REVOLT IN THE GALT MILE GULAG? |
An Opinion By Jan Bergemann Published February 19, 2007
It seems the "emperors" of the Galt Mile Community Association have a problem dealing with the fact that their "peons" suddenly consider making their own voices heard. Two articles published in THE FORT LAUDERDALE CITY NEWS under the headline TALES FROM THE GALT GULAG -- PART I + PART II definitely got the attention of these directors. Imagine the damage to their big EGOS by somebody daring to speak out -- and telling the truth, carefully hidden for so long!
And they acted as expected! Fitting the description of GULAG, they tried to stop the newspaper from being distributed in the condos they rule, even giving the guards written statements to stop copies of these newspapers from being distributed on the premises. One board member even went so far as to call the advertisers of this paper, telling them what a bad newspaper they are using for their advertisement and threatening them with a boycott by the Galt Mile residents! Even if the caller refused to identify himself, the Caller ID showed that the phone call was made from 954 564-5402 and the name on the Caller ID was Joe Ernest. Joe Ernest is the current VP and Treasurer of Playa del Mar. Gee, the truth must really hurt to get that desperate!
What a shame they can't copy the Russian example! Russia had the party-line newspaper Pravda (comparably to Berkowitz's website) and everybody else daring to contradict was sent to Siberia. I guess they would like to do the same, but their power doesn't seem to be that far reaching? So far they have resorted to screaming and yelling at opponents -- HOW DARE THEY -- and some slanderous remarks -- openly or even more behind closed doors!
I guess it was all fine as long they could unopposed insult people on their website, calling people names or plainly ridicule any opponent -- including legislators -- daring to contradict the party-line?
As usual, when there is a lack of good arguments to factually deny the allegations made public in the articles in THE FORT LAUDERDALE CITY NEWS, they have to be satisfied with calling opponents "convicted child molesters,” "wife-beaters" or similar nasty names! Classy efforts! But, again as usual, the proof for these accusations is missing. Missing like many financials documents that would most likely show the financial mismanagement in these condominiums, caused by arrogance, incompetence or straightforward greed and -- as it seems -- even criminal misconduct.
But sometimes a “house of cards” built with intimidation quickly falls apart when the unit owners find out the real truth -- and what is really going on behind closed doors.
Before
going into details about problems in specific associations, let's make one
thing very clear. The Galt Mile Association doesn't really have a task in
regards to managing or maintaining the condominiums. It's just an
invention of some power-hungry folks who founded this group in order to
claim that they are speaking in the name of all the owners in the Galt
Mile condominiums. It's a group of self-appointed individuals, who
are definitely not elected, but use funds from the different associations
to further their own goals. Nothing could be further from the truth!
SOUTHPOINT
CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION, INC.
ESSEX TOWER CONDOMINIUM saw unit owners being sued for finding out that the contractor hired by the board for a very expensive job didn't even have a license. Read SHUT UP -- OR BE SUED! Lawsuits were filed, obviously with the intent to intimidate the owners and to create cost for the unit owners trying to defend themselves against these lawsuits. In my opinion the lawsuits could not have been taken serious from DAY ONE. Filed by attorney Robert Kaye, one lawsuit was withdrawn before a judge had the opportunity to laugh it out of a courtroom! But that was predicted to happen after the lawsuit was filed. The intention of the lawsuit actually was pretty obvious from starters! It was just a matter of time before the charade was to be withdrawn. Please read as well the other articles: Condo
Association lawsuit targets city code employee Condo management under state investigation
THE
PLAYA DEL SOL ASSOCIATION, INC. has
owners complaining about the president, who obviously is as well the
construction manager in a huge "beautification" project to the
tune of $2,600,000.
Besides asking for accounting of the money,
the owners complain about projects that are of very low quality, for
example the re-tiling of the pool. If you read the
unofficial
website of the Playa Del Sol it becomes pretty obvious that owners
expect the board to account for the money -- but
failed so far to get the right answers. But I guess being
construction manager and board president is a pretty big task for
one person. No wonder that not all seems in best order! Oh, Oh -- the
finances! Why do certain boards have such a hard time showing where the
money goes?
PLAZA EAST CONDOMINIUM is infiltrated with agitators and anarchists -- according to board president Richard Loarie. Read his letter, including his own philosophy (quote): "Persons who initiate and rumors suffer from lack of Self-esteem, have Irrational Beliefs, Guilt, Insecurities, and lack Affirmation." And if you live in this nice and friendly environment please don't be surprised if you are awakened in the middle of the night by the obnoxious sounds of a false fire alarm. It seems to be business as usual, since a brand new fire-alarm system, paid with a special assessment of $310,000, obviously lacks fine-tuning. Please read: False fire alarms at Fort Lauderdale condo has residents angry, wary. But please don't blame the board, they are just volunteers trying to do their best. Otherwise you might find another letter like the one quoted above posted at the bulletin board!
REGENCY
TOWER SOUTH ASSOCIATION, INC. When Reisberg was reminded that there are actually Florida Statutes that regulate condominiums, he just shrugged his shoulders!
PLAYA
DEL MAR ASSOCIATION, INC.
Please read: Bylaws clearly state: Board member must be an owner! It seems that Napolitano couldn't even make truthful statements on the candidate sheet prior to election. He claimed to be a licensed contractor! Even his wife had to admit publicly that he is not! But actually, his wife is vice president of the bank where all the association's money -- we are not talking small potatoes here -- was transferred after he became president.
Winning an election must mean a lot if these folks are even willing to violate the laws. The DBPR even issued a warning letter for holding a secret meeting behind closed doors! See: ATTORNEY ALLEGEDLY VIOLATES FLORIDA STATUTES
And the latest twist in the game? Board member Lucille Fannin sued challenger Mark Stern for slander! Cause of the lawsuit: The quit-claim deed of board president Ed Napolitano that was never recorded! So, we see another chapter of this never-ending argument. At a Meet The Candidates Night even a court reporter was present, while Lucille Fannin made more attempts to bait Mark Stern into more comments on this matter. But the only ones losing their temper were Lucille Fannin and Ed Napolitano! Hope the court reporter caught all that was said -- or screamed? Fanny, isn't it? Exactly the people who caused the problem in the first place are the ones who complain the most -- and file lawsuits!
I guess unit owners should really wonder why these kinds of people are clinging to their seats on the board? Maybe there is more to it than they really claim? Poor volunteers trying to do their best to serve the community?
One wonders if these are the kind of people the condo owners really want as their leaders -- or do they just not know the truth? It seems that way, because nobody in his right mind can willingly elect leaders like these! It seems these leaders are actually living on borrowed time. Even dictatorial boards can't prevent the truth from being known in the long run -- nor permanently stop the Fort Lauderdale City News from being distributed in these condominiums! |