The exterior stairs at the Wesley Avenue Apartments in Evanston’s 5th Ward have been deemed too dangerous for tenant use by the city. Without another entrance, tenants have been told to vacate. Photo by Betty Ester. – Original Credit: HandoutEvanston officials are putting city staff under pressure for a decision to force the residents of 2018 Wesley Ave. out of their homes during the night on May 9.
Residents of 2014, 2018 and 2024 Wesley Avenue were initially sent a vacate notice from the city on Feb. 13, according to Councilmember Clare Kelly. Eventually, a move-out date of May 13 was established for all three buildings. “When the city issued letters to the residents on Wesley requiring them to vacate there was no statement of violation or correction order with a schedule of deadlines for needed repairs issued to the property owners that preceded this,” Kelly wrote to Pioneer Press. “This abrupt letter to vacate caused the residents, many who are elderly and who’ve lived there for 20 to 30 years, extreme angst and distress.
“Investing in existing and naturally occurring affordable housing is far less expensive than demolishing and building new,” Kelly said. “There are plenty of funds available at the city for the needed repairs to the stairs on Wesley…It is incumbent on the city to develop such a plan and return the Wesley residents to their homes in Evanston, on Wesley.
“The tenants of the Wesley building have been fighting to keep their homes for months now,” said David Sutherland. “I’ve watched the callous disregard for their lives by the city of Evanston as if an extended stay hotel is any form of restitution for ripping them out of the very community they are an integral part of.”
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