The owner of the Durie Drive house in Russell Heights, St Andrew, that was being used as a nursery and pre-school has stated that none of his neighbours ever raised concerns about the nursery and, despite reaching out to them to resolve the situation through the use of letters, they were yet to respond.

George Kawass said that he was overseas while the Jamaica Observer was investigating the story but insisted that he wanted to state his position on the issue as he feels that his tenant has not been treated fairly by the neighbours and some of the statements that they made in the story were untrue.

The Kingston and St Andrew Corporation (KSAC) last August ordered that the nursery be closed following complaints from citizens of the area that it was set up in an area zoned for residential purposes only. It had been in operation for less than a month.

The community’s citizen’s association said it was concerned about the devaluation of properties in the area, known to be the home of several influential members of the society.

But Kawass discounted that.

“Now it says there is a community citizens’ association… there is no such thing. I’ve been living there for the past 30-odd years … 36 to be exact, and I’ve tried to set up an association several times to no avail. They say ‘yes, good idea’ but it always falls through,” Kawass said.

“There was never an accident in front of the house at all. I don’t know where that came from. That is a total lie. I’ve been there and I’ve not seen any accident at all. The only accident that ever happened was that my neighbour across the street was backing out and, instead of pressing the brake, he pressed on gas and hit the light post on my property, which has nothing to do with this situation,” he continued.

Kawass told the Sunday Observer that the tenant told him from the beginning had her intentions of starting a nursery for toddlers and small children, in addition to residing on the property.

“I say ‘ok, well I don’t think it will be a problem’, because just at number 32 they have a gym and people park their cars all over. If you come here four or five in the evening, you see cars line off the whole of the place and they are running up and down Durie Drive, and I didn’t think it would be any problem,” Kawass stated.

He said that he put in specific rules and regulations, such as no signs, no activity in the front of the house, among others, which he said she had complied with readily.

“Even when people drop their children they are to drop them inside the premises, and that’s it, there is no traffic congestion. Now if you want to see traffic congestion just go number 32, which is the gym, where they park right up and down Durie Drive and I’m not complaining. I live and let live,” Kawass told the Sunday Observer.

“And besides, you can’t put a nursery down in the ghetto. Who is going to put their children down there? They need somewhere safe and convenient, and when you look at the type of people dropping their children off, they are young professionals, they are no criminals, so there’s no reason for them to doubt her sincerity.”

A representative of the citizens’ association who spoke with the Sunday Observer had also stated: “There is heavy traffic in the morning and evening on the avenue and an accident took place involving two cars, one that was coming and one that was going, in front of her location. We are really not happy with it.”

Kawass also said that this was not the first time he had leased the property as he had had four tenants before, one of which operated a plant nursery while there. He said he bought the property around 20 years ago when the owner emigrated and it was left in disrepair.

He said the place had become an eyesore in the community as the caretaker didn’t maintain the premises and it was used as an escape route, because it was in front of what he described as a “big gully” that goes all the way down to Barbican.

“The place was vacant for nearly 20-odd years…the owner migrated and it was like a den for thieves and crack heads…so it was a security problem. So I bought the premises, I remodelled it and did a lot of things. After that, everybody came, ‘Oh thank you, Mr Kawass, that was a sore spot and we thank you for cleaning it up and making people feel safe and what have you.’ They had no problems… now when I see this I’m totally surprised,” Kawass stated.

He said that he has maintained a good relationship with his neighbours over the years and feels that it was a case of one person “riling up the rest of neighbours and making a big deal, when it was really not”.

Kawass said that the tenant as well as himself are working with the KSAC to resolve the legal matters.

“I don’t feel they have given her a fair chance. I don’t know what they have against her. From my point of view, I don’t have a problem with her, and she seems to be a very nice lady, and she’s trying to help people,” he said.

“There’s nothing wrong with helping people, especially now it’s very hard to look after kids because not everyone can afford helpers. When the place is open, she is there, she has secured the place, it is a benefit to them that she is there, and that’s what they don’t seem to realise,” Kawass stated.

The KSAC, in its letter, stated that the Smart Kids Academy (Nursery and Pre-School) was in breach of the Town and Country Planning (Kingston) Development Order of 1966, and ordered the academy to cease operations within 28 days upon the receipt of the letter.

The corporation said that failure to take notice of the letter would result in an enforcement notice being served and a fine of $25,000 could be imposed if the academy fails to obey. A further fine of $5,000 a day will be imposed if operations continue, and in the event of a court conviction, the property could be forfeited to the Crown. The effective date of the letter was August 12.