A North Miami food bank that has been serving up meals to the needy for nearly 30 years is facing an eviction notice from its new landlord, the same landlord they accuse of taking a trailer full of donated items intended for Haiti.
If the Stop Hunger food bank gets evicted, thousands of local families will be impacted, said founder Julius Littman, who doesn't have kind words for the new landlord.
"My religion forbids me to kill the son of a b****,” said the feisty Littman, the salty former North Miami Beach city councilman who launched the "Stop Hunger" food bank 28 years ago.
“It’s been a long haul,” said Littman, in his cluttered office where decades of faded and dusty memorabilia is strewn about, stacked, or hanging crooked on the walls. “But it’s been the most rewarding thing in the world.”
The giant North Miami food bank ran into money troubles in recent times and fell way behind in taxes, mortgage and more.
So, through a complex lease-option, they sold the building to businessman Chris Savits, whose attorney claims he covered $1.9 million in debts. The contract then gives the food bank five years of free rent.
Tatyana Kats, the president of “Stop Hunger,” says Savits did not cover their debts for the $1.9 million amount. She says it was much less and came through the lease-option portion that preceded the purchase by two years.
Their money troubles also led to an 8-day lapse in contractually-required insurance coverage in September.
A year later, an eviction notice arrived at the food bank, giving them five days to get out. Two have already passed. Littman lost his free attorney, former U.S. Attorney Kendall Coffey, but is hoping to get a new lawyer imminently.
Savits is "using that (the insurance lapse) as an excuse to break the contract," fumes Stop Hunger employee Arlene Zara.
Savits, the new owner, confirms he is evicting them, and he says it is because of that 8-day insurance lapse. He refused to answer several other questions, referred NBC Miami to his attorney, and kicked the NBC Miami reporting team off the property.
His attorney, Steve Cody, said the food bank continues to fall short of full fire and other insurance protection, ignored several warnings on other important matters like getting a permit for a new refrigeration unit, and is in shambles.
And that trailer bound for Haiti? Cody says it was blocking access for other tenants. So, after several warnings, they towed it and three old cars that Lippman had parked in front of the facility hoping to sell for the charity.
The attorney says Littman treats the property like he owns it, Which he no longer does.
Even if everything is made right by the food bank, Cody says he’s not sure his client would stop the eviction. A legal source said such an eviction notice doesn’t mean they will be forced out this week but rather it begins a long legal battle.
Stop Hunger says it gives nearly 30,000 meals a month in South Florida and overseas. And they give thrift items to the needy too, complete with a massive Christmas giveaway each year.
It’s the largest operation of its kind in Florida, they say.
“When you come here and you see the people – all colors, all creeds, all nationalities – “ Then he pauses. "The expression on their face when they get the food; it's worth every moment, every item, every time you spend. And that's it."
