Latest news with #DepartmentOfPublicWorks
News24
a day ago
- Politics
- News24
Bid to evict unlawful occupants of building in Cape Town CBD hit by another delay
Marvin Charles/News24 The national Department of Public Works delayed the eviction of 104 Darling Street residents in the Cape Town CBD, allowing further consultations with the City of Cape Town and Ndifuna Ukwazi. Ndifuna Ukwazi, representing the residents, opposes evictions without providing decent alternative homes or viable relocation options. The case was postponed to next month. The national Department of Public Works' attempt to evict residents unlawfully occupying a building in the Cape Town CBD has been hit by another delay after it requested a postponement to allow further consultations with the City of Cape Town and Ndifuna Ukwazi. Ndifuna Ukwazi represents residents of 104 Darling Street, also known as Irene Grootboom House, a three-storey building in the city centre. On Thursday, Western Cape High Court Judge Mokgoatji Josiah Dolamo postponed the case to 29 July. The City and the department are expected to engage in finding suitable emergency accommodation for the occupiers should they be evicted, and the residents will be given time to respond to any proposals. On that date, advocates will meet in chambers with Dolamo, after which a date for the eviction hearing will be set. According to City by-laws, the building had been declared a problem property. Residents have lived without electricity since December 2016. The property has since deteriorated - with makeshift shacks erected inside, broken doors, and additional informal structures in the backyard. News24 previously reported that the department planned to demolish the small, dilapidated office block. However, refurbishing it has been deemed too costly, with estimates reaching R3 million. In court papers, the department argued the property - made up of two parcels of land - was vulnerable to land invasions and further illegal occupation due to its rundown condition. The adjoining vacant land is also overgrown with trees, posing a potential fire risk. It previously indicated alternative accommodation would be offered at one of the City's supported facilities, including Safe Space shelters in central Cape Town. Speaking outside court, Ndifuna Ukwazi organiser Lorenzo Johnson said: Residents are facing an urgent eviction from the Department of Public Works. And we are here to say that if the building is dangerous to the community, the people need to be moved. 'But we are asking that the people be given decent homes or options to move into. So, we are here to oppose the eviction, and there is no real evidence to say that the building is in danger for the people living in,' he added. Like other prominent inner-city occupations - such as Cissie Gool House in Woodstock and Ahmed Kathrada House in Green Point - the building at 104 Darling Street was named after a well-known activist. Irene Grootboom House honours the housing rights activist who won a landmark 2000 Constitutional Court case, which ruled that she and others could not be evicted from an informal settlement in Kraaifontein without being provided alternative accommodation.
News24
2 days ago
- News24
High Court to decide fate of occupants living in hijacked building in Cape Town CBD
On Thursday, the Western Cape High Court is expected to hear an eviction application brought by the department against residents living at 104 Darling, a three-storey building in the city centre. If granted, residents of the building will face eviction without guaranteed alternative housing. The property has been declared a 'problem property' under City of Cape Town by-laws, with no electricity since 2016. If the Western Cape High Court grants the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure an eviction order against residents unlawfully occupying a building in Cape Town's CBD, they say they will be left without alternative accommodation. On Thursday, the High Court is expected to hear an eviction application brought by the department against residents living at 104 Darling, a three-storey building in the city centre. According to the City of Cape Town's by-laws, the building has previously been declared a problem property. Residents have been without electricity since December 2016. The building's condition has since deteriorated. Makeshift shacks have been erected inside, doors are broken, and additional shacks have been set up in the backyard. News24 previously reported that the department intends to demolish the small, dilapidated office block. The estimated cost of refurbishment is R3 million. In court papers, the department said the property - comprised of two parcels of land - has become vulnerable to land grabs and invasions due to its derelict state. It also warned that the vacant adjoining land is overgrown with trees, posing a fire hazard. The residents are being represented by the housing law organisation, Ndifuna Ukwazi. In a supplementary affidavit filed last month, the department's director of real estate management services, Dumisani Gqibela, said: 'It goes without saying that where you have a crumbling building and exterior walls that are crumbling, the danger of it collapsing and causing death and injury to people will remain until the structure and walls have been demolished and the persons in its vicinity have been removed from such dangerous and hazardous conditions.' Gqibela said the department brought the application because the 'derelict building poses a serious health and safety risk to the occupiers'. He further described as 'unsubstantiated claims' the suggestion that residents would be rendered homeless if evicted. 'The City of Cape Town will address the issue relating to Ebenezer Shelter and further emergency accommodation in their report. In this regard, it should specifically be noted that the respondents have, to date, not provided the City with all the relevant completed questionnaires as far back as 8 May 2025,' he said in the court papers. Gqibela added that Ndifuna Ukwazi's 'general approach to this eviction application is reckless and unfair to the members of the general public'. In a supplementary answering affidavit filed by 104 Darling residents, resident Ayabulela Gwenzane argued that none of the department's reports showed 'real and imminent harm to the property and persons to justify an urgent eviction order being granted'. ALSO READ | Public works dept goes to court to evict people from dilapidated building in Cape Town 'In respect of the hardship that the NU [Ndifuna Ukwazi] respondents would suffer, we have set this out in our provisional answering affidavit and include the negative impact that displacement would have on us and that we would be rendered homeless if evicted. 'The applicant [the department], despite having been provided with our personal circumstances, insists that we would not be rendered homeless. The applicant is of the view that we can afford alternative accommodation and/or qualify for social housing and or will be provided with shelter by the City of Cape Town in the Ebenezer Shelter space and consequently would not be rendered homeless. 'The applicant misses the point that unless alternative accommodation is secured by 19 June, if an urgent order is granted on the date as prayed by for the applicant, then we would be rendered homeless,' he said. Gwenzane added that the department ignored the residents' income information, noting that while most are employed, the work is precarious and dependent on being close to the CBD. He said: We cannot afford alternative accommodation in the private rental market. Rental accommodation is too expensive. Regarding shelters, Gwenzane said they do not accommodate couples or allow families with children to stay together. Asked for comment about alternative accommodation, Department of Public Works and Infrastructure spokesperson Lennox Mabaso said: 'The department has already engaged with the City of Cape Town regarding safe and secure shelter for any of the inhabitants who qualify and who may be affected by the proceedings, as required by law, as the building has been declared unsafe for human occupation and at risk of collapse.' Mabaso added that the alternative accommodation would be in one of the city-supported shelters, including the Safe Space shelters in central Cape Town. 'The City has done pioneering work to establish shelters for homelessness to ensure that occupants are provided with safe and secure accommodation,' he said.
