A group of homeowners in New Jersey are experiencing a nightmare firsthand: homes are being condemned because they're at risk of falling into a creek.
One house, specifically, in the Borough of Middlesex has been condemned. The mayor on Wednesday acknowledged it's only a matter of time before it gives way and the homes goes down.
"It's a dire emergency, we have to do something," Mayor John Madden said.
One man put it simply -- they're paying property taxes on properties that essentially don't exist anymore.
The mayor's not the only one hitting the panic button in Middlesex. Families in this quiet cul de sac are too, as backyards are quite literally shrinking, crumbling and falling down the side of a cliff into the creek below.
"There are numerous people in this town that are furious," neighbor Ken Beck said.
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The home along Heather Lane next to Beck's has already been condemned; the backyard is practically non-existent.
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"I've lost over 35 feet of my backyard also," Beck said.
Neighbors say the issue started getting bad about two years ago, around the time of Hurricane Ida. Many in the tri-state are still recovering from the remnants from that storm.
Some believe a nearby pumping station has only made things worse as the rushing waters claws away at the earth beneath.
"It wasn't even a slow erosion, it was a few feet a week or every major storm. It just fell, like a complete collapse," neighbor Al Platten said. "You woke up one day and 30 feet of your property is gone."
The mayor says he's appealed to various government agencies for help, but nothing is getting done.
"This is critical. This house, the family room is gonna to be lost probably in another 2-3 heavy rains. And then the structure will be very unsafe, it'll have to be torn down," Mayor Madden said.
In a statement, Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman, who oversees the district, says her office "is aware of the erosion along Heather Lane and has been in touch with the Mayor, the Governors team and both Senators Bramnick and Scutari to see if there are resources available to dedicate to this matter. This is a multifaceted issue that needs all levels of government working together from the local to the state to the federal."
While neighbors remain hopeful a solution can be found soon, they say for now, it's too little, too late.
"I don't think I can sell my house, period. I have to disclose this house is condemned," Beck said.
"I'm worried about the entire neighborhood, we have good people here, they're turning for help and no one is helping them," Platten said.
