Or Should They Vote the Other Way?
The second choice was to stay put, tell City Hall, “No, thank you,” and take their chances with the present ownerships of the two parks. The next conundrum was, should they trust in the benevolence and (hopefully) long lives of the owners of the two parks? As long as the three parties who owned the two mobile home parks did not get a better offer, the residents appeared to be safe. Two years ago last month, all residents received a business-like letter from City Hall telling them, in effect, that the mobile home parks where they had planned to live out their lives were on life support. They reacted the way most people would. They were overcome by a rush of panic. As far as I can tell, they had zero professional guidance through these shark-drunk waters. The first night they appeared in Council Chambers, they had a classy attorney in tow. The single appearance shot their budget. Some residents are better off, and, their lifestyle will be protected regardless of what happens. Most, though, are ensconced on a foundation of jelly.
Their Fate Is Up to…?
Two recent events jogged my memory about the vicious day-to-day uncertainty that haunts the besieged residents mobile home parks. One was the Katyusha rockets that Hezbollah has been lobbing into Israel every day since the Israelis evacuated Gaza last September. The other was an essay on these pages two and half weeks ago (June 29, “You Wanna Know Who Votes?”) by the often witty lawyer/politician/philosopher Steve Gourley. Skipping across the top of the issue, the way Jimmy Cagney performed in “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” Mr. Gourley essayed a lighthearted piece about how many park residents voted last November. He concluded that 6 did. His piece was entertaining enough. But the dilemma of uncertainty that residents now face every morning of their lives is deadly serious. Having been voted out of City Hall’s money-guaranteed redevelopment plan, these poor, aging and sickly persons can do no more than persevere and pray. Certain people at City Hall, however, can exult. By thunder, they showed those tough old birds who was in charge.