Video: How One Family Survives In A Foreclosed Home With No Heat Or Water

On Tuesday, a group of housing activists and Occupy Wall Street protesters marched the streets of East New York to put a spotlight on the vast foreclosure rates affecting the Brooklyn neighborhood. The demonstration came to a head at 702 Vermont Street, where a homeless family comprised of Alfredo Carasquillo, Tasha Glasgow, and their two children, intend to occupy a house foreclosed upon by Bank of America. And while Glasgow and her children are still squatting in a dilapidated home in Far Rockaway, with the help of an OWS team, Carasquillo is hard at work making the Vermont Street space a safe and livable one for his family.

Currently, the Carrasquillo-Glasgow family is subjected to harrowing living conditions in their Far Rockaway home. Sean Barry, a representative from Vocal NY where Carasquillo is employed as a Community Organizer, tells us, "Tasha and the kids are staying in another foreclosed home that has no heat and no running water. It's being squatted by three families right now." And here's a video by Sam Lewis illustrating the Glasgow's survival tactics (leaving the stove on for heat, using bottled water to cook for her children) in extreme living conditions:

But Carasquillo is intent on fixing up the abandoned Vermont Street home for his family to occupy happily ever after. "Aflredo has moved in and he's working with an OWS crew to clean it out," Barry says. "The OWS team has tons of hustle! The moment the doors opened they charged in with their mops and brooms. It wasn't clean enough for Tasha and the kids to live in since it has been abandoned. It's a beautiful house, but it really has been wrecked from the inside. It's never been locked so it's been looted. Neighbors are enthusiastic about this occupation because it was destabilizing the whole block when they didn't know who was in there at any time."

Barry supports the Occupy Our Homes movement, and tells us, "Occupying vacant homes owned by banks is a powerful solution to the crisis of homelessness. It's different because it's a direct action tactic and the tactic itself is a solution within itself. In neighborhoods like East New York there's a lot of [foreclosed homes]; you cant walk down the street without seeing a house that has been abandoned by the city."

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Bethany O'Grady in News on December 10, 2011 3:20 PM

Comments [rss]

Samantha Nicholson

The problem here isn't too many housing foreclosures; it's the lack of free birth control/abortions.

Sluggo1407

Why doesn't this family tell the government that they're Russian or Chinese immigrants? They'll get a place to live, health care, a benefit card, a monthly subsidy, a BMW or Mercedes to drive, fur coats and on and on and on. I'm not kidding. Come to South Brooklyn and see for yourself. I have lived and worked in this city all my life. Now I am severely disabled, out of work and cannot even get food stamps, yet every foreigner in the grocery store uses them and then they drive away in their luxury cars.

sk83r

To get food stamps you just need to write on the form you have your own fridge in the house (yeah right) + income requirement (your a unmarried/separated housewife, you have a husband in real life).

LICnative

I'm wondering who'll be at fault when one of those children gets ill from being forced by their own parents to live in an environment sans heat and hot water?

Maybe OWS should hire Mom and double the family income. They may want to consider paying a living wage and providing healthcare to their employees.

Kimberley Truelove

Clearly the bank. Why would the parents start taking responsibility now?

TWaller

Again, WHAT is the solution here? Let's say the banking industry is magically corrected and becomes fair. There, we now have the fair banking system we want. Now? What is to be done to help this woman?

Judy Miko

What I took away from this article is that the community group Vocal NY, that employs one of the family members as a "community organizer", doesn't pay a "living wage".

tony iantosca

Lots of racist hipsters love the comments section on Gothamist. I hope this isn't representative of all Gothamist readers. It's strange that legions of privileged white kids who probably moved to New York no more than 4 years ago are telling people who have struggled their whole lives in this city how they should live. Suburban arrogance at its best, I suppose.

Also the march was on Tuesday Dec. 6th, not Wednesday.

Kimberley Truelove

Racism? Don't you mean class discrimination? Is the word "minority" a racial slur now?

TWaller

Please, just stop with the whole "racist" thing. A liberal using the accusation "racist" is like a neo-con using the accusation "unpatriotic." It's a cheap, weak attempt to paint someone's argument in a negative light without having to address the argument with logic and intelligence.

Stan_LS

From my personal experience, it's the "privileged white kids who probably moved to New York no more than 4 years ago" who like to tell whites kids who actually grew up in NYC about how the life is in the big city.

Kray

I'm born and raised in Brooklyn, jerk. Also i've never commented on this website before in my life.

m015094

I don't think he was writing about you Kray.

Mark Artis

squatters suck.

Len_Drexler

So do negligent property owners whether they be banks, corporations, or individuals.

TWaller

Yeah those are some inhumane living conditions.

And? What is the solution here? Give her a house for free? Give her food for free? Or, perhaps we should give her some temporary assistance WHILE SHE GETS BACK ON HER OWN FEET AND CAN TAKE CARE OF HERSELF SO WE CAN STOP TAKING CARE OF HER?

I'm not sure what point is trying to be made here.

Kray

Wow - some gross sentiments being expressed here.Let's be clear - "you" aren't doing anything for her. SHE is taking matters into her own hands. THAT house has been vacant for a long time and is falling apart BANK OF AMERICA isn't using it or taking care of it. What "you" DID do was help bail out Bank of America. "You" helped Bank of America get back on ITS feet. Hopefully BANK OF AMERICA will be able to take care of itself now, but I'm weary, I can see them coming back with that sad face hat in hand asking to be bailed out again, it's not their fault, it's those crazy socialist Europeans THEY DID THIS TO US. wah wah wah wah