Rebuilt MOVE Case Homes in Disrepair

Residents who lost their homes in the 1985 police bombing that wiped out an entire city block are being forced to leave their rebuilt homes for good because of shoddy construction that has cost the city millions of dollars.

Most of the 61 homeowners have reluctantly decided to accept Mayor John F. Street’s offer of $150,000 to relocate, closing one of the sorriest chapters in Philadelphia history. The city plans to demolish the homes.

Most residents in the close community say they want to stay, but the city is leaving them no choice. Those who refuse Street’s onetime offer will be evicted next month and receive fair-market value for their homes--about $70,000, officials said.

“This whole situation is a disgrace to the city. They want to sweep this under the carpet once and for all, but look at the lives they’re disrupting,” said Ernest Hubbard, 58, who has lived on the block for 40 years.

The problems started in the 1980s when residents started complaining about the radical cult MOVE in the neighborhood. They said members--who adopted the surname Africa, ate raw food and espoused equality with animals--shouted from bullhorns late into the night, were confrontational and unsanitary and jogged on people’s roofs.

When police tried to serve warrants on May 14, 1985, MOVE opened fire. In response, a police helicopter dropped explosives on a bunker atop the MOVE house, igniting a fire that destroyed 61 homes and killed 11 people in the MOVE house.

The homes were rebuilt quickly, but problems soon cropped up. Cracking bricks, deteriorating siding, overflowing toilets, leaky roofs and faulty wiring had the city constantly paying for repairs. This summer, inspectors found the heating systems discharging hazardous levels of carbon monoxide.

The original developer was convicted of stealing from the project and served prison time.

Taxpayers have already spent more than $35 million on the rebuilt homes, and city officials said they can’t continue to throw money away.

City Controller Jonathan Saidel refused to authorize $7.9 million worth of repairs ordered by inspectors earlier this year, saying it was better to buy out the residents and be done with it.

“We can’t continue to pay this tremendous sum for 61 homes when so many other homes in the city need help too,” Saidel said. “As a citywide official, I’ve got a responsibility to all the taxpayers of Philadelphia.”

City Solicitor Kenneth Trujillo said he sympathizes with the residents’ plight, but “at the end of the day, it’s time for the saga to end.”

Residents were given until Sept. 6 to get out, and Trujillo said 54 homeowners have accepted the offer. The city already owns one house, leaving six homeowners who have not responded.

Residents complain $150,000 isn’t enough to pay off mortgages or home equity loans, and they say moving expenses, closing costs and taxes eat up another chunk.

Lucretia Wilson figures she can afford to spend only $75,000 for another house. She said that will get her a fixer-upper not nearly as nice as her current three-bedroom home, which has central air, a gas fireplace, hardwood floors and a dishwasher and garbage disposal.

Wilson, 52, signed the buyout offer but ripped it up two days later. Her children are grown and she plans to stay until she’s carried out.

“It’s a horrible time when a government does this to its people,” she said. “If this is happening to us, it can happen to anybody.”

Added Virginia Cox, 67: “All we’re asking them to do is fix this place. This is not right, pulling old people out onto the street.”