Text from an interview with an eminent domain victim

This edited interview will air on WXPN 88.5 on Monday, 3 March 2008 at 8pm. The text below is a transcript of the edited interview. Or click here to listen.Interview 1 "The house on H_ Street is place where I grew up at with my mother and my father; we spent many years there. In fact I was like approximately about 9 years old when we moved in the house…I was 62 when I was put out the house so I've lived most of my life there. They took it under eminent domain. Eminent domain is something that most people do not know anything about and I was one of those people. I came home one evening and it was like a flyer in my door and I picked it up and I looked at it and it says ah, These redevelopment proposals call for the new construction of residential properties in a development known as Millcreek. We would like to meet with you to discuss the relocation process. You may be entitled to relocation benefits under the Federal Uniform Relocation Act. The meeting was to be held at Martha Washington School at 44th and Aspen on May the 29th at 6:30 pm. Well it turned out to be very bad because we wanted to know about our homes and they were telling us about how many jobs this would create and how nice it would be for the people in the area because they needed jobs and we're saying to them we don't want to know about jobs we want to know about our homes. What are you talking about? The next thing I know the police was there and they put us out. So now I had to wait. I read this other letter that I had got A City Council hearing on this ordinance has been set for Tuesday June the 3rd 2003 at 10am in City Hall Room 696. If you have any interest in this legislation you may attend this hearing and seek the opportunity to speak on the matter of ordinance before Council.And I did. Because I knew Councilman Cohen from an early age, when it came time to testify I was looking at him and more or less speaking to him because I know he understood. How can you take a persons’ home at the age of 62 and expect them to get out and buy another home and this is the time that you would retire?” I was somewhat smart and not smart enough you know being as though that I was thrown into it and when I was thrown into it I didn't know how I was going to come out cause for nights I didn't sleep and I was wondering what is it that I can do and, how can I do this and, where can I go and, how am I going to get through all this, you know? Here I am 62 years old getting ready to be thrown out on the street so you gets scary and you have to stop and think but you have to take a moment. I had to deal with a lot of Councilpeople. I tried to deal with Jeanie Blackwell and I never really got anywhere until I went to the Institute of Justice. There are places that can help you when you're in this situation and they don't give them to you until you start knocking down doors…that's what I mean…you've got to know somebody to get to know somebody so somebody else can help you…because they didn't treat you like a human being to say well, When we develop this area we'll allow you to come back or see if you want to come back and or show you what the project is going to be or how it's going to be so you can make a choice.” I understand what they’re trying to do. Which is good to some degree. Philadelphia hasn't had a makeover in over 50 to 100 years. Where I lived at [in the old house] I'm 15 minutes from 30th Street Station. I'm only like 20 minutes from the airport you just have to know how to get there. I'm surrounded by the Zoo. I'm surrounded by the Kimmel Center and all the entertainment is a matter of 15-20 minutes of getting there. It's like the promised land, everything is accessible to it and they had to take the land from the people because we're in it. We're in it and they don't want to offer us any of the new stuff that is around. It's like in the park over there at Girard Avenue – the new school that they put up there…are the children in the neighborhood going to that school? No…it's about a lottery…only certain people. My goal was to have a house that was paid for because I had no mortgage and when I got that it was a win in one way and it's not a win because it's no more...where I moved to is no more better than the area I came from…this is not where I really want to be. I'm an old lady and to make a house a home it takes a long time, you know – it takes the years that you put in, and the sweat, and the labor."