Aurelia Diaz, 38, the current president of the building’s board at 278 E. 7th St., believes that the bank is about to foreclose on the building she lives in and said, "our main concern right now, honestly, is being homeless." A culture of fear has established itself among former squatters. Several residents declined to speak on the record at all, worried that UHAB might evict them.

To rehabilitate the buildings, UHAB took out a total of $5.5 million in mortgages on the buildings. The lump sum is composed of two mortgages -- $2.7 million on five of the buildings (209 East 7th Street, 274 E. 7th St., 278 E. 7th St., 21-23 Ave. C, 155 Ave. C) and $2.8 million on four of the buildings (292 E. 3rd Street, 719 E. 6th St., 733 E. 9th St., 9 2nd Ave.). Two buildings do not have mortgages.

UHAB obtained the mortgages from National Cooperative Bank in 2004. That same year, Andrew Reicher, the president of UHAB was on the bank’s board of directors.

The residents and community organizers are unclear about how UHAB spent the $5.5 million and Diaz said that UHAB billed her building for contract management work that was ineffectual and unnecessary.

Although several residents like Diaz said they had yet to receive itemized budgets from UHAB, Andrew Reicher said, "all of the buildings have been given complete budgets" and "it's the job amongst members to go over that information."

In response to questions on why the renovations were not completed, Reicher said, "These projects do take a long time," citing a host of reasons for the delays. Reicher said that setting up a loan can take years, that many of the buildings required major renovations, that there were problems with some contractors and that internal fighting among tenans and legal wrangling had slowed the project.

Eight of the squats owe back taxes in amounts that range from $14,000 to $136,000, and it's unclear which party, UHAB or the tenants, is responsible for paying the taxes. (Click to see a map detailing each squat's tax debt.) The city will take out liens on seven of those buildings if taxes are not paid by May 16, 2008.

To Reicher, the outstanding taxes are a necessary evil. With a limited amount of funds available, "we had to make a choice between rehabilitation and paying taxes," he said, explaining that some taxes would be abated when the buildings obtain J51 status. The city gives J51 status to owners who completely rehabilitate their buildings.

According to Wasim Lone, director of organizing at Good Old Lower East Side Inc., a nonprofit tenant advocacy group, four of the buildings still do not have heat and hot water. “One of the bizarre things is that UHAB and all its resources has not been able to meet basic services. That’s been a failure for all of us,” Lone said.