TravelTalkOnline Forums Travel and Vacation Forums St. Maarten - St. Martin Big Happenings at La Bamba

Something BIG is going on right now at La Bamba Sunday morning!!! Lots of trucks and workers. The burn pit was loaded up, palapas torn down, Lights removed from the roof and more happening. Looks like furniture being loaded!! Could it be the last day for the joint? I am taking a few pix. This reporter will stay on the story.

From last Night

Should make you happy.

Well its day has passed! Watching it being loaded into dump trucks. The roof is still up but more dump trucks pulling in and a few items being removed from the bar area, then I assume the roof will be torn down. Too bad people have to lose jobs though.

Guess the payouts you insinuated to didn't payout

Guess they tried to pay in Naf! LOL
Cheers
irina

I remember now! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/duh.gif" alt="" />
Hope they reopen somewhere. Nice people. Good people.
They did a mitzvah for a dear friend of ours.
Cheers
i <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Thumbsup.gif" alt="" />

Every year we said we'd check it out, now it's too late!
As my brother-in-law would say, "And there it was.....gone!"

When I see things like this I always ask myself "Is this the highest and best use of this real estate?" Some how I don't think a hospital on beach front property is a highest and best use. SXM industry is tourism. With all the other options for elective surgery ( Cuba, Colombia, Costa Rica and the new Grand Cayman Health City) I don't see razing beach type businesses to put more concrete at the beach is a positive thing. I think it is going to be another Blue Mall project outcome.

SXM??? Wendell

What's the over under on doctors making money on real estate.

It doesn't sound like it was done with a definite construction plan of any kind in mind...more like "You do not have a permit to be here anymore so we are helping you leave"

One can only wonder, although a "parking lot" is mentioned (for whatever that is worth) in the article.

"The beach is destined to be a parking lot."

The whole thing doesn't make any sense. They were evicted by the owners of the land and then they weren't? They moved back, and then they moved onto government land on Saturday? I thought they moved back in the same place when they reopened? Why were they allowed to come back, if they had been evicted? Confusing.

"don't it always seem to go - that you don't know what you got till its gone...."

One more piece of island life lost......hope everyone's happy now.

Pat--respectfully, I really don't think music blaring until 3 am is 'part of island life', and that was the only thing that anyone here complained about.

Carol,

I know noise issues are a real thorn in the sides of many and not trying to get into an argument with anyone.....

The solution to this island wide would be for the island fathers to enact and then enforce a noise ordinance. I don't pretend to know all the details and at this point, I really don't care to. But knowing they've been on Kim-Sha Beach forever, seeing them put out of business this way stinks, IMHO.

I'm done. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" /> <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/handshake.gif" alt="" />

I will definitely agree with you there. There should be a noise ordinance which is enforced, for sure. The whole situation was extremely confusing and it is a shame that a long time island business was closed down, yes.

Every thing in the article makes sense to me. Lease expired and so did the business permit. Didn't get permission to relocate on Government land. Pretty cut and dry. Probably more to the story than is being told.

What doesn't make sense to me is after they were supposedly evicted, they moved back. I think there is a lot more to the story, yes.

Could not agree with you more. My husband and I are 26-year owners at Pelican (now Simpson Bay Resort). We own 8 weeks in the Villas. This year we started talking about actually selling because the blaring music until the wee hours has kept us from enjoying our lovely balcony fronting on Simpson Bay. For probably the first time in my 26 years as a timeshare owner here, I can truthfully say the SXM government did the right thing.

Obviously law didn't matter to them. Perhaps the land owner is an absentee owner and La bamba felt they wouldn't know until someone informed them so they tried to get just a little more out of it. Probably why they squatted on government owned land, no respect for anyone. This lack of respect showed in the loud music that bothered residents.

I agree, they were definitely in the wrong here. They no longer had a lease and just moved over to government owned land illegally. This to me is just cause for eviction and I can't see why some people think it is not. I also find it very frustrating that some people complain when the government takes appropriate action and the same people complain when the government takes no action! LA Bamba needs to find another location and acquire the proper permits to operate their business in a legal manner. Perhaps other businesses will learn from this and realize that operating legally is very important!

It amazes me to read all these posts that are just idle and cheap speculation.
He who lives in glass houses, shouldn't throw stones.
What do you guys know about what happened? Nothing! I can tell you that you know absolutely nothing about what happened nor do you have any idea who the players are.
I think Carol should shut this thread down.
It's disgusting. You are talking about a real person with a real family who lives on island for decades!
Stop it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
irina

Its not speculation that they were operating without a valid permit and failed to get the necessary permission from the Government to use the property. Not sure why your reacting to the prior poster the way you are as facts are facts.

Sorry but you are totally out of line here. The facts stated were published in the newspaper and if they are not correct, then you need to take your problems up with them.These people may have lived on the island for decades, but that does not excuse them from following the rules.

Have you addressed your concerns with The Daily Herald? It seems to me most here are only reacting to what has been reported in the local SXM newspaper. There has been a couple of personal opinions but MOST are a reaction to what is perceived as a legitimate local news source.

Elizabeth, you took the words away from me as I was typing this as you were responding.

Clever minds think alike JD! <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Grin.gif" alt="" />

OK, the Daily Herald doesn't always get their facts correct, that is for sure. Many other newspapers do not either.. That was part of the reason why I responded as I did--I don't understand why, if they were evicted, why they would move back? Which I intended to mean that I didn't know if the DH got their facts correct. That doesn't make sense to me, why someone would bother to do that, if they had been evicted, as it's not like they would get away with it for very long. Makes no sense.

Oh yes, TDH is a paragon of virtue.
You are still all speculating.
Almost libelously.
You don't know anything about the permit process on island or any other thing about the politics on island. You are projecting your town stuff on a foreign country.
Don't bother responding to me.
I'm not listening.

If its anything like the squatters we have in Washington State that move into a vacant house and refuse to move and law enforcers or the courts can't do anything about it than I can see how this situation could happen in good old SXM.
Not to long ago I remember a thread on this site about a French policeman that the owner was having difficulties evicting on the Dutch side and even the authorities were helpless.

OK, well, at this point I think it would be better to close this one. Again, for the most part, what has been commented on here is what was reported in the DH. Which, if they got their facts incorrect, they are rssponsible for that. Regardless, will close this one and if there are further developments, someone can post a new thread.