Still Here
A Makeshift Village Remains Defiant After a Code That Would Have Restricted the Right of Assembly on Public Land Is Delayed

Geronnie Douglas, left, flanks the Umoja Village sign with Max Rameau just before Thanksgiving. Photo by Mitchell Zachs/Magicalphotos.com

“A raid on the place would be a public relations nightmare for the city.”

By Omar Sommereyns

Smoke billows from a makeshift grill as people sit on dilapidated couches around a fire-barrel burning wood to keep warm. The air is crisp this evening, evincing the sudden change in the weather, and the residents of the Umoja Village – a shantytown that emerged last October on a corner lot in Liberty City under the legal protection of the Pottinger Settlement – are in need of blankets. Across the street, a couple of tents are peddling cheap CD and DVD bootlegs and blasting 2Pac tracks from crackling speakers.

Just a few days before, Miami City Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones pulled out a second reading, scheduled for the Jan. 11 commission meeting, for a code dealing with public assembly. The ordinance, proposed by the City Attorney’s Office, would have prevented public assembly on certain “exempt government property, except in accordance with a permit issued by the chief of police.”

The absence of the second reading signaled a tentative victory for the shantytown residents and Max Rameau, founder of Take Back the Land, which has coordinated the response against the city’s effort to shut down Umoja. Rameau, however, remains skeptical.

“My feeling is that this was simply a strategic retreat on their part, and definitely not a fundamental change in their position,” he says. “We’re not thinking this is over, and we still definitely believe that they’re after us.”

Umoja sprang up last October when affordable housing activists constructed a makeshift village on a parcel of land at NW 62nd Street and 17th Avenue that was supposed to have been used for affordable housing. The housing was never built by the troubled Miami-Dade Housing Agency. So Rameau and other volunteers placed tents and shacks on the land instead.

“Basically, until the county and the city do something about the affordable housing crisis, we’re going to stay here.… This is not merely a symbolic gesture – we have people actually living there,” Rameau says. “This directly addresses the issue and offers some sort of a solution.”

But officials from Miami, where the parcel is located, began looking at ways around the 10-year-old Pottinger Settlement, which forbade the city from interfering with life-sustaining activities of the homeless, including setting up a place to sleep.

On Dec. 14, during the public assembly ordinance’s first reading, a lengthy debate ensued; only Commissioners Tomas Regalado and Marc Sarnoff voted against it.

“We cannot afford to change the laws in a moment where we know we are going to have a very unique situation, probably the most important event that this city has seen in the last 50 years,” Regalado had said. “I'm telling you, do not do this, because by doing it, it's not that you will be changing the whole policy of the Police Department or anything, but you just don't need to send a message that we're really ready to crack down on any demonstration in the streets.”

On the other hand, Spence-Jones, whose district includes the shantytown area, expressed a number of concerns about people congregating on the vacant lot and ultimately voted in favor of the ordinance. However, as the issue bolstered and became especially contentious – spurring rumors of a raid to follow passing of the legislation – the item was removed from the agenda.

“After talking to Max and the residents, and visiting the place, I felt it was important to support them, pull out the ordinance and find some real viable solution to this,” Spence-Jones tells the SunPost.

Adds Kelly Penton, spokesperson for the city of Miami, “Considering that this will be the first meeting after the holiday break, the second reading of the ordinance was deferred … to give city officials more time to consider how to best address the situation.”

As for the ordinance coming back, City Attorney Jorge Fernandez says it is up to the city manager and commission to decide what policy they want to implement: “I originally introduced this in case the city was ever interested in doing anything related to any activity that takes place on what would be called ‘exempt properties,’” he says. “The courts are very clear that First Amendment rights can have reasonable restrictions, but this is a policy decision and the commissioners can decide what they want to do. We will be ready to draft any ordinance that they deem appropriate.”

Fernandez, actually, was a very adamant proponent of the ordinance. As he pointed out during his speech at the Dec. 14 commission meeting, “We have the breadth and the scope of experience in handling these issues, and this is what the city of Miami needs.”

Life in Umoja Village just prior to Thanksgiving. Photo by Mitchell Zachs/Magicalphotos.com

But for now, back at Umoja, the residents can temporarily enjoy their new homes without worrying about an eviction. Blankets are needed because of the current cold streak, as are food and water, which always come by donation. Meanwhile, Rameau and his crew are preparing their “Week of Action Against Gentrification and for Low-Income Housing” that will take place from Jan. 29-Feb. 3, coinciding with Super Bowl week, and consist of various events – a sleep-in, a protest, etc. – intended to highlight the adverse effects of gentrification and the lack of affordable housing in Miami-Dade County.

