Increasingly, down-on-their luck Jersey residents have taken to the hills. Angel Chevrestt. Like a throwback to the Great Depression, a shantytown has risen in Union City, NJ, on the embankment of the river, plywood hovels with million-dollar views of Manhattan. Their outer walls are blanketed with carpet padding for insulation, and their floors are covered with a patchwork of old rugs. A tattered American flag sits atop their pitched roof.
Perez, of Guatemala, and Changa, an Argentine, are saving up for an apartment. For the time being, Changa and Perez, who have lived there for about two months, prefer their casita.
The nearest homeless shelter makes people who stay overnight clear out by 6 a. Their house β which consists of plywood boards, sheet metal and blankets underneath a thatch of vines β is just west of the NJ Transit trolley line that wakes them every morning. Before, they had apartments and steady construction work. Changa lost his job when his boss died. Perez left his when his boss stopped doling out a steady paycheck. Melendez, 70, built three of the shacks and lives in one of them.
Pictures of Jesus and a horse adorn the wall above his front door. He said living in a home like this reminds him of his first house in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Frank and Pat cook and heat their place with propane tanks and plan to stay put this winter, as well. They hang their clothes from nails on the western wall.
