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The midnight on Monday marked the deadline imposed on the remaining residents of the Li’l Abner mobile home park in Sweetwater, where hundreds of families continue to resist eviction despite the imminent advance of the bulldozers.
The land, which once housed over 5,000 people, will be transformed into a new housing development for workers.
The construction has already begun in several areas of the park, and numerous lots have been stripped of their units, but about 220 families (around 1,000 people) still live there, holding on to the hope that justice will be served.
Since November 2024, when the first eviction notices were issued, the protests have not stopped, but the demolition work is progressing.
"The way they tried to remove us from here was not correct", says Martha Torres to Local 10. She is one of the residents who remains in the park with her family.
Torres is part of a class action lawsuit aimed at stopping evictions and holding landlords accountable. “We are paying. This is not free,” she asserts, while showing rental receipts and reporting skin rashes and health issues that she attributes to the environmental degradation in the area.
County inspections detected asbestos in at least four demolished houses, although the landowners deny that any hazardous conditions exist. Despite this, many residents, including seniors and individuals with disabilities, refuse to leave what they consider their only home.
The process included financial incentives for those who agreed to leave. They were offered $14,000 until January, $7,000 until March, and $3,000 until April. However, those who do not leave by May 19 will no longer receive any compensation.
"I never thought I would live like this, in fear, in a place where one believed they would be forever", said a neighbor in tears who has been living in the park for decades.
The fate of these families might be determined not by the demolition machines, but in the courts. Their lawyer summarizes it as follows: “Keep the faith. This is a country of rights.”
Sought-after area in Miami-Dade: Development or displacement?
The Li’l Abner mobile home park is located in one of the most desirable areas of Miami-Dade, just minutes away from universities like FIU and Miami Dade College, as well as shopping centers, healthcare services, and key transit routes.
This strategic location makes it a magnet for developers and investors, in a context where access to affordable housing is increasingly limited in South Florida.
The plans for the area include the construction of housing for workers, a community center, medical services, and a public park. However, the appeal of the land contrasts with the harsh reality faced by the families who live there.
For many of the 900 affected families, the compensation offered for leaving their homes is insufficient to find an alternative in Miami's competitive rental market.
While developers project long-term benefits, residents are experiencing immediate distress. The eviction not only means the loss of their homes but also the loss of a community that has been established for decades, in an increasingly hostile environment for low-income citizens.
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