[Imc-miami] Press Release: Community Takes Over Land in Miami, to Build Shanty Town

[JollyJack at aol.com]

Community Groups Take Over Public  Land 
'Take Back the Land' Building Shanty  Town to House Homeless 

Monday, October 23,  2006 
for immediate  release 
Citing disillusionment with the ability of the "system" to  serve the needs 
of the poor Black community, and in the wake of the latest  government housing 
scandal, several organizations and individuals, under the  leadership of the 
Center for Pan-African Development, occupied public  land today and is building 
a shanty town to house the homeless and  those living in squalor. 
The shanty town is under construction on the corner of  62nd St. and  NW 17  
th Ave. in the Liberty City section of Miami  as of 3:00pm today. The lot is 
owned by the city of Miami and has been vacant  for years, since the City 
purchased, and subsequently demolished, the low rent  apartment complex at the 
site. 
The move is a direct response to the housing crisis,  including the recently 
publicized government housing scandals, and the  corresponding gentrification 
of Black communities in Miami-Dade county.  
"During this housing crisis, local officials have been  decreasing the number 
of affordable housing units, while,  simultaneously,  making developers 
richer by stealing from the  poor," argues Max Rameau, one of the organizers of the 
shanty town.  Citing the HOPE VI project which destroyed 851 units of public 
housing  and the over 1,000 vacant public housing units, Rameau asserts that  
"far from relieving the crisis, government has been deliberately exacerbating  
it" in order to reward their politically connected friends at the expense of  
the poor. 
Rameau concludes the community is out of options. "We are  left with little 
choice: either continue to rely on the fox to provide security  for the chicken 
coop or do it ourselves. The city and the county have no  interest in housing 
poor Black people, so we will do it ourselves." 
The shanty town is legal under the landmark  Pottinger Settlement, a court 
supervised guideline for treating  the homeless. The settlement was reached 
after years of city of Miami abuse of  the homeless. Pottinger dictates that the 
homeless cannot be arrested for  engaging in "Life Sustaining Conduct," 
including public nudity related to calls  of nature or bathing, eating, sleeping in 
public and maintaining "temporary  structures." The shanty town enables the 
homeless to conduct "life sustaining"  business together in one public location 
instead of separately in several  locations. 
The shanty town is a long term project designed to house  homeless people, 
not a short term tent city. Volunteers will train residents to  run the town 
themselves, enhancing the long term viability of the project. 
Other participating organizations include Hope for the  Homeless and 
Hopeless, Inc., Brothers of the Same Mind, N'COBRA and Downward  Mobility. 
contact:  
Max Rameau, Center for Pan-African Development, _afrimax at gmail.com _ 
(mailto:afrimax at gmail.com)                       786-556-6881 
Amanda  Seaton,                                               
_amandaseaton2004 at yahoo.com_ (mailto:amandaseaton2004 at yahoo.com)           305-978-8612  


Best  Regards,
Jack Lieberman
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