I own this property, so please vacate ASAP: Mr. M Ali

Barbara

On Tuesday July 27 I posted Michelle and Sasha’s bonding trip along with 30 of their close friends to a 5 star resort in Spain.

 

As soon as I sent it to BJ I received a hysterical call from a friend and neighbor of my parents. “They’re here to evict us.”

 

I ran to her house and found 2 storage company trucks, 8 movers and 2 Sheriffs. I do not want to get into all the specifics of how this came to be. Just to say unemployment started the decent into the hole of eviction. This past year found them desperately trying to save their home of 12 years while putting 2 children through college. They were assured the bank would work with them as would the County and the Town. That was until their home was auctioned off without notice on the courthouse steps. They were informed when the buyer left a note on their front door

“I own this property, so please vacate ASAP” Signed Mr. M Ali

 

What pursued was 6 months of Court and endless visits to Social Services. In NY there is housing aid called section 8. They applied but were put on a wait list and told they could not be evicted till they had a place to live. On the day of the eviction section 8 housing was closed and the family shelters were full. So how do you evict people without a place for them to go?

 

They did try to rent apartments but with only PT jobs, bad credit history that includes a foreclosure, the loss of unemployment benefits this family of four, 2 cats, 1 diabetic dog found they were turned down where ever they turned. The hole got deeper.

 

So on this morning the 2 Sheriffs served papers to evict and the moving team started boxing and packing their things to take to a storage unit since they had nowhere else to take their stuff to. Calls to the state, County and Town all went to voice mail or “we will get back to you”

 

About 4 hours into the packing of a 4 bedroom, basement and garage home Mr. Ali showed up escorted by yet another Sheriff and demanded “the house be emptied in 1 hour” the eviction coordinator asked for more time, but Mr. Ali said “he was busy and had to change the locks in 1 hour” I asked him to be compassionate and he looked at me as if I had suggested taking his kidney. He went and sat in his nice new Lexus with the AC on while we worked in the 90 degree heat to meet his demands. About 30 mins. later he says “enough and directs the crew to throw the stuff on the front lawn.”

 

What followed was disgraceful–they started throwing their clothes, bedding, school books, dishes, furniture out onto the front lawn…we were all frantically trying to sort thru the items and we made piles on the curb to try and pack them to load on the truck that was leaving in 45 mins. for the storage place.

 

We just started throwing stuff into the truck so it wouldn’t be left on the street as people were now coming by with vans asking if the stuff was trash and Mr. Ali said “yes help yourself”

 

I spoke with one of the movers and he told me Mr. Ali and Company have purchased 21 homes by auction and had all 21 families evicted. Mr. Ali is a Saudi National.

 

So when the last of their stuff was thrown onto the lawn and the family was sitting amongst their personal items worried about their sick beloved pet Lulu who was now vomiting in a parked car.

 

Mr. Ali was escorted up to the front door with a new set of locks. He changed the locks on the house as this family watched and now realized that they had nowhere to go.

 

Mr. Ali stood on the front porch were the American flag flew on this house everyday- -now flying over the massive pile of this family’s belongings. He took the flag down and handed it to the sheriff who placed it on top of the pile on the front lawn. Something so very surreal about that moment and I am not sure I will ever forget that imagine. The death of the American Dream. We have bailed out banks, car companies but here is a family sitting on their front lawn locked out of their home with nowhere to go.

 

Trucks leave full, Mr. Ali leaves, sheriffs leave. Neighbors begin taking the stuff left on lawn to their homes for storage. One neighbor takes the 2 cats. LULU needs to stay with her owners as she needs her meds. We begin to make more calls…shelters full, the town is using hotels but no rooms available.

 

We are literally sitting on the front lawn of this empty locked house and its getting dark and I am wondering how many others are tonight faced with this overwhelming situation that seemingly has no end in sight? Everyday our government says things are Changing. Yes, they are changing, they certainly changed for this family. Sitting on their front lawn– Homeless.

 

Update, the family still has no place to live. They have split up each going to a different home of a neighbor, friend, relative. Their home is empty, Mr. Ali stops by and goes in and walks around and leaves.

 

Section 8 is still closed, shelters full. They were given a hotel room but opted not to stay there after the bedding was found to be covered in blood and urine.

 

Their beloved little LULU had to be put to sleep the next day. The cats are with a neighbor and can be found crying on the front porch of their now empty home. And I am sitting on that porch right now where I once sat so many times with my friend and I remember their joy on the day they moved in, little Lulu was 6 weeks old, and I remember their sorrow on the day they were moved out.

 

Paula, I wish my arms were bigger.

 

The American flag they proudly displayed is gone and for that I am grateful.