Inside the moldy, bug-ridden dorms used to house Nantucket's summer police, steps from billionaires' homes
Former summer police force workers in Nantucket are speaking out about the sickening conditions of their housing after an infestation of bugs and mold sent some of them to the hospital.
Among the glittering row of billionaires' mansions on the island, dormitories known as the LORAN barracks sit on Siasconset beach, which have been used by the town since 1985 to house community service officers (CSOs).
As non-sworn employees of the Nantucket Police Department, the CSOs help with traffic control, enforce parking permit requirements, and assisting the community events during the busy summer months.
Erin Sullivan, a former CSO, was initially thrilled by the opportunity to live and work in the area, with homeowners including Charles Johnson, owner of the San Francisco Giants.
However, once she arrived at the dorms, she was horrified to discover the summer police department's housing appeared to have been 'abandoned, inside and out'.
'In addition to mold, dust, grime, broken tiles, plants growing through the pipes and coming out underneath the sink, the shower full of black mold and grimy conditions to make yourself clean, there were also bugs, flies, spiders; it was muggy, hot, and clammy,' she told the Nantucket Current.
She added that while at the facility, she suffered pneumonia, bronchitis, and multiple bad colds.
Erin Sullivan, a former CSO, said she became sick from the mold in the barracks and now uses an inhaler
The LORAN barracks are two dormitories on the beach in Siasconset, Nantucket, which were originally built in the 1950s
Sullivan had to be prescribed an inhaler while living in the Loran, which she still needs to this day.
In addition to her list of ailments, Sullivan was recently diagnosed with breast cancer at 22 years old.
'The only thing left to turn to would be the worst luck of all time, or the environment I exposed myself to and lived in.
'This is a heavy and extremely serious accusation, so with that being said, while I am not saying that it was the cause of my cancer, I am also not saying that it was not the cause of my cancer,' she told the Current.
The dorms were closed in September following a failed health inspection for multiple violations and complaints of mold.
Before the closure, several residents filed complaints over the past year with supervisors, asking whether anything would be done about the mold and informing them of the increasing number of residents going to the hospital.
Ardis Gary, who appears to have served as the liaison between the CSOs of the barracks and Deputy Police Chief Charles Gibson, told the residents that he personally walked through the LORAN with a contractor.
Gary said the contractor had 'concluded that the system was working properly from their end, and that they should keep the windows shut to reduce the chance of mold,' according to internal emails obtained by the Nantucket Current.
However, an anonymous CSO who stayed at the barracks in the past two years refuted that claim to the outlet: 'The Loran clearly is not fit to house anyone, especially 30 to 40 residents year after year, but they continue to do it.'
The LORAN was closed in September following a failed health inspection that found several violation including a broken and rusted bathroom fan
An improper shower head was noted in the inspection, which was highlighted for being unable to be properly cleaned
They added that any complaint raised was flipped back to place the blame on the tenants.
'Instead of working towards actual solutions and providing habitable housing, we were silenced and hidden,' the CSO added.
After months of complaints, the closure comes less than three years after a $4.5 million renovation plan was approved for the barracks, which removed potentially deadly asbestos, rid the building of poisonous lead paint, and made several other repairs, according to the outlet.
Despite Nantucket's efforts to maintain the structures built in the 1950s, the residents there were begging for more to be done.
'How a $4.5 million renovation does not update both buildings fully will always blow my mind,' a barracks resident told the Current, who lived there in 2024 and 2025.
'We are not talking about new construction; we are talking about a renovation of existing structures.'
A male CSO emailed Sergeant John Rockett to report that his room was overrun with bugs.
'When I arrived back at the Loran, I discovered my room had been infested with a bunch of tiny bugs I believe to be mold mites. This issue has ruined a lot if not all my belongings in the room. As well as my uniform, boots, and helmet,' wrote the CSO.
On top of the bugs, others who stayed in the dorms came down with the 'LORAN FLU,' a sickness caused by mold infestation.
Among the several issues in the report, missing titles were mentioned, as well as claims that they couldn't be properly cleaned. Multiple ceiling tiles were noted in the inspection, among several other reasons that the LORAN was closed
However, despite the complaints, the health inspection conducted on September 10 found no mold but noted many other health code violations.
The barracks had non-functional bathroom fans that were extremely rusted and needed to be replaced.
As well as missing floor tiles, improper shower heads, peeling ceiling tiles hanging from above, and other violations.
The alleged mold was also noted by Nantucket Select Board chair Dawn Hill Holdgate at a public meeting on October 22, following an article by the Current: 'Contrary to a published news article, there was no mold found in either building, nor was there any mention of mold in the Health Department report.'
Following the closure of the LORAN dorms, both men and women were moved to the new lifeguard housing building on Waitt Drive.
The Select Board toured the facilities on December 11 with the chief and deputy chief of the Nantucket Police Department.
