Davenport residents face emergency evictions! - After Action Report
Quad Cities Interfaith (QCI) and QC Tenant Alliance (QCTA)
From the QCTimes
TOM LOEWY, SARAH WATSON, AND GRETCHEN TESKE
Mar 28, 2024
DAVENPORT APARTMENT VACATED
Lamond Lathan-Burge is happy to have a roof over his head. But the 23-year-old isn't sure where he'll go after the city of Davenport vacated his apartment building on West 4th Street on Tuesday on advice of Shive-Hattery structural engineers. He spent Tuesday night in the Relax Inn on North Brady Street. Scott County made rooms available at the extended-stay hotel. The city notified tenants of the evacuation of Schricker Apartments at 401 W. 4th St. and "has secured available resources to assist in displacement," according to a Tuesday news release from the city's Development and Neighborhood Services Department. Per the apartment building owner, the current expected number of units vacated is 18, according to the city.
Notices taped to the building's doors told residents the building was being evacuated immediately and that with proof of residency, rooms are available at the Relax Inn from March 26 to March 31 at no cost. Pets are allowed.
An unexpected notice
Shive-Hattery was hired by the city of Davenport, and its report recommended the immediate vacate order based on the conditions of a wooden wall believed to be a structural wall. Nicole Gleason, Davenport's public works director and assistant city administrator, told the City Council on Wednesday night that recommendations from Shive-Hattery were that the building should be immediately evacuated because of the building's potentially unsafe structural conditions and could "fully or partially collapse with little or no warning." Lathan-Burge said he wasn't surprised the building was vacated. "A couple of days after I moved in, I was hanging out and playing some video games and mice ran through my living room," he said. "I didn't have a stove for two months, and then they installed a gas stove. Turns out I had a gas leak, and I had to have MidAmerican Energy come and fix it. "And it just felt like the maybe the floor was sagging. It was weird."
Displaced residents find temporary home
Lathan-Burge said he didn't fault the city, but he was taken aback by the lack of notice. "I came home and the stuff taped to the door said we had to be out by 4:30 (p.m.)," Lathan Burge said Wednesday while he stood outside the Relax Inn. "That wasn't a lot of notice. I just put together what I could, put it all in my car and came here." Lathan-Burge said he felt "really bad for some of the people living in the apartment building who might not be physically able to move stuff." Courtney Jones, senior operations and partnerships manager for the city of Davenport's office of administration and finance, said, "Tenants will be allowed to retrieve belongings so long as admittance into the building is coordinated with the property owner." "This really just puts a lot of stress on everyone," Lathan-Burge said. "So when I got here, I was told I only had one day (at the Relax Inn). Then we had to work out how long I could stay. I'll be staying at the Relax Inn through Sunday. "After that, I'm not sure. I either have to move back in with my mom, or I have to find a shelter that will take me." Lathan-Burge paid $800 a month for his one-bedroom apartment at Schricker Apartments. "I paid my rent early, so now I'm really low on cash," he said. "Things are going to get hard for me and the other people who lived in that apartment. “I’m just not sure what I'll be able to do."
The Quad Cities Tenant Alliance, a part of nonprofit Quad Cities Interfaith, hosted a rally on Wednesday ahead of Wednesday evening's City Council meeting, calling on leaders to provide the tenants with security deposit and two months of rent by Monday to find somewhere else to live. "This is another example of landlords' complete abdication of responsibility for the health and safety of their tenants," said Beth Longlett, a member of QCTA and Zion Lutheran Church. "The tenants are forced to find new housing — in an already tight market — without the means to do so." "We've seen this over and over. Landlords rarely return security deposits in these situations. When tenants are displaced because of landlord neglect, the city should require landlords to pay tenants immediately. It should be a condition of having a rental license in Davenport," said Dennis Platt, a member of QCTA.
A last resort
One long-term resident of the Relax Inn described it as a "last resort" for people who cannot find permanent housing. That same resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said the hotel's owners "try to help people" and "there are good people living here." She also said some of the residents scare her. Lathan-Burge said he received a scare early Wednesday morning.
"I woke up to a man and woman screaming at each other," he said. "It was right outside the door. Then he started hitting her. "It was disturbing. “The Relax Inn has seen some violence and drug activity. Joseph Fitzgerald Dodd was arrested in October 2023 for a Sept. 17, 2023, shooting at the motel that left a man injured. Also in September, a man was arrested for allegedly peddling multiple drugs — including "crack" cocaine, heroin and meth — out of a room he rented. Local law enforcement agencies served eight search warrants on rooms in the Relax Inn in 2023. All of those search warrants were related to the people staying in the rooms, not the owners, managers or employees of the motel. The manager working Tuesday at the Relax Inn said the owners "work very hard to keep people safe." He added that the management "can't turn away people based on how they look" and it is "very hard to tell what people will do in their rooms." Multiple complaints about the hotel last year led to some inspections in 2023. The complaints ranged from trash left in rooms to dirty sheets to cockroaches. These inspections fall under the jurisdiction of the Scott County Health Department, according to the state department's website.
