In October Margaret Flores came on this newscast to beg for help in repairing her run down home. Well, to the rescue came Boots Martinez – who promised not to fix it, but to build her a new one. He did, almost..... You can’t almost build a house though, right? Well you kinda can...Jacqueline Godwin found out today.
Jacqueline Godwin Reporting,
Up until three months ago this dilapidated wooden structure was home to forty nine year old Margaret Flores. The house was literally falling apart and unliveable. Last October Margaret Flores publicly appealed for help after all attempts failed to get it repaired or replaced. The homeowner was not one of the names on the list to receive assistance either under the Venezuelan Housing Project and the Southside Poverty Alleviation Project.
At the time Area Representative Anthony Boots Martinez had committed to help by not repairing but replacing the run down building. It may not have come on schedule but this is what we found today when we pulled up outside 4381 Custard Apple Street. Nestled between two coconut trees a brand new one bedroom wooden house built five blocks off the ground. A marked improvement to how Margaret Flores once lived. A small front porch, four front steps including a hand and veranda railing complement the fourteen by sixteen building. Yes, Margaret Flores is grateful for what she has received but there is one problem.
Margaret Flores, Homeowner
“I need the key to get in. That is all the problem, that is all the
problem. I need the keys to get in the house.”
In fact we found Margaret peeping through the front wooden louvers to see the inside of her house.
Margaret Flores,
“I appreciate it because I didn’t have none and so it came in handy.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“Now it is just a matter of moving in.”
Margaret Flores,
“Just moving in, I want to get in.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“So what’s the delay?”
Margaret Flores,
“The lock, that is all. I don’t know what they have done inside but I need the lock.”
Jacqueline Godwin,
“The building was constructed by Joel Bishop, have you contacted him to find out what’s going, how come you are unable to move into, much less move in your household items?”
Margaret Flores,
“He says he gave someone the lock to put on and I don’t know what is the delay up with the lock.”
As you can see the front door has no lock. Margaret Flores says after being promised that the house would have been finished in November she hoped to have been in the house for Christmas but we are now already New Year and she still has no idea when she will start to enjoy the comforts of her new home. Today her household possessions are stored in various homes whose owners would now like to have them removed.
Margaret Flores,
“They are people place back of Jane Usher Boulevard and Pen Road and with the washing machine the lady has been bugging me to move it from Christmas day and I don’t have nowhere to put it.”
According to Anthony Boots Martinez it was a special case because Margaret Flores’ name was not among the list of persons in his constituency to benefit from either the Venezuelan Housing Project or the Southside Poverty Alleviation Project, he had to personally seek funds and other assistance to providing land filling and replace her home – and that’s why it has taken sometime to get the job done.
In the meantime another resident Noreen Palacio who also lives on Custard Apple Street is already enjoying the comforts of her new two bedroom house. Anthony Boots Martinez says unlike Margaret Flores her neighbour’s name was on the list of the homes that needed to be replaced and therefore there was already money available for that construction.
