Liberty City community, Razing Liberty Square, focus of new film
MIAMI - The Liberty City public housing community in Miami is the focus of a new film.
The movie premiere for "Razing Liberty Square" was held Friday night in Coral Gables.
With rising sea levels, the neighborhood's higher and drier ground has become real estate gold, making it irresistible to developers.
"A really big message of this film is to say that climate gentrification is real it exists, people are not only affected by the housing crisis, also by the climate crisis."
The director spent six years filming what happened when the city turned over public housing to a private company.
Razing Liberty Square is about the demolition of one of the oldest segregated housing projects in the U.S.
Filmmakers say Liberty City is located on the highest and driest ground in Miami… making it real estate gold."
"This is the pork and beans project. This is the beans. We don't even call it to the pork n beans," said Kinbrick Jordan, a resident.
Liberty Square is at the center of attention of the film.
Residents who have called Liberty Square home for years are faced with the new reality of redevelopment.
"They really not getting to experience was Liberty Square really was. Now, it's just this. Empty vacant lots. Partially finished apartment buildings."
Enyamarie Solano has called the housing projects home since she was 7.
Now, moving back into one of the new buildings, she's happy with the new housing.
"The new houses, they gave us a lot of things. They gave us like washing machines, driers. We didn't have that before. The air conditioning didn't have central air conditioning. They gave us central air conditioning. "
But the public housing projects once used only for low-income residents… is now open to renters.
And that is the point of Razing Liberty Square.
Shining a light on areas ignored in the past… now redeveloped for housing because of flooding issues throughout other areas of Miami.
"I met the residence. And talk to the people. They educated me. By the way we are sitting on really high ground here. And they educated me about this new term I never heard about. Climate gentrification," said director Katja Esson.
The related group, that is overseeing the project was present at the public screening but declined to answer any questions from us.