LOCAL: Fort Lauderdale accused of “dumping” homeless in another city.

Use of Dania Beach hotel an ‘honest mistake,’ official says

DANIA BEACH – When the coronavirus crisis struck, Fort Lauderdale set out to find hotels willing to take in the homeless and get them off the street.

They found two.

There’s just one problem: One of them happens to be in Dania Beach.

Now Dania Beach is accusing Fort Lauderdale of “dumping” its homeless problem on another city, Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis says.

But Fort Lauderdale officials say they had no idea the Rodeway Inn & Suites, a 3-star hotel located near the city border at 2440 W. State Road 84, was in Dania Beach.

“It was an honest mistake,” said Rob Hernandez, deputy city manager in Fort Lauderdale. “We really thought it was in the city limits.”

Dania Beach Mayor Lori Lewellen doesn’t buy that story.

“If we did the same to Fort Lauderdale, they would be up in arms,” she said. “I’m not trying to start a war with Fort Lauderdale. But Fort Lauderdale has a lot more hotels than we do. It’s wrong. Pick up the phone and contact us.”

On May 8, dozens of homeless people from Fort Lauderdale checked into 72 rooms at the Rodeway Inn for a 30-day stay.

Soon after, complaint calls started coming in to police, Dania Beach officials say.

It was then when they learned of the arrangement Fort Lauderdale made with the hotel, said Dania Beach City Manager Ana Garcia.

“We only found out because we had to respond to [police] calls,” she said.

The troublemakers were told to pack up their things and leave the premises. At Dania’s request, Fort Lauderdale agreed to bring in a private security company to keep watch at certain times.

But that didn’t stop the problems, Garcia said.

Dania Beach officials insisted a real cop be brought in to keep the peace.

Over the weekend, Dania Beach was pressuring the hotel to end its contract with Fort Lauderdale, said Izzy Fintz, vice president of hospitality at the Rodeway Inn.

“[The city attorney] wanted the homeless people removed and off our property within 48 hours,” Fintz said. “All we want to do is help these people. And we are becoming a political pawn. We are being put in the middle.”

Trantalis said Dania Beach officials wanted the hotel’s homeless guests removed by noon Tuesday, but might have had a change of heart after getting a call from a reporter.

“My city manager said we were told if we did not resolve the security issue by noon today they were going to evict them,” Trantalis said.

On Tuesday, Dania Beach City Attorney Tom Ansbro told the South Florida Sun Sentinel he never mentioned evicting the homeless hotel guests.

“There was never a threat to evict them,” he said.

Now a Broward Sheriff ’s deputy will work an off-duty detail to watch over the inn around the clock. Fort Lauderdale has agreed to pay the $57-an-hour tab.

That special detail started on Tuesday.

Trantalis says he hopes that puts an end to the brouhaha.

When it’s time for the homeless residents to check out, they won’t be left to wander the streets, Fort Lauderdale officials promise.

“We’ll be trying to place them into a shelter,” Hernandez said. “That’s the game plan, to make sure they don’t go back out on the street.”