Posted: 6/2/2006 3:35:23 PM EDT
|
New York’s last Katrina evacuees prepare to depart (under duress) from the JFK Airport Holiday Inn. By Matthew Philips www.newyorkmetro.com/news/intelligencer/17161/?imw=Y  This winter, FEMA put up over 300 Hurricane Katrina evacuees in New York City hotels. Almost all of them have gone back to their lives, their jobs. But not Theon Johnson. He’s currently sprawled out watching Halloween 5 on one of the two full-size beds in his room at the JFK Airport Holiday Inn. He is one of four evacuees still living in a hotel in the city. The others left in February and March, when, after spending more than $500 million, FEMA stopped paying for hotel rooms housing some 40,000 evacuees across the country. That left many scrambling for places to live. But thanks to the city’s squatters-rights law, evacuees here were safe. Their rooms weren’t paid for, but since they’d been in them for more than 30 days, the hotels couldn’t just kick them out. Only a judge’s order could evict them. And Johnson, 49, isn’t that motivated to leave. For one thing, AMC’s in the middle of its “Thrill Me” marathon. Next up, Gothika. “Halle Berry,” he says with lazy lust. These days he’s usually up all night—it’s hard to sleep on an empty stomach. When he has to, he’ll go outside and beg for change, but he doesn’t really like that too much. Most days he just showers and gets back in bed, showers and gets back in bed. Once a week he and another evacuee, a diabetic named Larry, walk to a church off the Van Wyck and get canned goods. When Johnson’s caseworker, Sharon, comes around, she gives him some bus passes and maybe a few bucks, but she’s getting frustrated. “They sit around on their butts watching TV. There’s only but so much I can do if they’re not willing to help themselves.” After being flown here for free back in September, Johnson’s been at the Holiday Inn since Super Bowl Sunday. On April 21, the hotel served Johnson with three notices of occupancy termination, saying that it would begin court proceedings if he wasn’t out by May 9. He wasn’t, so it did. If the court boots him, Johnson could end up in one of the city’s homeless shelters. He’s been broke for over a month now. fema sent him $9,000 in housing aid, but he spent it all on booze, cigarettes, some clothes, and food—partying, mostly. “I spent my money just the way I wanted, and I think [fema] should send me some more,” he says. But it won’t. Johnson’s caseworker says fema offered to buy him a ticket home to New Orleans in February, but he didn’t take it. fema won’t now. So he’s stuck, at least until the Holiday Inn pays him to leave. Attorneys with the Legal Aid Society have been negotiating a buyout deal for Johnson and the remaining evacuees, and expect a settlement—he heard about $1,200—imminently. He says he’ll use the money to get a room for a few nights and have some fun before flying back to his little house in New Orleans’ Third Ward. But for now, Gothika’s on. “Halle Berry,” Johnson says. “Halle . . . Berry.” |
|
Holy fuck. I'm sorry, but that asshole should be kicked to the curb and he should have to pay back FEMA for all the expense of the court proceedings, the air fare he turned down, the cost of living in the hotel room, and all the $ that FEMA gave him for bus passes, etc. This is the reason that we have homeless, because we support their lifestyle. |
A wart on the ass of society. Pond scum.   My wife was 38 weeks pregnant when we evacuated for Katrina and I had JUST found a new job after being unemployed for about 15 weeks. Sure, we weren't in the best of shape financially at the time, but damnit, we did what we had to do. We stayed with relatives in Nashville, TN. for a week, then my company put us up for another 6. We went back home and back to work when it was safe for me to bring the wife and kids. Freaking amazing. I hope everyone knows that what this piece of garbage represents is NOT what ALL of New Orleans is about. I was born and raised here, got my high school and college degrees here, and we are planning on moving. Sad huh? 
|
Unfreakingbelievable.
|
Hey, I want $9,000 in housing money! I could do some nice upgrades to my house for that kind of coin. I wouldn't waste it on booze and smokes either, I have a FUCKING JOB to do that... I've had a paying JOB since I was 15, and before that I worked on the family farm.My sister-in-law works with an agency in Texas that deals with these scumbags. They get their damn check every month and then spend it in a day on jewelry, cds, $200.00 tennis shoes, and other bullshit. I’m done ranting, sorry. |
This is what generations of "entitlement" mentalities have brought us to . "MY" money, like he earned it just by gracing the good earth with his presence. Disgusting.
|
|
At the hotel I work nights here in Fort Worth TX, our last Fema guest was FINALLY told to pack his bags last week. He claimed that he would get a loan, so they gave him a couple of days without any form of payment and decided he needed to move on. He had already spent ALL of his, and his mother's Fema money on going out to eat, buying hundreds, possibly thousands of lotto tickets and scratchoffs, and shopping at the mall for outrageous items. Believe me, he showed me quite a bit of his new luxurious lifestyle. He started out with close to twenty grand, and everyone tried to help him by advising one of the apartments in the area, but he's now broke due to his foolishness. In all honestly, the first few months after the hurricane hit were simply pure hell for anyone working in a hotel within a day's drive of Louisiana. Some hotels were hit worse than ours, as some rooms had to be completely torn up and refubished. Luckily we didn't have anything quite that bad, as most of our rooms were occuppied by military evacuees. Some of their stories were quite sad indeed, and you really did feel for those families. It was the others that came to the Dallas/Forth Worth area, the ones that Fema paid to put up. Now those were the problem people. They don't plan on working, so they threaten to sue the hotel for medical problems etc.. I've rambled on long enough... I'll sum up the frustration I had with the whole Fema croud by a quote from our last and FINAL Fema guest. I offered to help him find a job, and his response... "I don't need no job... Let someone else take care of my ass." Another famous quote... "Fema owes me!" |
|
Contempt... fury... screaming rage... hate... those are just a few of the semi-coherent thoughts bouncing around in my head after reading that. What a load of horseshit. The fact that the "system" even remotely allows something like this to occur is more than enough for me to want it utterly destroyed. I have no problem helping those that want to help themselves, fucking scum like this waste of skin should have been kicked to the curb ages ago and allowed Darwin to do his thing. 
|
+1000 except for the window thingy, it would be MUCH to quick, unless if it wasnt too high up maybe 1st or 2nd floor would be OK. |
I'm not supprised. Look at what EVERYONE ELSE is giving him. for free. with no obligation on his part at all. This animal is a direct product of a dependant / entitlement State. I say animal because a human would feel obligated to their benefactors. A dog doesn't turn down free food. In fact it starts whinning when you stop feeding it. It's a cliche to blame it on "the system", but there are people running the system. And they are the ones responsible with OUR money. |
BTW I think they should use guys like this everytime the Democraps open their mouths about how they help out the working class. Anytime the Dummys run an ad at how they help folks, show this guys face, make him big news, make him the face of the Dummycrat party spending habits. |
+1 Maybe provide him with "equivalent accomodations" as "repairs" are made to his room. Possibly the "equivalent accomodations" wouldn't have TV, (reliable) hot water, be on the ground floor near the road . . . . |
| See my comments here ---> www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=1&f=5&t=471766 |