Senior Reporter
shane.superville@guardian.co.tt
Residents of Maloney Gardens are calling on the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) to clear overgrown bushes around their buildings, saying volunteers cannot manage the work alone.
The issue was raised at a police town hall meeting on Wednesday night in a car park between Buildings 18 and 19, off Flamingo Boulevard. Residents shifted the discussion from crime and public safety to the community’s upkeep.
One resident said the HDC was responsible for maintaining the grounds, including cutting grass and trimming bushes. Northern Division head Snr Supt Avalon Frank urged residents to organise weekly clean-up groups, saying the work could help build a stronger sense of community.
“We have to stop waiting for someone on the outside to come and solve our problems,” Frank said, pointing to the community’s 254 apartments as a potential source of volunteers.
Some residents said they had already formed volunteer groups, but the cost of fuel for weed-whackers made the work difficult. Another resident argued that tenants should not be expected to maintain the grounds when their rent to the HDC should cover the service.
Frank said he would try to arrange a meeting between residents and HDC officials, tentatively set for November 25.
Guardian Media visited Building 19 on Thursday morning and saw three men clearing bushes and collecting bottles from drains and shrubbery. Clevorn Oxley, one of the men, said the group was unemployed and spent several hours each morning clearing the area.
“We spend about three or five hours out here every single day. We don’t make any money from this. We rent weed-whackers and maintain around,” he said.
Oxley said the men recycled bottles for a small fee but could not clear the bushes on their own. He called for the HDC to intervene, adding that paid maintenance work could address both unemployment and the overgrowth.
“Once we get work … once everybody get work here would be clean and nice, the bush would be cut,” he said.
A preventive detention order issued on July 7 identified Oxley as the leader of the “Building 20 gang”. Oxley denied being a gang leader and said he was released without charge. He said the label had made it difficult to find work.
“I can’t get any work because wherever you go people seeing you as a gang leader or a shooter so it’s hard,” he said. “I try to come out every day so people can see me and realise who I am… I help the people in my community.”
Some bushes in Maloney Gardens were as high as five feet, obstructing part of the view of the car park from the road.
Building 18 resident Diana Perry said the overgrowth was unsightly and could provide a breeding ground for mosquitoes. She said residents regularly volunteered to clear the bushes but could not keep up with the work.
“The people in Maloney here are not lazy,” Perry said, adding that residents came out before dawn to clean. She said her two sons also helped, and warned that bushes obscuring walkways could put children moving between buildings at risk.
Another resident, Akeem Meloney, described the area’s condition as “disgusting” and called for urgent intervention. He said residents had been told there was not enough staff or equipment to do the work.
Guardian Media emailed questions to the HDC’s corporate communications unit yesterday but received no response by press time. Attempts to reach Housing Minister David Lee were unsuccessful.
However, Minister in the Ministry of Housing Phillip Edward Alexander, when contacted, said he wanted to visit the community and investigate why maintenance teams were not carrying out the work. He said he was also willing to attend the proposed November 25 meeting with residents and HDC officials.
