Romanian family living on a boat in New York, threatened to be evacuated by local authorities

Luni, 27 octombrie 2008, 3:07 English | Top News

A Romanian family living on a boat on East River, in New York for 18 years now, is threatened to be evacuated by local authorities. New York city hall officials declare that Elena and George Anton, together with their son Edward have no right to live in the boat in Flushing Bay, near the La Guardia airport and took them to court in September. Romanians at their turn accuse authorities of discrimination and declare that it is their right to live on the boat. 

The Romanian family has been living on the boat for 18 years now, after they arrived in the States. Elena declared that they have lost everything in Romania and decided to move there. She declared that all they want to do is to have a decent, peaceful life.

They rented a space on the bank, which they've been paying for since 1990. Elena works in a public library and George sculpts boats. Her son, Edward, aged 19 is a mechanic. On September 10, local authorities submitted a legal complaint against the Romanian family  arguing they were in breach with legislation forbidding people from living on the docks.