About 50 tenants were displaced when the fire department shut down the building. J'nelle Agee has the story.
KINGSTON, N.Y. -- Tenants won't be able to return to a boarding house in Kingston until the end of the month, after being forced out by a bed bug infestation.
"We had bed bugs and the place wasn't cleaned properly and bad people were living there," said Ronald Parsons, one of the displaced tenants.
Parsons has been living at the Elizabeth Manor Boarding House in Kingston for 10 years. He's one of about 50 people who were displaced last week when the fire department shut the building down. Parsons says over the years, tenants complained to the landlord but nothing was done.
"He knew the conditions were really bad, [but] he didn't really do too much about it," said Parsons.
Each tenant pays around $500 to rent a room at the house. But when they were told they needed to leave they were only given a few hours notice to pack up all their belongings and move to a new location.
"I was in shock. You know I said to the builder why didn't you give us a couple days notice at least," said Parsons.
Since the eviction, tenants have been able to stay at the Clinton Avenue United Methodist Church.
"We received a call from the county letting us know that Elizabeth Manor was going to be shut down due to the problems that were going on there," said Kevin Dean, the assistant pastor.
The church provides the men with three meals a day as well as GED courses and a weekly legal clinic. The tenants have also received donations to help their day to day needs.
"The guys were able to come and store some of their stuff and get new clothes from donations [and] new bedding. So thats a problem we've been able to alleviate since they've moved out of that situation," said Dean.
But there is still no definite word on when the residents will be able to return to Elizabeth Manor. Some say they're looking to relocate for good.