“We got a serious situation in St. Bernard Parish,” its president, Henry “Junior” Rodriguez, told CNN on Tuesday. “We got people living in tents and automobiles. We got people living in barns. We got people living in their houses — in tents,” he said on “American Morning.”
“This is the beginning of winter. This is unacceptable.” Tuesday morning, it was 41 degrees in New Orleans.
A site with 50 to 55 trailers is operational, Rodriguez said, and another may be able to handle 45 trailers within a couple days. But the 100 or so trailers fall far short of the 12,000 trailers needed for the number of people estimated to return home, he added.
Adding to Rodriguez’s frustration is the fact that 1,400 trailers are sitting unused in St. Bernard Parish. The parish ordered them from a private contractor days after the hurricane hit on August 29, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency has not agreed to pay for them. There are also more than 5,000 FEMA mobile homes in Arkansas sitting unused, CNN has learned.
FEMA responded Tuesday, telling CNN it is ready to deliver 125,000 trailers to the area but that parish officials “still have to identify places to put them.” The agency said that St. Bernard Parish “has identified 1,000 sites for trailers … 500 of them have already been installed, and the rest are in the works.” “It is understandable that the process can be frustrating, given that basic services, including electricity, were just recently restored,” FEMA’s statement read.
Let’s see. Junior went out and bought trailers and now expects us to pay for them. And, golly, it’s also our fault that there’s no place to put the damn things. Ain’t Junior’s fault. None of it is.
You need sites, utilities, and payment for the trailers. It’s up to Junior to provide the first two items. He needs to get up off his ass, stop whining and get to work.
3 responses so far ↓
1 Zebrality.com // Dec 14, 2005 at
Junior Rodriguez Wants Trailers
Junior Rodriguez Wants Trailers
2 David C. // Jan 12, 2006 at
I was born in st.bernard & have most of my family
still liveing thare until katrina .why not give some of the big super markets some local tax breaks, for useage of their parking spaces for tempary moble home spaces? while the parash can do the clean up. thay have many un open stores … chalmett medical, a big parling lot in village square that was never full even at st.benards peak..
3 Kevin Goodin // Jan 20, 2006 at
To Anderson Cooper (Help us)
Hello Anderson,
We watched your show last night about FEMA trailer issues
You all took the words right out of our mouth.
Our company manufacturers FEMA type houses
And as of today we have yet to even get the opportunity
To quote FEMA for temp houses for the hurricane recovery
Units.
We are not the biggest company out there but with us
Being able to manufacture 3-5 houses per day at least
We could start to have some impact on the number of
Houses needed. Or we can step up our production
Plant to 30-40 houses per week. But FEMA does not
Give a you know what about our low income area
With a plant ready to start production of the FEMA
Houses why can’t we build them?
We have been trying to get in touch with FEMA since
Katrina hit and we have been registered for a long
Time to do business with FEMA, and NOT EVEN A FREAKING CHANCE TO BID!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shame on fema!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Could you help us to help the need for houses for the
Victims hurricane Katrina.
Plus the issue with price our units to FEMA are only 16888.00
Fully furnished and ready to be moved into.
Where they are paying another company here near 24,000.00 (Stewart Park Homes Thomasville Georgia)
For the same house we build. Go figure.
Please let any Parish officials know that our
Company just needs an order and we can
Start shipping today.
Please do not hesitate to call me direct.
Mr.Kevin Goodin
Sales Manager
Custom Park Homes, INC
866.813.5074
229.379.6873