Thursday, May 18, 2006

Section 8

From an email:

"I need some input from anyone that has knowledge of how the wonderful world of “Section 8” works. As in many times past, last night I was able to get about 3 hours of sleep due to my neighbors having a lover’s quarrel in their front yard. After hearing them from 1am to 2:45am, I decided to call the police. The police came out and told them to just “keep it down” (never asked them to go inside – as you know, you can hear every word through these old wood-frame homes). It’s ironic to me how I had to be up early for a job interview this morning in an effort to better my career that will, in turn, support these kind of people and obnoxious behaviors with my tax dollars. These are the same people who have woken me up while having sex in their front yard and also used the front yard as the bathroom when he felt like puking his guts up in the early morning hours. These are the people whose children chronically throw garbage/glass in my yard and have smashed a big terra-cotta pot against my A/C unit. The place looks like a dump and will never be a positive contribution to the neighborhood as long as they inhabit the place. Does anyone know if a crusade can be launched to ban Section 8 renters from this home? I’ve heard that it’s not possible but wanted to ask for some feedback. I’ve had worse renters in the house before these low-life’s, so by getting them thrown out, I just may be asking for more troubles to move in the place.

Tired and Taxed,"

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does anyone know if a crusade can be launched to ban Section 8 renters from this home?

So is it just your neighbors now you have issue with, or is it all people who happen to be "poor"

Anonymous said...

My experience with Section 8 is not just a few bad apples spoiling the barrel, but the barrel probably only has a couple of salvageble apples. Section 8 landlords aren't apt to address problems either as they're motives are not altruistic in the least.

Anonymous said...

wow...please don't give people like this anymore airtime on your blog....the post sounds slightly racist/classist to me.

Anonymous said...

OMG. I can't blame the original poster. To the people who want to throw around discussion killers like "rascist" and "classist"...get the beam out of your eye. No body gave a racial description. You simply jumped to a conclusion. I love limosine liberals...excusing the worst human behavior so long as it is not next door to them.

Take the owner to court. They are liable for the damage done by their tenants. Sometimes just threatening to can make a problem go away. Section 8 is not a fee pass

Anonymous said...

Section 8 housing is not all lived in by jerks,,,,,,,,,,,but unfortunately alot are. I know neighbors who when the new tennants moved in, introduced themselves, offered a dish, and the use of their phone until the new tennants was installed. The answer was,,,,,,,,,,,,"butt out, we don't need your food or your phone" Nice start,,,,,,,,,,,It is difficult after an experience such as this to give a break the next time.

CouldBeSherry said...

The blogg is an open forum and though there are many comments I abhor, still I like knowing what people think! Don't ban anyone!

I have to say that a person is not racist or against the poor because they don’t like trash dumped in their yard, abandon automobiles, and unattended children involved in endless situations which could harm them. Poor, black, white, redneck, oriental, Spanish, whatever, it s all the same. You can be any of these things and be a good citizen. Or you could be any of these things and be a bad citizen. It is not a race, color or belief issue. It is a quality of life issue and a good neighbor issue. Nothing more sinister than that!

Anonymous said...

I didn't want to comment, but I just have to. The post and comments are about Section 8. No mention of race at all, yet Anonymous 4:29 states it is racist. I would think to make the automatic assumption that Section 8=Race issue is pretty damned racist itself so perhaps a look in the mirror is in order.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry to the person who has to live with this shit. Something I realized a long time ago is that people don't hate public housing or section 8 because of race but because most of the people who live in those situations only make it worse by poor behavior and more importantly shitting them up. I recall living in a small town and the public housing was a small area of beautiful brick townhomes but without fail the yards were covered in trash, cops were always responding to the area, and the places were internally destroyed. Being poor is not a reason for being disrespectful to your community. Finally, to the person who wrote the request I would advise calls your representatives and get a good attorney.

Anonymous said...

Such ignorant responses Molly & 4:29... way to be!

Anonymous said...

Section 8 is a voucher program sponsored by HUD.

Call the Tampa HUD office, they may have some sort of complaint protocol. Get to know the case managers.