'A stopgap'
The county, through its general assistance fund, is paying for residents displaced from 401 W. 4th St. to stay at the Relax Inn until Monday. "We're a stopgap," said Lori Elam, the Scott County Community Services director. Elam said the city of Davenport reached out to the county and nonprofits for help with relocation assistance for tenants Every county has a general assistance fund, Elam said, which can be used for assistance with rent, utilities, transportation, and even cremation and burial services for people who need it. Elam said the hotel accepted payment from the county. Vendors must go through a process to determine eligibility. "This is an emergency situation," Elam said. "We were just trying to help folks get off the street quickly, and we were able to use general assistance to do that." Elam said she was not aware of recent inspections nor had heard concerns about the hotel.
COMMENTS AT THE DAVENPORT CITY COUNCIL OPEN FORUM:
It has been 304 days since the building at 324 Main Street in Davenport, Iowa, collapsed and nothing has been settled for those who died, were injured or lost their homes.
PACG and QCI member Loxi Hopkins said, “The city needs to show responsibility for those displaced and in need.”
Paul Vasquez, 3rd Ward Alderman, Davenport said, “The Council is more reactive than active. Resolutions approving City Home funding applications for Davenport Projects are given to out-of-state landlords. The city needs to adopt basic housing and rental housing inspections and enforcement.”
Dennis Platt, 6th Ward resident and a member of the QC Tenant Alliance, listed a number of properties where tenants have been evicted. The city should push landlords to take care of their properties in substandard status and allow housing choice vouchers to tenants who are displaced from those properties.
Susan Meenan, 7th Ward resident and a member of QCI, said, “Landlords should refund deposits and rents and provide moving costs.”
LaShanna Dixon, QC Tenants Alliance, said, “People deserve much better.” Her sister, LaCanna Dixon, said, “That she doesn’t see any compassion from the city when these buildings are condemned.”
According to one resident, he received ½ hour to vacate because Shive-Hattery, a Quad Cities Architecture and Engineering Firm, found structural issues that made the building unsafe. An eviction notice was never posted. The police knocked on doors to make sure that everyone was out.
Tenants’ immediate needs are laundry soap, toilet paper, bath towels, toilet plungers, and hygiene products. Check the QC Tenant Alliance or the Quad Cities Interfaith websites for updates on where to bring these important items! Once drop off information is available we will post it.
Ann McCluskey
From the QCTimes
TOM LOEWY, SARAH WATSON, AND GRETCHEN TESKE
Mar 28, 2024
DAVENPORT APARTMENT VACATED
Lamond Lathan-Burge is happy to have a roof over his head. But the 23-year-old isn't sure where he'll go after the city of Davenport vacated his apartment building on West 4th Street on Tuesday on advice of Shive-Hattery structural engineers. He spent Tuesday night in the Relax Inn on North Brady Street. Scott County made rooms available at the extended-stay hotel. The city notified tenants of the evacuation of Schricker Apartments at 401 W. 4th St. and "has secured available resources to assist in displacement," according to a Tuesday news release from the city's Development and Neighborhood Services Department. Per the apartment building owner, the current expected number of units vacated is 18, according to the city.
Notices taped to the building's doors told residents the building was being evacuated immediately and that with proof of residency, rooms are available at the Relax Inn from March 26 to March 31 at no cost. Pets are allowed.
An unexpected notice
Shive-Hattery was hired by the city of Davenport, and its report recommended the immediate vacate order based on the conditions of a wooden wall believed to be a structural wall. Nicole Gleason, Davenport's public works director and assistant city administrator, told the City Council on Wednesday night that recommendations from Shive-Hattery were that the building should be immediately evacuated because of the building's potentially unsafe structural conditions and could "fully or partially collapse with little or no warning." Lathan-Burge said he wasn't surprised the building was vacated. "A couple of days after I moved in, I was hanging out and playing some video games and mice ran through my living room," he said. "I didn't have a stove for two months, and then they installed a gas stove. Turns out I had a gas leak, and I had to have MidAmerican Energy come and fix it. "And it just felt like the maybe the floor was sagging. It was weird."
Displaced residents find temporary home
Lathan-Burge said he didn't fault the city, but he was taken aback by the lack of notice. "I came home and the stuff taped to the door said we had to be out by 4:30 (p.m.)," Lathan Burge said Wednesday while he stood outside the Relax Inn. "That wasn't a lot of notice. I just put together what I could, put it all in my car and came here." Lathan-Burge said he felt "really bad for some of the people living in the apartment building who might not be physically able to move stuff." Courtney Jones, senior operations and partnerships manager for the city of Davenport's office of administration and finance, said, "Tenants will be allowed to retrieve belongings so long as admittance into the building is coordinated with the property owner." "This really just puts a lot of stress on everyone," Lathan-Burge said. "So when I got here, I was told I only had one day (at the Relax Inn). Then we had to work out how long I could stay. I'll be staying at the Relax Inn through Sunday. "After that, I'm not sure. I either have to move back in with my mom, or I have to find a shelter that will take me." Lathan-Burge paid $800 a month for his one-bedroom apartment at Schricker Apartments. "I paid my rent early, so now I'm really low on cash," he said. "Things are going to get hard for me and the other people who lived in that apartment. “I’m just not sure what I'll be able to do."
