Homeowners are no longer alone in their fight. Several Florida International University students are showing up to the protests as a show of support. NBC6’s Niko Clemmons reports
Nearly a month has passed since people living at Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park in Sweetwater learned they'll have to find a new home, and hundreds of them still don't know where they're going to go.
Several of them protested once again Friday night.
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“We need more time and more money,” Sandra Reyes said. “I think it's not fair what's going on.”
Sandra Reyes lives with her husband and four children. She's not sure where they'll live in a few months.
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“We don't have no place to go,” Reyes said.
Homeowners are no longer alone in their fight. Several Florida International University students are showing up to the protests as a show of support.
“It is not their fault that they're in this position and we should be standing alongside them,” Oscar Alvarez said. “Miami and the entire country is facing a housing crisis. We are the next generation of workers who will be subject to the same sort of eviction process.”
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Crews are starting to demolish abandoned homes at the park. There are plans to close the park, which includes 900 mobile homes, and develop a new community with affordable and workforce housing and a school.
Tenants have until May 2025 to find a new home.
Matt Rosenbaum with The Urban Group, the management agent for the park, said they're focusing on preventing vandalism, squatters and crime.
For hundreds of homeowners who haven't left yet, it's a sign that the clock is ticking.
“We hope they give us more time,” Reyes said.
The Urban Group said they’re helping with relocation by giving $14,000 to those who leave by the end of January.
The park will close permanently May 19, 2025.
