the barriers. So they come over they put these notices, [families] just get scared, they don’t know what to do," said neighbor Yesenia Leal.
The Division of Inspections flyer note stated that the building structures on West 7th Street have been declared unfit for human habitation, referring to a lack of maintenance constituting a hazard to health and safety. A city task force said conditions inside -- such as mold, water leaks and fire hazards -- were too unsafe.
Neighbors said they were shocked to see the vacate order signs posted on the lobby Tuesday around 4 p.m. and that property management had yet to respond to their complaints.
For that, they blasted the landlord and the upkeep of the property.
"There’s mold in some of the apartments, some of the doors don’t work, the elevators are not suitable for people because they get stuck," Leal said.
Many residents are now trying to figure out where to go and what to do next. On Wednesday, outraged families marched to city hall demanding answers. Mayor Adrian O. Mapp attempted to placate the crowd of more than 100, saying "we know what occurred is very upsetting for all involved," while throwing blame at the landlord's feet.
"State inspects all multi-dwelling units every five years. The last inspection here was in June 2022 - the owner was cited with 235 violations that were never addressed," said Mapp, adding that the city may not have room to house everyone displaced. "It is clear to us that this landlord is heartless and uncaring for his tenants and is driven by greed and profit."
Tempers flared in the afternoon when a man was seen being escorted away from the apartment building by police. Neighbors, identifying him as one of the landlords, mobbed the man as he was helped into a waiting car and drove away.
One woman repeatedly brought her fist down on the passenger side door window until it was smashed.
The mayor said that the owners operate six residential buildings in Plainfield, four of which have been condemned.
