Vecinos Unidos, through its councilor in the City of Arrecife, Andrés Medina, has presented a motion to the plenary of Arrecife warning of the "imminent tragedy of great dimensions in the increasingly deteriorated homes in the seaside neighborhood of Valterra." Thus, the party asks both the mayor and the councilor of Housing that, as a matter of urgency, repair works be carried out in the aforementioned homes "before the rainy season arrives." "Because if a misfortune occurs, it will be solely the responsibility of this Mayor's Office and this Councilorship," they say in a statement.
The formation mentions several homes that are within the 20 contemplated in the process of rehabilitation, regeneration and urban renewal (ARU) and that are in danger of "collapse." "The City Council is aware of all this, but absolutely nothing has been done," they say from Vecinos Unidos.
One of the affected homes is located at number 18 of Alfonso Spínola Street, whose upper floor "has been deteriorating" for "eleven years" according to the party. "In recent months, the ceiling and one of the walls of the room where three children sleep, eleven years old, nine and one and a half years old, has begun to crack," says Vecinos Unidos, which also assures that "when it rains, the room is flooded and filled with rubble," highlighting that "one of the minors is asthmatic, so they have had to be evacuated to their parents' room."
The party assures that a property located at number 22 of Benito Pérez Armas Street "is falling to pieces, with the consequent risk for the tenants of the four homes that make it up on its two floors." "So much so that the building is full of props from the portal to the roof itself. Props that have been placed by their own neighbors," say from Vecinos Unidos. The "most serious" situation, he adds, is in the homes on the second floor, "whose tenants, two elderly women, have to leave their homes with a case on their heads to protect themselves from the numerous rubble that falls from the ceiling."
Firefighters intervention in a home
Vecunos Unidos also states the "danger of collapse" of the building located at number 26 of Benito Pérez Armas Street. "It is much worse, especially on the second floor and on the roof, where huge rubble has fallen," they say from the formation, from where they indicate that "the same neighbors" have "patched as they could the scandalous cracks in the ceiling and walls, through which water seeps every time it rains."
The party adds that the small rains that fell in Arrecife on December 1 "caused the walls of another home to crack even more," located at number 26 of Alfonso Spínola Street. "So much so that the bollard came off, which was about to fall on an elderly woman and three relatives. Circumstance that led to the intervention of the Fire Department," they say.
Vecinos Unidos points out that the houses "that are on the other side of the park" are "much worse." "Such as the house on Adolfo Topham Street No. 28, whose cracks and collapses threaten to spread to adjacent blocks," they add.
Warns of the possibility of incurring a crime
From the party they recall that on November 15, 2011 the agreement of the Bilateral Commission regarding the first phase of the Urban Renewal area of Valterra was signed, programming the renovation of 100 homes in the neighborhood and that, "suddenly, in 2014, the figure inexplicably was reduced to 20 homes." "The truth is that in six years no work has been carried out and the money invested by the Ministry of Development in 2012 (more than two million euros) and what the Autonomous Government invested remains in the current account of the City Council. Money that will have to be returned because it has not submitted an application for an extension to Fomento, which increases the uncertainty of the tenants of all those homes," he denounces.
Therefore, given the "serious emergency situation" experienced by the families who inhabit the aforementioned homes, "especially now that the rainy season is approaching," Vecinos Unidos has presented a motion so that, as a matter of urgency, repair works are carried out on the properties. Likewise, a "technical inspection of urgency" can be "in both the ARUS and "in the homes that show serious damage to their structure." It is also requested that the government group clarify "what has happened with the economic items that have been allocated for the rehabilitation of homes in the last six years" and that it explain "why they have not been executed," reminding them "that any breach could constitute a crime"
Specifically, Vecinos Unidos refers to paragraph 3 of article 412 of the Penal Code, which states that "the authority or public official who, required by an individual to provide some assistance to which he is obliged by reason of his position to avoid a crime against the life of persons, refrains from providing it, will be punished with a fine of eighteen to twenty-four months and special disqualification for employment or public office for a period of three to six years."