'Terror' tenants told to get out

[Newtown-Fella]

and still this saga goes on


Court bid to avoid eviction

 Three Lower Hutt state housing tenants appeared in the Court of Appeal today to make a special application to appeal a decision by Housing New Zealand (HNZ) to evict them from their homes.

Eviction notices were served in March last year on the three women with gang connections living in state houses in Farmer Cres, Pomare.

They were refused permission to take their case to the Court of Appeal in November, but were told they could make a special application to be heard in that court.

The trio - Robyn Winther, Huia Tamaka and Billy Taylor - have so far sought and failed to overturn the eviction through the Tenancy Tribunal, Lower Hutt District Court, and High Court.

A lawyer for the tenants, Elizabeth Hall, told Justices Mark O'Regan Terence Arnold and David Baragwanath it was an "issue of public importance" because it affected the way HNZ dealt with 90-day termination notices for all their tenants.

She said HNZ was a public entity that had social obligations over those of private landlords.

But Steve Haszard, who was representing HNZ, argued the law was silent on the differences between public and private responsibilities.

He pointed out the lower courts had already ruled against the tenants three times already based on the same arguments used today.

The eviction notices had been served after a neighbour left her state house, saying she and her two young children had been terrorised by gang members associated with the women.

Last February police arrested nine Mongrel Mob members and associates in the area, charging them with intimidation, burglary and other offences.

The justices reserved their decision.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/local/3334979/Court-bid-to-avoid-eviction

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

Oh dear....the “new neighbours” don't feel comfortable with the “old neighbours!”

There's still plenty of Mongies in the neighbourhood too, 'cause quite a few of them OWN their own homes in Pomare, including in Farmer Crescent.



from Hutt News....

Pomare sub-division not the dream that residents hoped for

By NICHOLAS BOYACK | 1:22PM - Monday, 08 February 2016


Riverside Gardens resident Christina Gillmore wants more done to support the residents
in the Pomare sub-division. The level of crime is making life tough for residents.
 — Photograph: Nicholas Boyack/Fairfax NZ.

RIVERSIDE GARDENS is not proving to be the dream sub-division residents hoped for.

Built on land that had a prominent Mongrel Mob presence, it was touted by the government as the way forward for housing in New Zealand.

Housing New Zealand (HNZ) demolished properties in the notorious Farmer Crescent to build 109 houses.

Housing Minister Nick Smith described it as a mix of social, state and low cost housing. When Housing New Zealand announced the joint project with developer City Living in 2012, it was promoted as the first of its kind nation-wide.

Fairfax Media was last week approached by two residents outlining a range of concerns.

Christina Gillmore likes her new house but is unhappy with what she sees as a lack of support from the council and police.

She moved in with husband Brett last April and set up a community support network and Facebook page.

Residents, she said, face on going problems and have largely been left to cope on their own.

As well as break-ins, residents have been asked for money, regularly have items stolen from their gardens and windows have been smashed. Children are yelled at, cars broken into and graffiti has appeared on a walkway.

Calls to the police by Gillmore have gone unanswered, she said.

Speaking to the media was not an easy decision.

Gillmore said some residents are concerned that publicity will reduce house prices and further antagonise their neighbours in Pomare.

She believes she has a “civic duty” to speak out, especially as the sub-division is being promoted as a success.

“I would like the crime to stop and for people to feel safe.”

She is disappointed by the lack of support from authorities and in speaking out, she hopes the same mistake is not repeated in other similar developments.

Clive Norman supports Gillmore's stance.

“The residents of Riverside Gardens are not rich by any means, they are hardworking families of many ethnicities who have saved for a home and want to get on with their lives.”

“here are some who are already questioning their decision to move here because of what has been happening."

It is not clear, he said, if the crime is just random acts “or possibly the acts of angry youths” who were forced to move out of Farmer Crescent.

He likes his house and the concept of affordable housing the suburb offers but believes that the residents need a lot more support.

Northern Ward Committee chair Dina Awarau only became aware of the scale of the problem In Riverside Garden after the council asked her to organise a public meeting.

She is happy to sit down with residents and said dialogue is the first step to finding a solution.

