Does current building code violate fair housing?
Is the Village West and it's history being destroyed by greed? University of Miami law professor Anthony Alfieri things so.
“By displacing and resegregating Black tenants in Coconut Grove and elsewhere, the city’s zoning and demolition policies are causing a significant disproportionate impact and segregative effect on predominantly Black neighborhoods,” he said. “Black tenants are getting evicted and their apartment buildings are getting demolished.”
This is from an article in the Miami Times, which continues: "Some landowners are up-zoning to allow for the construction of condominiums and large residential and commercial projects.
“That is not happening to white renters at the same rate or with the same adverse effect,” Alfieri said.
"The Fair Housing Acts protects minorities homeowners and renters from direct discrimination, as well as unintended effects from building policies in place.
"The city’s current building policies and practices are promoting displacement and “that is a disparate impact directly traceable to the city’s policies and practices and that is a violation of the Fair Housing Act,” Alfieri said. “And the city refuses to do anything about it.”
Read the whole story here.
“By displacing and resegregating Black tenants in Coconut Grove and elsewhere, the city’s zoning and demolition policies are causing a significant disproportionate impact and segregative effect on predominantly Black neighborhoods,” he said. “Black tenants are getting evicted and their apartment buildings are getting demolished.”
This is from an article in the Miami Times, which continues: "Some landowners are up-zoning to allow for the construction of condominiums and large residential and commercial projects.
“That is not happening to white renters at the same rate or with the same adverse effect,” Alfieri said.
"The Fair Housing Acts protects minorities homeowners and renters from direct discrimination, as well as unintended effects from building policies in place.
"The city’s current building policies and practices are promoting displacement and “that is a disparate impact directly traceable to the city’s policies and practices and that is a violation of the Fair Housing Act,” Alfieri said. “And the city refuses to do anything about it.”
Read the whole story here.
posted by Tom Falco at 9:30 AM
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12 Comments:
I'm confused and don't understand. Please provide one property owners name, one family or one person in West Grove or anywhere else in the Grove/33133 who's property has been taken and who was refused fair market value. I'm no fan of the City of Miami, who placed $506,000.00 in liens on my homestead stating I was "EXCHANGING EMOTIONS" while talking to my neighbors and passersby about my art. The CITY wrote "We consider any EXCHANGE, a not for profit business venture. I sued in federal & state court & prevailed. I sued CITY a second time for similar stupidity. I'm confused because Blacks, Whites, Latinos & a few Asians sell because they are offered money in exchange for their property. Why is this described as an African American thing? Black families & Latino's now dominate our street and whites have been displaced. Have these new tenants done something wrong? I think not. If you like the money, you sell. If you have the money, you buy. Jobie Steppe
THE FAIR HOUSING ACT
Lots can be said about what’s going on in the Grove, but violating the Fair Housing Act does not to seem to ring true. Here’s the online description from the Department of Justice:
The Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq., prohibits discrimination by direct providers of housing, such as landlords and real estate companies as well as other entities, such as municipalities, banks or other lending institutions and homeowners insurance companies whose discriminatory practices make housing unavailable to persons because of:
race or color
religion
sex
national origin
familial status, or
disability.
In cases involving discrimination in mortgage loans or home improvement loans, the Department may file suit under both the Fair Housing Act and the pattern or practice of discrimination or where a denial of rights to a group of persons raises an issue of general public importance. Where force or threat of force is used to deny or interfere with fair housing rights, the Department of Justice may institute criminal proceedings. The Fair Housing Act also provides procedures for handling individual complaints of discrimination. Individuals who believe that they have been victims of an illegal housing practice, may file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development [HUD] or file their own lawsuit in federal or state court. The Department of Justice brings suits on behalf of individuals based on referrals from HUD.
https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/aboutfheo
OK, let me try to get you to understand. Does the fact that West Grove was called a ghetto by the rest of Coconut Grove and treated like one by the City of Miami a couple of years ago before Whites and Latinos started buying there make you think?
@anon 2:15. When Latinos are 70% of Miami’s population and blacks are 16% of the population while the white European population is only 13%, how do you figure white people are the problem?
Also, I grew up here in the 60’s - 80’s and we NEVER called it the ghetto. It was the Grove and black Grove. The only people who cared what side of 32nd you were on were the police and they would equally harass whites for being west of 32nd and blacks for being east of 32nd. None of us cared and calling it black Grove wasn’t derogatory, it was more an affirmation of the Bahamian roots.
Maybe you just hung out with the wrong people.
It was indeed called a ghetto by most whites who still make up a good percentage of Coconut Grove residents compared to the rest of Miami and there is nothing wrong or inaccurate about that.
Interesting. Zoom in on Dade county and the Grove is the last predominantly white neighborhood in Miami.
https://demographics.virginia.edu/DotMap/index.html
Anon 2:15. I'm a white male, age 76,I've lived in the Grove one block off MacDonald 40 years and have never heard West Grove called a Ghetto or gave much thought to any race issue. The Latinos and blacks have had issues because the Federal, state, & municipal governments gave tons of cash to Cubans (wet foot dry foot) to destabilize a communist regime and drain manpower from the Cuban government during the Castro era. The Blacks got short changed throughout the Miami area. Property values have benefited West Grove residents, so lets not turn a financial windfall into a race issue.
Do gentrification and race overlap?
Meanwhile, on the front page of reddit.com’s Miami page today
r/Miami
Miami named one of the most corrupt cities nationwide
-Sun Sentinal
Hialeah- Least ethnically diverse city in the US according to study
-Hialeah.life
Lost pet raccoon Coconut Grove area -imgur.com. (with picture of wanted poster!!)
Please take just a definitive close look at the properties on Grand ave, those dilapidated ,and extremely overall poor disgusting condition
Those that are boarded up and are being demolished.
Look at the buildings that remain, the horrible condition, and truly appear as ghetto like as anywhere in the country where true ghettos exist.
The slumlords are despicable human beings, but pride of the individuals living in the properties
certainly doesn't go unnoticed.
With what you do have, why would you not do all you could to keep your property as neat,tidy,clean to the best of the residents ability.
That has not been the fact.It takes effort on all residents part.
This isn't an African American issue,This isn't a historical issue, This is an issue of pride in the place that you live period.
When it comes to helping relocate those being displaced due to the sale of the trashed buildings, who wouldn't be for that.Compassion for those individuals is important, and the dilemma must be understood. The extraordinary rise of rental rates,and the lack of affordable housing.
but that doesn't change the importance of fresh new development from the horrific properties that have existed for years.One great example is what few people realize The Gibson Plaza apartments are approx 2/3rds govt assisted,and a portion market rate.A beautiful and extremely well run example of what can be.
I'm hoping that the new mixed development includes affordable housing along with market value housing as had been previously described in previous announcements.
Finally a beautification of a sorely maintained area of a unique overall village.
I wouldn’t put much stock in the opinion of a “social justice” law professor published in the New Times. What’s happening in the West Grove simply reflects an economic reality, that demand for housing close to downtown and the airport is on a huge upswing. Gentrification has even begun in Overtown, of all places. Perhaps Prof. Alfieri can persuade his fellow New Yorkers to stop moving here?
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