MIAMI – Local 10 News Investigative Reporter Christina Vazquez sat down with City of Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado and District 5 City of Miami Commissioner, Keon Hardemon following the three-part Call Christina Investigation, "Left to Rot."
"For many years, code enforcement, which is the only instrument that we have, have been citing and then they just don't pay attention. The problem is that this is the predicament that we have. If we send the fire department and close down the building, what happens to these people? They're going to go out of the building on the street for three days. The Salvation Army will take care of them; the Red Cross will take care of them only for three days, and then there is no shelter, there is no housing for these residents. So it's just like friendly fire. So the only recourse was to go to court," said Regalado. "You know, I see the state legislature so distant. They talk about many things, but how about these families? I mean, if we have a law that says OK, we can foreclose that building, put it to sell, give the money to the neighbors, do an association, we'll be fine, but there's nothing we can do. You know the code enforcement process is so long by a state law that these landlords get away with it for months and months and months and months. So this is a Catch 22 and the sad story here is that this Catch 22 hurts so many people."
***WEB EXTRA: Miami Mayor Tomas Regalado on state legislature, slumlords.
"You've actually done something that we were not able to do, which is travel to where that family lives, knock on the door, see their face. We hear the word slumlord all the time, but today through your help, we were able to identify that person," said Hardemon, "It's not the role of just the commissioner; it's the role of the community to say that we won't stand for these types of conditions any longer. And then to take that blame and put it squarely on the person that is responsible for it. In this situation, it is a woman who lives in a magnificent home in a place that is far from Miami. And until the state laws give us the ability to truly arrest her, I think that we are going to continue to have these types of problems."
***WEB EXTRA: Miami Commission Keon Hardemon on deplorable apartment conditions, what can be done.
Rep. Cynthia Stafford and Rep. Daphne Campbell have committed to spending the summer months drafting new legislation that would make it harder for negligent landlords to escape jail time for ignoring high priority repeat violations and critical repairs.
Last week, Local 10 News checked in with every member of the Miami-Dade County Legislative Delegation.
To date, Rep. Joseph Geller and Sen. Dwight Bullard have been the only two lawmakers to reply to our inquiry.
"I would support legislation to hold landlords accountable for deplorable conditions," Rep. Joseph Geller said.
"I stand with Reps. Campbell and Stafford in trying to find a solution to this issue," Sen. Dwight Bullard said.
The city claims it is owed more than $2.4 million in fines related to "code enforcement, building, solid waste and fire violations. This total continues to increase due to ongoing per diem fines and interest fees."
According the city attorney's office, the properties have much of the same issues since the lawsuit was filed last October, to include still not being compliant, most of which include water damage, caved-in ceilings, mold, railing and handrail damage, a 40/50-year re-certification and other structural matters. All code liens continue to accrue.
State records show all the companies are run by Denise Vaknin of New Jersey.
The city has moved for an entry of final judgment after the defendant corporations defaulted. The city then filed a motion asking the court to appoint a receiver on April 28.
A motion for default final judgment is set for June 4 at 9 a.m. before Judge Barbara Areces.
Some people wondered why the buildings were not shut down after the history of violations.
"Remember, it would be our responsibility if these people are on the street tomorrow morning," said Regalado.
The city is hoping to pressure compliance through this suit.
"So what this will do, along with the right of receivership, will give us an opportunity to start to collect funds, the rents that the people are actually paying to correct these situations and these units," said Hardemon.
"And hopefully on the day of the court hearing, the judge will understand that this is a crisis," said Mayor Regalado. "That this cannot be postponed, that the owners cannot be told, 'well you have 120 days to fix this,' because they won't. They just don't care. They are milking the cow and that is a shame. It is a shame that you have dozens and dozens of residents that have nobody to protect them. So I hope that the court will do something."
Regaldo said the emphasis has been on the nine Vaknin-run properties because they are "the worst," but said the problem is citywide. "If you go to Allapattah or Little Havana, you will find buildings like this," he said.
"We have a problem with slumlords," explained Hardemon,. "They prey upon poor and sometimes indigent people, and that's something that we have to tackle within our state. The problem is systematic and we have an issue where landowners can have these properties, keep them in disrepair, and they can't be held accountable for it besides civil fines and then they fight us in court every way that they can. What we need is a type of way that we can put their freedom at risk so they can understand the seriousness of the issues that these people are living in because people should not have to live this way."
They are both looking to Florida state lawmakers to draft new legislation to help communities, like Miami, tackle the issue of negligent landlords.
"We hope that there is a more comprehensive plan other than suing individual landlords. I hope that there is a law. I hope that there is a bill. I hope that there is an action by the state attorney because people don't want to go to jail. People don't care about the letters that we send --'you have to pay $150 a day,' -- they just don't care; but they do care if they have to go to jail. So that's the end result that we want. I think that we can send a clear message if a court will say, 'look you don't comply you will be cited for contempt of court, and you're going to go to jail.' That would at least scare some of the people."
"The city attorney's office is working through the court system to bring these properties into compliance by holding its owners accountable for the poor living conditions of the residents," Miami city attorney Victoria Mendez said in statement. "We hope to improve the quality of life for these citizens through our courts."
"In Washington and in Tallahassee, they look at numbers," said Regalado. "In Miami we look at faces. This is the tragedy. You know we want to do it, but we cannot do it alone."
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