Occupy Fort Lauderdales Saves Bein-Aime Family From Eviction
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Tally one for the 99 percent. NBC Miami reports that Occupy Fort Lauderdale has been successful in thwarting the eviction of one Haitian family in Coconut Creek -- or at least buying them some time.
The Bien-Aime family of seven have been fighting with Wells Fargo bank, who they say are refusing to accept payments. Occupy Fort Lauderdale protestors set up a protest outside family's Coconut Creek home on Monday and received confirmation later that day that the eviction had been postponed. Read the full story on NBCMiami here.
Jeff Weinberger, a former Occupy Miami volunteer who now works with the one in Broward, was one of the protestors outside the Bien-Aime's home. He told HuffPost Miami there has even been some discussion about whether the bank will reverse their intent to evict entirely, saying the Bien-Aime's situation stood out as "particularly heinous" because "the family had done everything right, and they were still getting evicted."
When the Bien-Aimes reached out to Occupy Fort Lauderdale, Weinberger said, protestors accompanied the family to confront Wells Fargo officials at an Urban League-sponsored event last Thursday.
The family and Occupy protestors were initially turned away and the police were even called, he said. But as soon as NBC 5 in West Palm Beach started interviewing them, bank officials were suddenly open to a discussion.
The two-hour talk resulted in an eviction reprieve until January 3. But the Broward Sheriff's Office didn't get the memo and sent an eviction notice anyway, Weinberger said, prompting Occupy FTL to assemble on the Bien-Aime's yard.
Weinberger told HuffPost Miami that he thinks the chances that Wells Fargo will ultimately reverse their decision are only about 51%.
"The legal process is so corrupt, the only way we can fight it is through mass movements," he said.
Weinberger hopes any progress with the Bien-Aime family will have bearing on future cases in which families are unjustly evicted, and that other South Florida families threatened with foreclosure will make contact with Occupy Fort Lauderdale.
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First Posted: 12/22/2011 12:09 pm Updated: 12/22/2011 2:52 pm