Sarasota Herald-Tribune, December 12, 2003
Pushed out into the cold
Trailer residents feel pressure, but someone cares
BY SELINA ROMÁN
BRADENTON -- Hot pink letters blaze across the sides of several trailers at the
Trail Motel and Mobile Home Park. The words scream the park's fate: "READY TO DESTROY!"
Residents of the park on 14th Street West fear the same future as those crumbling trailers.
But a group of advocates brought hope Thursday night. They listened to residents,
answered their questions and informed them of their rights in the eviction process.
Among those residents was Robert Garcia, who with a wife and five children and
one on the way was anxious about his family's welfare. He said he's been looking
for a new home to rent, but everything he's seen is out of his range.
"I have nothing that's certain and I worry for my family," Garcia said in Spanish.
But after talking to volunteers, he felt a little more secure. "I feel more sure,"
he said in Spanish. "because now people want to help us. It's coming from their heart.
They want to help us." More than 45 residents from the park huddled at the front of a
vacant trailer in the cold Thursday night where volunteers interviewed renters and
trailer owners. Residents told volunteers how much they paid for their homes as well
as how they've been pressured to leave the park sooner than they were told.
The evictions come as James Maglione, the park's owner, tries to sell the
property to a group of real estate investors for $900,000. The group plans to
demolish the aging singlewide trailers and rebuild the streets and water and sewer lines.
But residents said they still haven't received formal eviction notices from
Maglione or the prospective buyers. According to state law, landlords can't
evict tenants without a written notice. Residents said they've gotten conflicting
messages from the county, which tagged trailers for repairs or demolition in August.
Trail has been cited numerous times for code and building violations
from trash to junked vehicles.
During the last several months, the county has kept a close watch on the park,
and many residents have been cleaning their places and making repairs. Many
Trail families work the fields or packing houses and would have to move during
the height of the citrus and tomato harvest in an already tight affordable-housing market.
Residents came home last week to find their water turned off and people telling
them they had to move out immediately. They thought they had until the end of January.
The park's prospective owners have said they shut the water off to fix a sewage leak.
They said the safety of the residents was their main concern. The water was restored,
but a week later, residents have said they were still being threatened with deportation
and losing their children if they don't leave the park immediately. Lorraine Chulla,
who represents the group who wants to buy the park, has said threats were
never made to residents.
Staff from Florida Rural Legal Services in Fort Myers were at the mobile home park
to explain to the residents that they have rights. Volunteers from agencies such as
the Manatee County School District, the Healthy Start Coalition of Manatee County
and Hispanic Democratic Caucus were also present. Rachel Micah-Jones, a law clerk
with Florida Rural Legal Services, learned about the situation at Trail last week. She
and other staffers and local advocates have been leading the effort to make sure residents
are treated fairly and have a place to go.
"Migrant housing is a huge issue especially in Manatee County where there's a lack of
affordable housing," Jones said after the meeting. "It looks like an emergency situation."
Luz Corcuera of Healthy Start said it was important "that the community be present and
ease these peoples' fears." Rachel Yanez may not have a new place to move to yet,
but she has more faith than she did a week ago when the water was shut off and
residents were told to leave.
"It's good," Yanez said in Spanish. "I was thinking no one was going to help us."