SWEETWATER, FLA. (WSVN) - Residents at a Sweetwater mobile home park are speaking out on the health and safety conditions of the community.
About a dozen people who remain living at the Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park protested Wednesday evening against the deterioration of the neighborhood since the company who owns the property told residents they had to leave by May.
“They’re still paying rent here. They still have the right to feel safe in the space that they’re paying to be in,” said Yesenia Guadalupe.
The ongoing saga began last November when residents were told the company planned to demolish all of the homes so they were being evicted.
Hundreds of families followed the notice, packed up and left. Some even took the incentive of thousands of dollars if they left early enough.
But for the families who stayed behind to fight for their community, they said they are losing their sense of safety.
“There’s people that came in and stole toilets,” said Guadalupe.
“They’re being exposed to hazardous chemicals,” said Melissa Martin.
Many of the homes are said to be abandoned, leading to shattered windows, open doors, exposed insulation and trash on the streets. Some homes are even pushed from their proper foundation.
Over the weekend, one of the homes erupted in flames. Guadalupe said it is due to a recent increase in criminal activity.
“The trailer that was burned was because people had been coming into these trailers and looting, to these trailers, and squatting,” she said.
Now, with the looming demolition of the abandoned trailers, demonstrators said another concern arises: asbestos in the air.
“Some of these people are going to vacate due to health reasons. If they’re actively demolishing 600 vacant trailers around them, 600 vacant trailers that are most likely going to test positive for asbestos,” said Martin.
Those who choose to stay behind are suing Miami-Dade County, the City of Sweetwater and the developers. They said the community they call home now looks like a war zone, and to them, it’s starting to feel like one.
7News captured one of the trailer homes being demolished by crews on Thursday.
“It is their right to fight for what’s fair, and what’s fair is more money, more time, a relocation program, because a lot of these trailers, like I said, are homes,” said Guadalupe.
Residents are also worried about abandoned cats that may be under the trailer homes.
Lizette Nuñez, an animal rescuer, said about 50 cats have been rescued from the community, but hundreds remain.
“The cats will be underneath the trailer once they bulldoze it, and they will be caught under there and get crushed,” she said. “I asked them what are they doing to make sure that there aren’t animals underneath, and they said that they are doing nothing, really. That they can knock to see if maybe they run, but then they bring the bulldozer in, and they just bulldoze.”
She said she thought there would be more time to evacuate them before demolition begins.
The Urban Group, the company that owns the property, told 7News “all units being demolished as permitted have tested negative for asbestos, and the demolition crews are inspecting the units for cats before they take any action.”
However, neighbors continue to say that is not the case.
The longer residents wait to leave, the less money the company will offer them.
The company said if residents leave by the end of March, they will be offered $7,000, but all residents have until May 19 to completely vacate the property.
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