Cedar Key Beacon - January, 2009
CLOSURE OF KENNEDY HOMES IS SUBJECT OF KELLEY’S LATEST BOOK
Attorney Pierce Kelley, formerly with Three Rivers Legal Services and now in private practice in Cedar Key, announces the release of his latest book, entitled Kennedy Homes: An American Tragedy, which is a true story about the closure of the Kennedy Homes Apartment Complex in Gainesville, Florida.
“Kennedy Homes was built in 1968 as part of the “War on Poverty” declared by president John F.Kennedy and his successor, Lyndon Johnson. It was a rent-subsidized project, administered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provided two and three bedroom units for 172 families in Southeast Gainesville. A fire, caused by electrical problems, erupted on October 6, 2003, in the “D” building and it led to the closure of the complex less than two months later. A strikingly similar fire had occurred in the “A” building three years earlier.”
Lawyers from Three Rivers Legal Services filed suit against AIMCO, the largest landlord in the United States, with billions of dollars in yearly income, and over a million tenants in 47 states, others, claiming, among other things, that the closure of the complex had a racially disparate impact on African-Americans, who comprised 98% of the tenant population, and that the owners and managers had been “grossly negligent” in the management of the complex.
“They failed to correct the known electrical problems even after the fire in 2000 and hundreds of complaints about power-outages, shorts, and other mini-fires,” Kelley said.
“I was one of several lawyers who worked on this case, which lasted for almost five years. Thousands of apartment complexes all across the country, just like Kennedy Homes, are now in a state of disrepair, due to age or mis-management. Three other apartment complexes in the Gainesville area are being closed right now. Eliminating housing for the poor is not the answer, in my opinion. I wrote this book because I felt this is a story which should be told as it is a problem facing our nation which must be addressed.”