I don't care whether they are black, white, purple, beige, muave or corduroy; if they pull that $hit next to my house we gone have big problem.

I definitely advocate getting to know everything about the landlord too, judgements, liens, jail time, divorce - check all public records and make his life hell.

Go meet neighbors who live next to his other properties and form some sort of coalition. This is war!

The media can be helpful too if you develop a relationship with good reporter. Crappy landlord stories are always popular.

Don't take it lying down...

Anonymous said...

I have the same issue where I live, and I have tried calling code enforcement on the landlord under the law the landlord has an obligation to the neighbors - but code enforcement will not act on it and claim it is a police issuel the polie will not deal with the landlord at al. Try any neighborhood association, failing that call the police every damng night and call your city councilman and have him/her get code enforcement to stop toking their dope and do their jobs.

Anonymous said...

Just want to clarify that Molly is not the same as this Molly. There is a major difference between people who don't have money and people who don't have respect for their neighbors.

Anonymous said...

apparently all the section 8 talk is moot. tired and taxed's neighbor is not a section 8 house afterall, just a crappy rental from austin industries. lemme hear it.....

Anonymous said...

Austin Industries rentals and Eddie Serrallas of Tp Hts are in the same boat. Buy low - don't fix and sell back holding the mortgage at high rates to famalies that can't truly afford the mortgage so the sellers keep the deposit and the payments and the buyers are dumped out on the street and the cycle starts all over again.

Anonymous said...

Call or e-mail an editor at the Tribune. Listings are on the paper's website. Look for the Metro editor.

An investigative piece on Austin Industries and Eddie Serallas sounds like an excellent story.

What bums.

Anonymous said...

you are all racists....are any of you black or on section 8?

Anonymous said...

Not all blacks are low lifes on section 8, But the low lifes on section 8 all seem to be......

Anonymous said...

ooooo let's place the race card. Nobody has said anything about race.I'm soooo sick of people using their race, their nationality, the kind of dog they have to excuse the fact that they are inconsiderate a**holes. Spare me the political correctness. It creates more tension in our society that it avoids. The last I looked, there is NO constitutional right to not be offended. Get over it.

Anonymous said...

here are some suggestions from my sister that may assit you. She is a former employee of the THA (Tampa Housing Authority) in the section 8 area.

Okay... do the following things in the order I wrote them and let me know what happens if the problem isn't resolved.

1. Get a copy of all the calls made to the police. You should be able to access the information on the net, but you may have to go to the police department to get a copy of the records. Include these calls in your letter.
2. Write a letter to the Tampa Housing Authority stating all of the things you wrote in the email. You are very articulate and state your case very well. I would snail mail and email to the following people at THA:

Mr. Jerome Ryans (Mr. Good Ole' Boy)
cc: Ms. Chris Warren (MAJOR PLAYER - controls the $$$)
Mr. Clarence Brown (shifty and dishonest)
Ms. Carmen Nieves (puppet in the department)
Mr. Mike Mosley (landlord liaison; not the most motivated employee)

Go to the THA website for their titles. These are the people in the order of power. If Mr. Ryan and Ms. Warren get a letter the pressure will be put on Mr. Brown and Ms. Nieves to get the problem corrected.
3. I would also suggest writing a letter to the editor of the Tampa Tribune as well. THA does not want any public attention due to the problems they have in the Section 8 department. Power of the press... And definitely include the "tired and taxed" comment. Very well put...
4. I would also contact the owner of the property and voice your concerns again and document the conversation. Send the owner a copy of the letter that you send to THA.
5. If you do not get the problem resolved after following the suggested ideas, please feel free to contact me and I will advise you of the next step you need to take. I will be glad to help in any way that I can.

DO NOT give up! Reclaim you neighborhood! Just because someone has a Section 8 voucher it doesn't excuse them from behaving in a civilized manner.
As a former Section 8 counselor I can tell you that something can be done, but it takes perseverance and dedication to your cause. A crusade may be just what you need, but in the end you can get the result that you want.

P.S. OH! And if you know the names of those of the people who live next door, run an arrest record on them. You may find something to use in your case.