Some residents of North Lawn properties in Kansas City’s North Indian Mound neighborhood were forced to leave and relocate — with no warning — Friday morning, some into already occupied units, organizers said.
Asia Jones, a spokeswoman for the city housing department, said the two vacated buildings were unsafe to live in and that the residents had to move so electrical repairs could start.
Jones said three people were relocated. Shawn Johnson, the building’s new owner, said three households were rehoused and five additional people were given temporary housing. Mary Allison Joseph with the renters’ union KC Tenants, which has been advocating for better living conditions at the complex for almost three years, said 10 tenant families were displaced. Kansas City had previously pledged to attempt to make repairs without further displacing residents, but changed course last week after the building sold to a new owner.
Sixth District Councilmember Johnathan Duncan said the discrepancy between the numbers comes from the previous two landlords — who Duncan said were “slumlords” — not keeping proper records.
Johnson agreed the discrepancy appears to stem from incomplete records, including inconsistent counts. He said the tenant union’s list had limited identifying information, and at least two listed people had already vacated before Friday.
“I also personally heard occupants say an individual not part of ownership, management, or the tenant union placed them in units and that they were paying that person different sums directly,” Johnson told KCUR.
Police were present at the Friday morning removal, which Kansas City Police Department Capt. Jake Becchina said was at the request of the city’s Public Safety Task Force to keep the peace.
Tenant Elise Woodruff does not live in one of the targeted buildings and didn’t see her neighbors being removed, but she said she came home to one of them moving into her unit.
“Heartbreaking,” Woodruff said. “I have two children, so I’m trying to figure out where we are going to go from here. I can only imagine it’s going to be a headache.”
As of 4 p.m. Friday, Woodruff told KCUR she had nowhere to stay the night.
Woodruff has been participating in the rent strike the North Lawn Tenant Union started earlier this month in response to the property’s neglected condition. This summer alone, there have been periods when the building lacked hot water, sewage systems failed and wastewater accumulated, the electrical system didn’t work properly and the property was vandalized.
Woodruff said by the time she found another person moving into her unit, she didn’t have much stuff there because most of it had already been stolen.
There are now bright orange, city-branded warning signs on the entrances to the two buildings deemed unsafe. But KC Tenants said tenants received no prior notice.
“Imagine you open your door and they’re saying ‘you have to leave right now,’ ” Joseph said. “You don’t even have 24 hours to gather your belongings.”
Jones, with the city, said warning the residents was the property owner’s duty. Sixth District Councilmember Johnathan Duncan said that’s not what councilmembers were told.
“We were told that the city would notify folks well in advance because it’s the city’s order to vacate, not the landlord’s order to vacate,” Duncan said. “We should have notified these individuals in advance, and we know that there’s a tenant union and we should have worked with the tenant union in advance to prepare.”
Duncan said the city council was notified of the removals around 9 a.m. Friday morning. KC Tenants also said the notice to vacate was posted in the morning.
Earlier this month, the city council allocated $500,000 to help residents relocate, which organizers said was a step back from the city’s original plan to fix the complex.
The city’s new plan shifts responsibility for the repairs to the new landlord. North Lawn changed ownership earlier this month from Yisroel Levovitz — one of the landlords Duncan called a “slumlord” — to Johnson.
Johnson said the city made the decision to vacate the buildings while repairs are being made. He said after the city made the decision, his leasing company “immediately focused on helping people who were present and needed assistance.”
“The affected buildings are being repaired,” Johnson said. “Our goal remains the same: stabilize the property, complete the required repairs, keep the process coordinated with the City, and return verified residents where it is safe to do so.”
Johnson has a meeting lined up with the tenant union for next week.
“This mess, the person kicking out today is our city government,” KC Tenanats' Joseph said.
