EUCLID, Ohio — Three days after the original deadline to move out has passed, residents at Euclid Parkside Gardens still don’t have answers.
For three years, Shea Shorts would call Euclid Parkside Gardens her home, but now it sits mostly empty as she tries to find a new place to live.
Like everyone else at Euclid Parkside Gardens, Shorts received the notice last week condemning her building and requiring her to move out within three days. But being on a fixed income, she says that was impossible. She tells News 5 that she has no choice but to stay.
“I have phone numbers and stuff that I’m looking at trying to find places to go,” said Shorts.
RELATED: Deadline, uncertainty extended for neighbors ordered to vacate condemned Euclid apartments
“I put mostly everything that's very important in storage,” said Shorts.
Catherine Doller is another resident sticking it out, though she hopes things will change.
“I’m not moving in March. I'm not physically capable of getting moved in March. The city has told several people. They have at least 30 days,” said Doller.
Last week, 26 of the 33 buildings were condemned at Parkside Garden due to repeated building and fire code violations. On Friday, News 5 spotted several crews and fire trucks replacing alarms and sprinklers while padlocking buildings.
“My building, they had fire and security people, and it supposedly fixed everything. They said it's working. We'll see what the city says,” said Doller.
Despite the work, residents are still being told to leave and were given a flyer with a list of potential places to go.
RELATED: Tenants still searching for answers after given 3 days to vacate condemned Euclid apartments
“I didn't think it was as bad that they had, and we had to get out that quick, like, they could have gave us a couple months,” said Shea.
Public records showed the owner of Parkside Gardens is an affiliate of the Chetrit Group, a New York-based real estate firm facing foreclosures and complaints about the conditions at its apartment buildings in multiple states.
In 2023, a federal judge in New York appointed a receiver—a third-party expert— to oversee a large, financially troubled group of Chetrit-owned properties including Parkside Gardens, according to court records.
Neither the property owner, nor the receiver, responded to requests for comment.
Once again, we reached out to the city for more information and also sent an email with questions, including inquiries about the future of the building and what will happen if residents refuse or can’t leave. But so far, we’ve received no answers.
“We had nothing to do with this. It's not our fault,” said Shea.
As for Shea, she’s been sleeping on the floor with her dog by her side. She put most of her belongings in storage and left her necessities in a corner so she can quickly grab them if she’s kicked out. Every day, she sits, not knowing when her last night will be.
“Just trying to hang in there as long as I can; there nothing else I can do, hopefully god will help us,” said Shea.