Jonathan Baker, an Umoja resident, explains how he sees the site evolving. Although he just got a new job, he is bent on staying there and supporting the cause. Personalized shacks – built of plywood and blue tarp, some even painted with decorative motifs and adorned with plants – have replaced most of the tents that were originally here, and a sense of community seems to unite the place.

“This works just like a Walt Disney Swiss Family Robinson movie,” Baker says, as he shows the communal shower shack, which contains a hose with a valve.

“The nicest thing about this place is that you don’t get your stuff stolen like you do when you’re sleeping under the bridge, and for me that would be my books,” he continues. “We got three rules here – no fighting, no sexual harassment and no drugs or alcohol on the property.”

Forty-four people are currently living at Umoja and two are on the waiting list, according to Rameau. Rodney Ducksworth, an older resident, had been sleeping at bus stops before this and found the shantytown by word-of-mouth.

“For me it’s a blessing,” he says. “One night, I was sleeping at a bus stop and some kids just came through and robbed me – all I had was six bucks. This, at least, is a roof. And the people are OK.”

Baker emphasizes that the shantytown is more welcoming than any homeless shelter since it provides its dwellers more freedom – “privacy, no curfew and the ability to wake up and get yourself the traditional midnight snack,” as he puts it. Baker also recently asked Commissioner Spence-Jones to get the city to provide regular trash pickup at the site, although he isn’t sure it’s going to happen.

“She said she’s e-mailed people about it, but I don’t trust her,” he says. “You know, she started off talking bad about us. Just ’cause you thaw a snake out and bring it to your house doesn’t make it any less of a snake. It’s very obvious they’re looking for something to get rid of us. But we’re not gonna let them come here and buy everyone off or come up with a solution to build on the lot. As cliché as it sounds, this is a cause for humanity. It is not a protest, as the politicians say it is.”

Neither Miami Mayor Manny Diaz nor City Manager Pete Hernandez returned requests for comment by deadline. Penton, the city spokesperson, insists Hernandez wants to find a “peaceful resolution” to the situation and sent a city document that lists pointers about the shantytown.

The written statement from city officials says, “The city of Miami understands that there is a serious need for affordable housing and recognizes that this is the message that the shantytown initiators intend to convey. The city’s Homeless Assistance Program (HAP) has been to the site every week to offer shelter and assistance to those who will accept, and the police department has allowed the group to peacefully demonstrate.

“The city takes the group’s concerns seriously and is working to develop the empty parcels of land that exist throughout Liberty City,” the written statement continued. “The Department of Community Development [has] held workshops to find contractors with a solid record of completing quality projects in Miami. The goal is to ensure the development of all vacant city lots in the area, including the one where this demonstration is taking place.”

Spence-Jones, for her part, says she now wants to work with Rameau toward a feasible solution.

“I was impressed by at least the spirit to make a statement,” she tells the SunPost. “You know, there are all these talks about problems with the city and the lack of affordable housing, but who’s actually doing something about it, going out there and taking a stand?

On my end, I’ve begun to identify vacant city buildings in my district that we can begin to rehab immediately – there are at least 40 units spread throughout the area that are ready to be rehabbed. We could maybe have some of the shantytown residents move in there, especially the ones with special needs like mothers with children and elders, but there is a serious waiting list for people who’ve gone through the system, been through the shelters and deserve a decent place.

“What’s really important in this whole thing,” she adds, “is you have to represent all people – the people that have and that have not. Just like there are people calling me to support the shantytown, there are homeowners in the area who are complaining about people out there in that lot, telling me how hard they’ve worked to clean up their community and that I’m doing nothing about the shantytown. So we need to strike a healthy balance between the two.”

Commissioner Regalado — who has previously stated that if there were talks about a raid on the property, he would go there and wait to be arrested — says he maintains the same viewpoint.

“I support these people, I agree with them,” he says. “This is not an eyesore, it’s a political statement and government should be reminded that we have failed with the housing situation. I’ve gone there to bring clothes and food with my children. One thing is for sure, the city manager is not going to order a raid on the place as it would be a public relations nightmare for the city.”

Take Back the Land’s Max Rameau is happy he can now refocus his energy on organizing the “Week of Action” at the end of the month. Still, he and his supporters are always keeping a lookout.

“We hear the rumblings before they happen and we get ready,” he says. “You really need to be politically astute to read the tea leaves and we’re doing that, although right now the city seems to be slightly backing off because of the large community support we have gathered.”

Comments? E-mail omar@miamisunpost.com.