When Sh'Bella Dreamz Recreation Center opened, patrons could use accessible parking; now, a fence blocks that path. | Facebook
When Sh'Bella Dreamz Recreation Center opened, patrons could use accessible parking; now, a fence blocks that path. | Facebook
Roy Rogers sang “Don’t Fence Me In,” but some of a South Durham business owner’s clients think a neighboring landlord is trying to fence them out.
Shea Ramirez, the owner of Sh’Bella Dreamz Recreation Center, is butting heads with the owners of University Hill over a recently installed fence around University Hill that blocks the handicapped entrance to Ramirez's business.
"This is a place for everyone,” Ramirez told ABC11. “This is a place of love and unity, and I feel like where I'm providing it to the community, I'm being broken dealing with him."
Ramirez said last April, one of the owners of University Hill put up a fence blocking the ability of her customers to take advantage of accessible parking. They have since been forced to use the stairs, and Ramirez asserts that this leaves asthma patients gasping for air.
The owners of University Hill, Hawthorne Residential Partners, have filed a lawsuit against Ramirez's landlord, Miller Property Management. It charges that Ramirez was running a nightclub after hours, causing illegal parking, excessive noise, and excess litter, the news report says.
Hawthorne Residential Partners did not respond to news interview requests. Ramirez's landlord said the lawsuit is in mediation and they are hoping for a viable compromise.
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