Were people boarded up in their suburban Chicago apartments?
CHICAGO (CBS) -- An update on a developing bizarre story.
Tenants in suburban Harvey claim their apartments were boarded up while they were inside.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray found out who owns the property and who boarded up the units.
It's been four days since tenants were boarded up inside of their units, which they're still living in. CBS 2 wanted to find out who owned this property and why this happened. CBS 2 found out the property owner is out of state.
When asked if she recognized two names at the top of the paperwork...
"I don't. I don't. That's why I was so confused. I don't know who these people are. And I Googled them. No information."
Mary Brooks has never met her landlords, Jay Patel and Henry Cho.
The CBS 2 Investigators did some digging and found they're based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. The company is called Ascend Property Group.
In a statement, Patel and Cho said they were aware of only "a few minor issues" when they bought the property in February 2023, and were surprised months later when Harvey city officials ordered them to have the building vacated to fix the staircases. They said tenants' claims that they were boarded up inside their apartments were "categorically false."
Chicago Style Management Company works with both men, and also denied any tenants were boarded up inside their units.
Tim Harstead is with that company and said their crews boarded up the units. He said the renters aren't telling the truth.
"No one was boarded up inside. The police were with the Village of Harvey and made sure everything was cleared out," he said.
Brooks and others said that's not true, and they were boarded up inside their apartments.
They acknowledged a letter was sent to the renters telling them they needed to be out of their homes by December 29th.
"I said 'Is my apartment scheduled to be boarded up today, and he said, 'No, you're on the schedule for next week,'" Brooks said.
Mayor Christopher Clark canvased the apartment complex, disrupting the CBS 2 interview with Brooks.
Clark said Harvey police were called out while crews were boarding up the units. CBS 2 wanted to know why they didn't intervene.
"It depends on what the officers saw when they got here. Of course, if they saw a crime happening, then of course they could have or should have intervened," Clark said.
Mayor Clark said while he doesn't know exactly what happened Friday, he does plan to review their body cameras.
The Housing Authority of Cook County said it is running through options to make sure tenants find a place to live.
Here's the statement from the Housing Authority of Cook County sent to CBS 2:
It has become critical for the residents to be rehomed. We know that this can be a challenging and emotional process, but we are committed to ensuring that every resident is provided with a safe and comfortable home. Our dedicated team is working tirelessly to find suitable accommodations and support the residents throughout this transition. We are committed to making this process as smooth as possible and appreciate the understanding and cooperation of everyone involved.
