With a soggy cluster of balloons floating beside him, a shaggy-haired demonstrator kept watch on Wednesday inside the front gate of a dilapidated two-story home in East New York, Brooklyn. The residential block was mostly empty, except for a police car idling at the curb.

It was quite the contrast from Tuesday night’s street party as members of the Occupy Wall Street movement moved into the foreclosed house. The goal was to restore the home to a suitable condition so that a needy family could move in.

On Wednesday, the reality of the task was clear: the ceiling was covered in mold, the carpets were mildewed, walls were partially knocked down, and there were a pile of sleeping bags and a beer bottle on the floor.

And so the work began. 

“This is not a new occupation for occupiers — this is about the family,” said Max Berger, 26, of Brooklyn. “We’re trying to fix up the home for the family.”