CBS News
12-06-2025
- Automotive
- CBS News
Rachel Carson Bridge to close over the next two weeks for inspections
Drivers and cyclists in Downtown Pittsburgh who use the Rachel Carson Bridge (Ninth Street) will have to find a detour at times over the next two weeks. The Department of Public Works announced on Thursday morning that the bridge will be closed starting on Monday, June 16, at 6 a.m. and will remain closed through Friday, June 20, at 3 p.m. After reopening for the weekend, the bridge will once again be closed on Monday, June 23, at 6 a.m. until Friday, June 27, at 3 p.m. Both of the closures are for routine inspection. While the bridge is shut down, traffic will be detoured using Fort Duquesne Boulevard, the Andy Warhol Bridge (Seventh Street), and Isabella Street. When the bridge was last inspected in November 2023, inspectors gave the bridge a condition rating of six, meaning in fair condition, on a scale of zero to nine, which is based on National Bridge Inspection Standards established by the Federal Highway Administration. According to the county, the bridge carries an average of more than 10,000 vehicles per day. The bridge was opened in 1926 and was rehabilitated in 2019-2020 with a $24.2 million project.
CBS News
04-06-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Maryland Gov. Moore to announce support for flood mitigation projects in Howard County
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is expected to announce support for flood mitigation projects in Howard County through a state loan fund Wednesday. Additional support would be provided through the Maryland Department of Emergency Management's Resilient Revolving Loan Fund. Flood mitigation in Howard County Parts of Howard County experienced deadly flooding in 2011, 2016 and 2018, prompting an aggressive effort to prevent similar events in the future. After eight inches of rain turned Ellicott City streets into rivers and damaged more than 70 businesses, the county launched the Safe and Sound plan to address flooding issues with retention ponds in four areas. The plan dictates that debris be removed from waterways after weather events that bring two or more inches of rain within 24 hours or after strong winds. Before the plan was enacted, the waterways were inspected on a quarterly or semi-quarterly basis. Between 2018 and March 2025, Howard County's Department of Public Works removed more than 100,000 pounds of debris. There are a total of seven projects under the Safe and Sound Plan. So far, two of four retention ponds have been built, and a third is expected to be done by fall 2025, according to county officials. In Ellicott City, several flood safety measures have also been implemented, like signage pointing to high-ground access and a tone alert system. Federal funding cuts spark concerns The funding for all of Howard County's flood mitigation projects was secured, Executive Calvin Ball said in February. However, the proposed state budget and the Trump administration's federal spending cuts sparked concerns. The Safe and Sound Plan costs about $250 million, and a third of that is supported by federal funds, according to Ball. The county's flood mitigation plan is supported in part by a $75 million WIFIA loan from the Environmental Protection Agency and $20 million in funding from FEMA. "Uncertainty about federal funding places Howard County in an extremely precarious position, assuming tremendous financial risk," Ball said in March.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Part of Spring Garden Road to close starting June 2; PRT announces temporary route changes
Part of Spring Garden Road in Reserve Township will close starting on June 2, and Pittsburgh Regional Transit has announced temporary route changes to accommodate the closure. The road will close between Ramage Road and Beech Street at 9 a.m., the Department of Public Works says. The closure will last through September. The DPW says the closure is needed for constructing a roadway support, roadway repairs and curb and pavement marking replacement. PRT says its 7-Spring Garden route will be detoured using Mt. Troy Road, Ivory Avenue, Evergreen Road, East Street, Mt. Pleasant Road and Beech Street. Five stops on the route will be temporarily discontinued: INBOUND Spring Garden Road opposite No. 3851 (Stop No. 2863) Spring Garden Road opposite No. 3681 (Stop No. 2864) Spring Garden Road at Beech Street (Stop # 2865) OUTBOUND Spring Garden Road at No. 3681 (Stop No. 2915) Spring Garden Road at No. 3851 (Stop No. 2916) Riders at these stops can use a temporary stop on Beech Street at Spring Garden Road, PRT says. Riders at the affected outbound stops can use a temporary stop on Spring Garden Road opposite Beech Street (Stop No. 2914). If you have any questions, you can contact PRT Customer Service at 412-442-2000, on X at @pghtransitcare, or via live chat at Regular vehicle traffic will follow the same detour, using Spring Garden Avenue, Vinial Street, Troy Hill Road, Lowrie Street, Ley Street, Rialto Street, Pittview Avenue and Mt. Troy Road. People who live in the closure area will have access to their homes at all times, PRT says. Spring Garden Road is used by an average of 1,960 drivers daily, according to PRT. The $409,838 project's primary construction contractor is A. Merante Contracting of West Mifflin. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
