MIAMI (WSVN) - More than 100 people in the West Grove community, a predominantly Black neighborhood in Coconut Grove, said the city’s old trash incinerator, formerly known as “Old Smokey,” and the ash it spewed caused or contributed to their cancer, diabetes and other health issues as well as depressed property values for 50 years. These accusations have led the residents of the area to file a class action lawsuit against the City of Miami.
On Tuesday, the community and attorney Jason Clark, gathered to speak to the public about the lawsuit after a judge denied the city’s motion to throw out the case and toss away medical monitoring funds from the case.
Many spoke out about their health issues, which they believe are due to the toxicity that leaked into the neighborhood from Old Smokey.
“The smoke and the ash would come down and rain down on us,” said Thaddeus Scott. “Our clothes would get [the smoke], it would get inside our nose, so quite naturally, we breathed it in.”
The old trash incinerator, now a Miami Fire Rescue training facility, was shut down in 1970 as a public nuisance by court order, but even after the building was shut down, clouds of smoke and toxic ash billowed through the furnace.
“The pain and suffering that my family endured, losing five family members from five different cancers and nobody knew what kind of cancer it was or where it came from,” said Hollis Gaitor.
Gaitor and his family have been in this house for more than 50 years – feet from the Old Smokey site. His parents have since passed, but he and his sister remain both dealing with health issues.
Countless amounts of toxic ash that was mounted in the building, were buried in quarries that provided limestone in Miami’s early development.
“This was just something we took as normal because it was normal for us but finding out that it wasn’t normal,” said Scott.
The lawsuit states that the government found contaminants in the area six years ago.
“They’re victimizing the Coconut Grove community again by trying to get rid of the only procedure they have for preventing future harm,” said Clark. “This type of community is disenfranchised, formerly segregated Black community, a lot of these individuals don’t have the means to go to the doctor every year or every month.”
7News has reached out to the City of Miami for comment but has yet to hear back from anyone.
A judge will make a decision in the coming months as this community fights for what they believe is right.
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