Owner of OWS Foreclosure in ENY Wants His House Back

Last month members of Occupy Wall Street took over a home in East New York, saying they were going to renovate the property, which was empty following a foreclosure, so a homeless family could live in it. According to the Post, though, the family that was supposed to move in has yet to fully do so—it’s unclear from the story if this is because the house has yet to be completely renovated or if there’s simply not enough space for the family—and the person who owns the house but moved out after foreclosure proceedings began in 2009 wants his property back from the occupiers. Wise Ahadzi, the homeowner, says he bought the property for $424,500 in 2007 and stopped being able to make mortgage payments a couple years later, after he’d lost his job and the house’s value had plummeted. Ahadzi claims the Occupy Wall Street organizers aren’t willing to entertain the notion of reinstating Ahadzi and his children in the house: “I’m trying to get my house back, and they’re trying to take it from me.” The article is hardly a nuanced portrait of whatever is actually going on at 702 Vermont Street, so it remains to be seen whether what it suggests is accurate: That occupying the East New York foreclosure was a PR stunt and it hasn’t resulted in anyone who actually needed housing getting a roof over their heads.
Single Dad Trying to Reclaim Home OWS Took Over [NY Post]
Occupiers Fixing Up a Foreclosure in East New York [Brownstoner]
Photo by Brennan Cavanaugh