The Quad Cities Tenant Alliance, a part of nonprofit Quad Cities Interfaith, hosted a rally on Wednesday ahead of Wednesday evening's City Council meeting, calling on leaders to provide the tenants with security deposit and two months of rent by Monday to find somewhere else to live. "This is another example of landlords' complete abdication of responsibility for the health and safety of their tenants," said Beth Longlett, a member of QCTA and Zion Lutheran Church. "The tenants are forced to find new housing — in an already tight market — without the means to do so." "We've seen this over and over. Landlords rarely return security deposits in these situations. When tenants are displaced because of landlord neglect, the city should require landlords to pay tenants immediately. It should be a condition of having a rental license in Davenport," said Dennis Platt, a member of QCTA.
A last resort
One long-term resident of the Relax Inn described it as a "last resort" for people who cannot find permanent housing. That same resident, who asked to remain anonymous, said the hotel's owners "try to help people" and "there are good people living here." She also said some of the residents scare her. Lathan-Burge said he received a scare early Wednesday morning.
"I woke up to a man and woman screaming at each other," he said. "It was right outside the door. Then he started hitting her. "It was disturbing. “The Relax Inn has seen some violence and drug activity. Joseph Fitzgerald Dodd was arrested in October 2023 for a Sept. 17, 2023, shooting at the motel that left a man injured. Also in September, a man was arrested for allegedly peddling multiple drugs — including "crack" cocaine, heroin and meth — out of a room he rented. Local law enforcement agencies served eight search warrants on rooms in the Relax Inn in 2023. All of those search warrants were related to the people staying in the rooms, not the owners, managers or employees of the motel. The manager working Tuesday at the Relax Inn said the owners "work very hard to keep people safe." He added that the management "can't turn away people based on how they look" and it is "very hard to tell what people will do in their rooms." Multiple complaints about the hotel last year led to some inspections in 2023. The complaints ranged from trash left in rooms to dirty sheets to cockroaches. These inspections fall under the jurisdiction of the Scott County Health Department, according to the state department's website.
'A stopgap'
The county, through its general assistance fund, is paying for residents displaced from 401 W. 4th St. to stay at the Relax Inn until Monday. "We're a stopgap," said Lori Elam, the Scott County Community Services director. Elam said the city of Davenport reached out to the county and nonprofits for help with relocation assistance for tenants Every county has a general assistance fund, Elam said, which can be used for assistance with rent, utilities, transportation, and even cremation and burial services for people who need it. Elam said the hotel accepted payment from the county. Vendors must go through a process to determine eligibility. "This is an emergency situation," Elam said. "We were just trying to help folks get off the street quickly, and we were able to use general assistance to do that." Elam said she was not aware of recent inspections nor had heard concerns about the hotel.
COMMENTS AT THE DAVENPORT CITY COUNCIL OPEN FORUM:
It has been 304 days since the building at 324 Main Street in Davenport, Iowa, collapsed and nothing has been settled for those who died, were injured or lost their homes.
PACG and QCI member Loxi Hopkins said, “The city needs to show responsibility for those displaced and in need.”
Paul Vasquez, 3rd Ward Alderman, Davenport said, “The Council is more reactive than active. Resolutions approving City Home funding applications for Davenport Projects are given to out-of-state landlords. The city needs to adopt basic housing and rental housing inspections and enforcement.”
Dennis Platt, 6th Ward resident and a member of the QC Tenant Alliance, listed a number of properties where tenants have been evicted. The city should push landlords to take care of their properties in substandard status and allow housing choice vouchers to tenants who are displaced from those properties.
Susan Meenan, 7th Ward resident and a member of QCI, said, “Landlords should refund deposits and rents and provide moving costs.”
LaShanna Dixon, QC Tenants Alliance, said, “People deserve much better.” Her sister, LaCanna Dixon, said, “That she doesn’t see any compassion from the city when these buildings are condemned.”
According to one resident, he received ½ hour to vacate because Shive-Hattery, a Quad Cities Architecture and Engineering Firm, found structural issues that made the building unsafe. An eviction notice was never posted. The police knocked on doors to make sure that everyone was out.
Tenants’ immediate needs are laundry soap, toilet paper, bath towels, toilet plungers, and hygiene products. Check the QC Tenant Alliance or the Quad Cities Interfaith websites for updates on where to bring these important items! Once drop off information is available we will post it.
Ann McCluskey
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