Pomare has its problems and she doubts the crime the residents have encountered has anything to do with the demolition of the HNZ properties.

“I don't think people are harbouring any animosity towards them, surely not.”

Acting Hutt Valley Prevention Manager Inspector Sue Douglas said the police are committed to having an active presence in the area.

She is keen to work with the community to find a solution.

“Our doors are always open and I would invite the people of Riverside Gardens to come and meet with us to discuss how, together, we can improve relationships in the community and between neighbours so that everyone feels safe.”

City council safety manager Jimmy Ballentyne said a wide range of organisations have been invited to the community meeting on February 18th.

“Effective crime prevention and protection is not just about CCTV cameras and prosecution. It's also about building strong residents' networks and inclusive, vibrant communities for long-term safety and resilience.”

__________________________________________________________________________

Read more on this topic:

 • $2m plan to revamp infamous suburb

 • Hutt council wants start date for Pomare housing redevelopment

 • Can Farmer Crescent be well-designed?

 • Occupy Pomare protest planned

 • Housing NZ demolitions cause heartache

 • Farmers Crescent homicide victim named

 • Pomare drug manslaughter trial begins

 • Farmer Crescent attacker Harlem Turi jailed

 • Rebirth of Pomare's state housing enclave — ganglands ghetto to suburban dream?

 • Chris Worsley leaving Pomare School after 17 years

 • New Pomare residents start Neighbourhood Support group after burglary

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/76607359

[Kiwithrottlejockey]

from The Dominion Post....

New Pomare residents told: ‘Welcome to the 'hood
 … get involved and meet people’

By JARED NICOLL | 5:51PM - Wednesday, 10 February 2016


Riverside Gardens Neighbourhood Support group co-ordinator Christina Gillmore
with her son, Connor Gillmore, outside the subdivision in Pomare, Lower Hutt.
 — Photograph: Jared Nicoll/Fairfax NZ.

NEW homeowners complaining of crime in a notorious Lower Hutt suburb have been told: “Welcome to the 'hood … get involved and meet people”.

A small percentage of residents who shifted into a subdivision of Pomare called Riverside Gardens — built where former Mongrel Mob-connected Housing NZ properties were demolished at Farmer Crescent about 2011 — have reported an increasing amount of break-ins, graffiti and intimidating behaviour.

That prompted fellow resident Lina Teepa to send a social media message to the newcomers, saying: “Welcome to the 'hood”.

“How can you expect the community to tautoko [support] you? Did u enrol your kids at Pomare School? Did any of the new residents?”

“Want the best of what places have to offer? Then get involved and meet the people.”

Riverside Gardens resident Kasper Murphy thought the homes were being targeted because “they are new houses in what used to be a low socio-economic district”.

“The surrounds have not changed. And I can't talk. I live just over the fence from some of these properties and have been robbed.”

Northern ward committee chairwoman Dina Awarau said news of the crime had come as a surprise.

A private Facebook page for residents to discuss issues, and a Neighbourhood Support group, had been set up but more could be done to integrate the newcomers.

After 25 years of living in Pomare, Heta Fruean-Mamea said a lot of good people lived in the close-knit community.

“Yes, there are little kids walking around trying to be all that, but I can guarantee they don't stay here. Our neighbourhood is small, we know the majority of the locals.”

Former Taita College board of trustees chairman and justice reform advocate Kim Workman said the upcoming community meeting would ideally include leaders from the local gang community.

“In my view, the gang families and the residents of Riverside Gardens will find that they share the same problem: a lack of support from community and social service agencies.”

Last year, Workman chaired a panel of experts who assessed an independent evaluation into a community development project centred on four gang communities across New Zealand that included the Mongrel Mob group in Pomare.

He said working with community leaders helped cut crime in troubled families, but it was difficult to find government agency support to form an ongoing plan.

“We noted these families were often considered hard to reach. On this occasion, the label applied equally to government agencies … It would be an ideal outcome if both the residents of Riverside and the gang community compared notes, and partnered in making their views known to local community agencies.”

http://www.stuff.co.nz/dominion-post/news/hutt-valley/76737128