Gladys Tiffany, Director Omni Center for Peace Justice & Ecology
Dec 20 2024
The first real hearing on the first lawsuit – the SZ Apartments against us – about the fate of the old white house and the people living in it, happened Tuesday before last. We worked very hard to prepare for it and felt like we had solid evidence to support our claims that the house is not the source of crime and mess it may have seemed to be before the homeless camp closed.
But at the hearing, the charges had shifted to it being a potential fire trap that would be unsafe for people to live in. This came up in the last city council meeting but we and our lawyer didn’t realize just how important it would be in the case. The new charge was based on the report from one of the firemen when there was a fire last September. He put observations in his report that we couldn’t agree with, like rotten stairs (doesn’t appear true to us), spongy floors (also not what we see), over occupancy proven by bedding in the closets (the closets are too tiny for sleeping in and no bedding was apparent when we checked it out), and most surprising of all, that there were people sleeping in the basement (there is no basement in this building). What is all that about? We’ll need to get an independent inspection to show something is out of kilter here.
However, the result was tragic! The judge – possibly out of misguided concern for the renters, but maybe some other reason related to the disposition of the property that I don’t understand – decided that all renters should be expelled from the building in 30 days. We tried to explain that most of these people had little income and wouldn’t be able to pay rents at the current rates, so most would go back onto the streets. But it was dismissed as if it had never been spoken. It wasn’t relevant in a legal system that is designed to avoid compassion.
If concern for the renters was involved at all it was misguided since the renters had no say in whether their choice would be the certainty of suffering in the January cold, or to consider the possibility of a potential fire at some point in the unknown future. “No decision about us without us” was ignored by the court.
We’re sad, disappointed and wish we were better at anticipating the system. This whole saga is very frustrating but educational. Sure hope we never need to do it again.
The next steps will be the court case by the city. No date yet. The apartment complex is hoping the city can carry the load and win its case for it. But we’ll be better prepared this time.
There’s now a GoFundMe to raise money for these legal expenses, and to HELP THE 8 RENTERS GET INTO HOUSING very soon. They have to be out by January 10. If you have a few spare bucks to help them we’d all appreciate it. Here’s the link to our GoFundMe page if you’re interested.
Keep 8 People From Becoming Homeless by January 10
GoFundMe link: