Seven households and more than a dozen people in the so-called Coast Guard housing neighborhood in Nahant, Massachusetts were served eviction notices on Wednesday morning.
These homes are owned by the town.
"We got served by the constable," resident Susan Alessi said. "He said, 'Sue, I’m so sorry. I was in tears this morning, when I figured out I had to do this, because I know all of you personally.'"
The town plans to demolish the homes and sell the land they bought from the federal government nearly 20 years ago.
The town owes nearly $2 million on the loan due by 2024.
“It’s unfortunate because the timing of the loan being due and the housing crisis that we’re going through," Town Administrator Antonio Barletta said.
The town also does not have other housing to place the residents, and according to Barletta, the Nahant Housing Authority has 49 units with only one vacancy. There were about 9,700 people on the waitlist as of Wednesday.
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"The town is pursuing avenues to develop an affordable housing plan, but we’re not quite there yet," Barletta said.
NBC10 Boston obtained the original written warning to residents to leave their homes late last summer, but Alessi said, when you are on a fixed income, social security, and disabled—that is just not enough time.
"I’m just so sad that it’s come to this point that I cannot find housing. It’s not for lack of trying," Alessi said.
It is unclear when the residents would be forced out of their homes or would need to appear in court—there was no date on the eviction notices.
