Greenwood resident thankful for her restored peace
Published:Thursday | October 17, 2024 | 12:13 AMRochelle Clayton/Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
After six years of being forced to endure the nuisance caused by an unauthorised garage next door to her home in Greenwood, St James, Karleen Allen can now look forward to the peace and tranquillity of former times as the garage is being moved.
In September, a distraught Allen contacted The Gleaner, complaining of her struggles with noise and air pollution due to the activities at the garage, which was being operated by the Spanish-owned Horizon Construction Company.
Allen, whose story was carried by The Sunday Gleaner on September 8 under the headline ‘Commercial Clampdown’, complained about the nauseating smell of the chemicals used to clean excavators, tractors, crane trucks, and other equipment, and said that prior to the garage being erected in 2018, she had enjoyed 22 years of living beside what was an empty lot without any issues.
“When they (Horizon Construction Company) came in, they said that they were going to build an apartment. We were excited for an apartment because the lot was empty. Then the walls went up, which [raised eyebrows], but we didn’t say anything. Then we realised that the gate didn’t look like it was an apartment. They put up a big gate, and then the trucks started coming in,” said Allen.
Allen said complaints were made to the St James Municipal Corporation (SJMC), but they yielded no tangible results. However, that changed when The Gleaner took up her story as it brought a swift response from Montego Bay Mayor Richard Vernon.
“It is not legal to use a residential lot to conduct commercial activities,” the mayor told The Gleaner. The commercial operators were promptly instructed to discontinue their operations beyond September 10 via a cease-and-desist order.
No need for Legal action
In providing an update on the matter, Naudia Crosskill, the CEO at the St James Municipal Corporation, told The Gleaner that the Horizon Construction Company had adhered to the cease-and-desist notice and had since started to remove its large equipment.
“Please be informed that consequent to the notice being served on operators of garages at the captioned property, an officer of the municipal corporation visited the property on October 4, 2024, where it was observed that the operators were complying with the notice by removing the commercial equipment. Based on action from the operator, there is no need for the corporation to take the matter to court,” said Crosskill in an email response to The Gleaner.
When The Gleaner contacted Allen earlier this week, she was full of gratitude, saying that she is now looking forward to the sweet sounds of birds chirping in her yard, a stark difference from the banging sounds she had grown to hate over the past six years.
“I must say thanks to you, Rochelle, and the municipal corporation, as I was living in hell because of the constant knocking of the iron and the smell of gasolene and urine,” said Allen. “It was a mess in my house with the smell of faeces. With it all gone now, I can breathe, I can relax in my home, I can go outside, and I don’t have to lock the doors or the windows. I am not in a constant state of panic when I’m going home anymore.”
“I am feeling relaxed now they are all gone, so I can live in peace like I used to live,” said Allen, who is now seeking new tenants for her small apartment, which she could not rent because of the nuisance caused by the garage next door.
“My children don’t have to be in any arguments with the workers as well, so I’m grateful for everyone who helped to remove them from there because nobody understood what I was going through until I contacted The Gleaner,” said Allen.