Sun-Sentinel 09/04/2008
Davie residents protest evictions
Fearing they may be homeless in six months, more than 300 residents of Palma Nova mobile home park showed up at Town Hall on Wednesday night in protest of owner Austin Forman's plan to close the park.
We would like to thank Susannah Bryan for
reporting on this man made disaster.
Mobile home park closure may leave some homeless
By Susannah Bryan
South Florida Sun-Sentinel
September 4, 2008
DAVIE
Fearing they may be homeless in six months, more than 300 residents of Palma Nova mobile home park showed up at Town Hall on Wednesday night in protest of owner Austin Forman's plan to close the park.
They demanded more time to move — at least a year — and urged the town to persuade Forman to stop charging rent.
More than 900 families received eviction notices last week telling them to move out by Feb. 28. Many say they have nowhere to go.
"I just hope somebody here does something to help," Nancy Hernandez told the council after town attorney John Rayson said residents should call their state legislators for help.
"We don't have time to go to legislators," said Hernandez, who moved out of the park on Friday.
Forman has filed an exit plan in accordance with the town's relocation assistance ordinance passed in May. Davie Housing Director Shirley Taylor-Prakelt has reviewed the plan and says it does not follow the "spirit or intent" of the town's law.
Forman, who has hired the Urban Group to help families find new homes, could not be reached for comment.
Paul Figg, an attorney for Forman, said an on-site office has been set up to help relocate residents.
"It's my understanding that a number of residents have already been relocated and there's an ongoing effort to help these people," said Figg, who did not attend Wednesday's meeting.
Paul Jaworski, 52, rents a room in a mobile home at Palma Nova, southeast of Davie Road and Interstate 595. Laid off from his construction job in January, he was recently diagnosed with prostate cancer.
"They dropped the boom on us with this six-month eviction notice," he said this week. "The rent here is only $500 a month. But to pay the bills, you have to rob Peter to pay Paul."
Figg said he did not know Forman's plans for the property. The town's master plan envisions redevelopment of the area, with mixed-use buildings one day replacing the 940-unit mobile home park.
In another matter, the Town Council on Wednesday night was set to debate a proposal to charge non-residents a fee if they cause an accident that requires assistance from Davie firefighters or police.
The town rejected the plan last year over concerns it treated residents and non-residents differently, but Rayson said the plan is legal.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7929.
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