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Netizens have expressed their concerns after videos went viral on social media showcasing a south suburban Harvey apartment complex on S. Halsted Street boarded up, trapping its tenants inside. The incident occurred on Friday, January 5, in a building which had already reported structural concerns.
Multiple videos that went viral showed third-party workers, accompanied by police officers, boarding up the Harvey apartment by removing doorknobs, as filming citizens complained that people and animals were still inside.
Although the boarded-up people were eventually freed, netizens were still furious and stated that the people responsible should face repercussions. One X user noted how it was an "inhumane" move.
Netizens want Harvey apartment owners arrested
A series of videos shared by a TikTok user, who went by the name Bella, revealed a Harvey apartment complex on S. Halsted Street being boarded up. The Tiktoker explained that some people were still in their apartments and that Harvey Police had no right to do so without the Sheriff's permission.
"They are boarding people up in their homes!!! 2 old people 70+, a mother and her 2 childen (sic) and 2 other apartments with people still in them. Knocked they door handles off and boarded these apartments up with people in it."
Many of the Harvey apartment tenants claimed that they had already paid the rent for January, and some did it through Section 8.
The TikToker futher explained that a 73-year-old man and an 80-year-old woman with severe mobility issues were boarded up in their apartments and also stated that Illinois law mandated that tenants can't be kicked out during the winter. Non-occupancy orders were placed on the boarded doors.
The third-party workers boarding up the place claimed that this was due to an unsafe stairwell. One of the videos showed the trapped 73-year-old tenant talking from inside the building. In the latest update, the TikToker revealed that the boards were eventually removed and the trapped people were finally freed.
The TikToker's videos that went viral on the platform were re-posted multiple times by popular X personality, Tizzy Ent. Netizens were extremely outraged at the whole situation and demanded answers from authorities. Social media users stated that the treatment of the Harvey apartment tenants in this situation was "horrible" and "inhumane."
Meanwhile, several netizens wanted the owners of the building locked up for a variety of crimes, including kidnapping, endangerment, false imprisonment, and elderly neglect. People were furious at them for not doing anything about the building's weakened structural integrity.
In the final update video, @bigb*otybella52 was seen asking a bedridden 90-year-old Ms. Brooks, a four-year tenant of the building who had almost been forced out, if the Sheriff came the night before and gave her a warning. She replied negatively but revealed that she received a letter.
The letter from the city of Harvey reportedly demanded all tenants vacate the building by December 29, after deeming it structurally unsafe. It was written in bold that it was apparently the landlord's responsibility to speak with each tenant and make them understand the gravity of the situation.
