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Graham-Rogall activist to depart

By CASEY CORA
Published December 31, 2006

She has been called a "chronic complainer" who puts up a fight when no one else cared.

In her 21 years as a resident of the Graham-Rogall housing complex, Eva Shaw has never backed down from anyone.

Not security officers, unruly tenants, and certainly not management.

"They don't want to mess with me," said Shaw, 68. "I'm very vocal, I'm very to the point, and I get what I want."

But Shaw is forfeiting what would be her biggest fight yet. She is one of 318 residents facing relocation after the sale of the building at 325 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. St. S is complete.

"It's a sad day in St. Pete," she said.

Graham-Rogall residents, many classified as "very low income" by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, likely couldn't shoulder the cost of the planned affordable condominiums scheduled to replace the 486-unit building, which is split into two wings.

Graham residents will go first. Rogall folks will follow in an effort to be out of the complex in 30 months or more, said Housing Authority spokesman Tim Shepherd.

Under the federal Uniform Relocation Act, residents will receive help finding new housing, packing their things, moving out and transferring utility services.

But even with federal help, most residents aren't prepared for the physical and emotional burden of leaving, said Bill Walsh, president of the Residents Management Corp., an agency that acts as liaison between tenants and the Housing Authority.

"Because this population is so vulnerable and so fragile, moving is going to be hugely traumatic," Walsh said.

When asked about Shaw, Walsh rolled his eyes.

"Her points are wrong, but Eva is Eva," he said. "And she's a good soul."

For Shaw, 2006 was another year of filing complaints and amassing newspaper clippings, newsletters, and copies of paperwork from correspondence with Housing Authority officials.

After two decades of life within Graham-Rogall, the self-proclaimed "pulse of this building" has packed most of the belongings in her one-bedroom apartment.

Armed with a Section 8 voucher, she is headed elsewhere in the state. Maybe Hollywood to be near her daughter Cheryl. Maybe Ruskin to be near her son Ronald.

"I thought my journey was finished," she said. "Not yet."

Times staff writer Aaron Sharockman contributed to this report. Casey Cora can be reached at 580-1542 or ccora@sptimes.com.

[Last modified December 30, 2006, 22:02:58]