'Every tenant was pretty much robbed.' Harrison residents displaced by fire reach out to News 12 for help
They've been displaced for a year since a fire broke out in one of the units back in November of 2022.
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Residents of 3 Calvert St. in Harrison reached out to News 12 for help, saying they were robbed after they were displaced by a fire.
They've been displaced for a year since a fire broke out in one of the units back in November of 2022.
RELATED: Residents still displaced months after fire destroyed Harrison apartment building
Last month, they were finally given the go-ahead to move back in, only to discover their apartments are completely uninhabitable.
"All of our property, every single room was, without exclusion, broken, stolen or seemingly thrown against the wall with reckless abandon," says resident Edward Van Tassel.
He and his girlfriend, Amanda Dicostanzo finally stepped inside their apartment for the first time in months at the end of November after spending a year living in hotels.
"When I first saw it, I'm usually the first person to be mouthy and say something, and my jaw dropped I had nothing to say," recounts Dicostanzo.
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"The workers, I presume helped themselves to our food, and left it half-eaten on the table, so our kitchen table is covered in rat feces," explains Van Tassel.
Residents were told that workers would be coming to install sprinkler systems into each unit... But they say they did much more than that.
"Every tenant was pretty much robbed, some of the tenants lost all their valuables, laptops jewelry. Anything of value was taken," says Dicostanzo.
They say they've tried to get help from the landlord- DeLaurentis Management.
"And Mr. Delaurentis said, 'Well, I can't be responsible for what the people I hire do when they're in the rooms.' And I'm like 'What? Yeah, you are liable, you're responsible for the people you hire that go into our personal space. Your people should've been with them, checking," said Lisa Pierce, another tenant.
News 12 reached out to Mr. Delaurentis who said that no one informed him of the theft.
