{"id":28110,"date":"2016-05-31T13:09:25","date_gmt":"2016-05-31T16:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rioonwatch.org\/?p=28110"},"modified":"2020-08-07T14:04:03","modified_gmt":"2020-08-07T17:04:03","slug":"residents-of-parque-carioca-relocation-housing-express-discontent-after-move-from-vila-autodromo-images","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rioonwatch.org\/?p=28110","title":{"rendered":"Residents of Parque Carioca Relocation Housing Express Discontent After Move from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo [IMAGES]"},"content":{"rendered":"

Clique aqui para Portugu\u00eas\"\"<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Built to house the residents removed from Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a>\u00a0and costing R$105 million<\/a>\u00a0(US$30 million), Parque Carioca<\/a> has been used extensively by Mayor Eduardo Paes’ administration as a model example of the Minha Casa Minha Vida public housing program<\/a>. However, many residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo\u00a0have long resisted<\/a> the transplantation of their community into this public housing complex and conditions<\/a> do not reflect the administration’s rhetoric.<\/p>\n

Even until recently, Mayor Eduardo Paes<\/a> has insisted that all residents who left Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a> were happy to leave and the 341 families<\/a> relocated to Parque Carioca\u00a0are\u00a0happy with the management\u00a0of the housing units. During an insightful\u00a0recent interview<\/a> with The Nation<\/em>‘s\u00a0sports journalist\u00a0Dave Zirin, Paes said, “Let\u2019s go to the condominium where most of them moved to and you\u2019re going to see if I\u2019m popular there or not; if they are happy or not<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\"Gated<\/a>
Gated lots line the main road into Parque Carioca.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Paes claims that families left on their own volition. This contradicts residents’ reports of consistent pressure to leave with the City slowly forcing families out using fear, intimidation and fueling divisions<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Removal to Parque Carioca was meant to provide\u00a0homes through an “exchange of keys,” meaning a simple swap of one home for another with the same rights and without extra payments. Instead, the Caixa Federal Bank will be paying 120 monthly installments over ten years, meaning residents cannot actually sell their homes until payments have ceased. Further, a lack of oversight by the government has meant that some of the problems associated with state\u00a0neglect<\/a>\u00a0that did not exist in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo due to the community’s strong community fabric, have appeared in Parque Carioca, like drug use within the condos.<\/p>\n

In a Globo<\/em> article from 2014<\/a>, one resident explained: “We already have residents using drugs in the corridors. The space is beautiful, but it is not well managed.” Another resident remarked “I thought we would be able to do what we want with the apartments. Now we are imprisoned for ten years. I am afraid this will turn into another City of God<\/a>.” It is important to note that this Globo\u00a0<\/em>article is now almost a year and a half\u00a0old; due to poor construction, the housing complex is no longer\u00a0as “beautiful,” signs of degradation are everywhere.<\/p>\n

\"Chainlink<\/a>
Chainlink fences separate the lots. To some they resemble prisons more than homes.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is rare to have access to these communities of public housing. Often residents are sensitive to opening up about their experiences because they do not wish to relive the experience of eviction\u00a0from their communities by talking about it once it is over and nothing can be done. Further, many have told\u00a0RioOnWatch<\/em>\u00a0they are unwilling\u00a0to speak out\u00a0with concerns that the\u00a0public housing would be taken away from them in vengeance, or because these gated communities are frequently\u00a0controlled by militias<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Here RioOnWatch<\/em>\u00a0documents some of the\u00a0concerns and experiences\u00a0expressed\u00a0by Parque Carioca residents on a recent visit. Because of peoples’ fear of speaking up publicly with their own concerns, we will not be attributing any quotes to any person directly in an effort to protect identities.<\/p>\n

\"Sign<\/a>
Sign hanging off a Parque Carioca building reads “I want my money.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Meeting the residents\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Parque Carioca is divided into\u00a0four separate and unconnected \u201clots.\u201d Each\u00a0lot is a section of the community with large chain link fences with\u00a0a few condominium buildings within them. To enter a\u00a0lot, residents use two gates: one for cars and one for pedestrians. From the outside, the condominiums look simple in construction, with five floors, decently sized windows and a tiny balcony for each apartment.<\/p>\n

Almost immediately after entering the community, RioOnWatch<\/em>\u00a0was greeted by a resident whose family had left Vila Aut\u00f3dromo<\/a> after negotiating a price for their home. The resident said that although they looked for other housing options, they were unable to find adequate housing with the compensation\u00a0they received for their home in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. They decided to acquire\u00a0an apartment from a family member within Parque Carioca because it allowed their child to remain in the same school. They viewed the paved roads and lack of mud as a positive aspect of Parque Carioca.<\/p>\n

The resident talked about the lack of maintenance within the complex. The centerpiece of Parque Carioca is a large pool with a slide that is used frequently in marketing materials for Parque Carioca<\/a>\u00a0along with initial\u00a0O Globo<\/em> reports<\/a> glamorizing the condominium. Now, it is surrounded by caution tape and the water a bright green hue. Residents were told that if they wanted to use the pool, they would have to maintain\u00a0it themselves.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>
The oft-touted swimming pool has remained full of algae and unusable for many months now. Residents were told by the City that they now must maintain it themselves.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Residents raised\u00a0issues about the safety and well-being of people in Parque Carioca. There are some who\u00a0are deeply unsatisfied by the quality of the buildings built in 2013. The City government describes Parque Carioca<\/a> as\u00a0\u201can enterprise of middle class standard.\u201d However residents told\u00a0stories of water damage and leaky pipes.<\/p>\n

Residents also raised complaints about high temperatures in the\u00a0buildings since there are few\u00a0to no trees<\/a> in the complex\u00a0and poor air circulation. Additionally, although marketing materials for Parque Carioca cite a lack of insects\u00a0or mosquitos, the patios of some buildings open near drainage pipes that make standing water and bugs a real threat. The Zika virus was already a concern<\/a> for residents of Vila Aut\u00f3dromo given the pools of standing water created by\u00a0the destruction of homes and the construction of the Olympic Park, and it seems they have not been able to fully avoid this problem after moving.<\/p>\n

Some residents expressed regret for their decision to move to Parque Carioca and said they felt pressured to do so. Mayor Eduardo Paes has continually spoken about how<\/a> he would not force anyone out and anyone who wanted to stay in the community would, but residents said\u00a0they were told by municipal workers they would have no option and would\u00a0ultimately be forced out, so they opted for an early move to Parque Carioca to reduce the risk of further trouble.<\/p>\n

This concern is echoed in other stories such as the TV\u00a0report\u00a0below<\/a>, where a woman talks about the mayor’s false promises. Residents were originally promised they would not be required to stay and would own their homes outright, being able to sell their Minha Casa Minha Vida homes if they wished, just as they were able to do with their prior homes in Vila Aut\u00f3dromo. In reality, residents are required to keep the apartments for ten years before they are able to sell them legally. “A prisoner in her own home,” as V\u00e2nia was\u00a0described in the news report:<\/p>\n