A federal plan to remove feral cats from historic sites in Puerto Rico’s capital has angered some residents, who also feel pushed out as housing costs soar.
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We’re exploring how America defines itself, one place at a time. Puerto Rico’s historic region is undergoing changes that many residents don’t welcome.
Report from PR San Juan
Feral cats have roamed the green cobblestone streets of Old San Juan for as long as anyone can remember. They meander around the historic fortress towering over San Juan Bay, sheltered from the hot sun beneath sea grape bushes.
San Juaneros feeds them. Tourists take pictures. But it probably won’t last long. The federal agency that manages the fort and surrounding lands wants to get rid of the cats, saying they are a nuisance and can carry disease.
Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory suffering from financial difficulties and natural disasters, has bigger concerns. But the plan to remove nearly 200 cats from Old San Juan, the neighborhood near San Juan where the Spanish first settled on the island, has struck an emotional chord at a time when many Puerto Ricans are feeling the same way. I am at risk of being kicked out of my home.
The reasons are different. For people, this is because investors are buying up real estate, raising rents and home prices. However, in Old San Juan, the two stories may ultimately share the same ending. A beloved neighborhood has changed so much that at least some long-term residents fear it will lose its soul.
“This town could end up like an empty shell,” said Ray Segurola, 72, who is considering whether to move from Old San Juan. “You could end up with a number of facades, like Disney, Epcot or Las Vegas.”
The fight over cats began several years ago. The National Park Service, which operates San Juan National Historic Site, says there is a cat population on the 75-acre rocky peninsula that includes an old fort known as El Morro. . It’s too problematic.
San Juan was founded by Spanish colonists in 1521. Cats are said to have been brought in by the mayor of San Juan to kill rats since at least the mid-20th century.
Last year, the park service said its goal was to “alleviate inconveniences” and “align the visitor experience with the park’s purpose.”
Residents wondered what that meant. Have tourists complained? What about wealthy new investors who moved during the pandemic? They got few answers.
Thousands of written comments were received, including those in favor of the plan.
“I am a resident of this area and use this space almost every day and I find it very unpleasant,” one person wrote in Spanish. “Cats can create areas where feces accumulate, which can be unsanitary and unhealthy.”
But most commenters pleaded for the cat to stay.
“If they are causing any problems, the decision should be left to the people of San Juan. “They are members of the community who have to decide whether they want to be there or not.”
But in November, the park service decided to move forward. Save a Gato, a nonprofit group that has been spaying and neutering Old San Juan’s cats for nearly 20 years, said it would hire a company to remove and neuter about 170 of them if they were not found homes by June. Probably euthanize them. Only cats living in historic sites will be removed.
Last March, Alley Cat Allies, a Maryland-based nonprofit, filed a lawsuit in federal court in Washington seeking to stop the plan.
Save a Gato has trapped about 50 cats since November. About half of them have been adopted or will soon be adopted.
The park service did not respond to specific questions about what will happen next. But on Monday, the first official steps were taken to find a contractor to remove the remaining cats.
Some of the cats are too wild to be adopted. Longtime volunteer Danielle Tabler said even catching them can be difficult.
“I’ve been trying to trap one for over two years,” Mr. Tabler said, as he and Irma Podestá, who has worked with Save a Gato for 15 years, walked the coastal path beneath the massive stone fort and filled a few of their prey. Station with fresh feed.
Part of the problem is that people keep dropping off more cats. “There are too many abandoned animals in Puerto Rico,” said Podestá. “It’s a never-ending story.”
The number of abandoned animals on the island has skyrocketed since Hurricane Maria in 2017, which left many Puerto Ricans homeless. Due to natural disasters and economic uncertainty, Puerto Rico’s population decreased by approximately 12% from 2010 to 2020. The island is currently home to approximately 3.2 million people, many of whom are struggling to afford rising housing costs.
As he walked, Mr. Podesta rattled off the names of friends who lived in Old San Juan, causing the rent to double or triple and kick them out.
“I’m one of those people who’s always worried she’s going to get kicked out,” she said.
Many of Old San Juan’s brightly colored colonial homes, with their high ceilings and airy courtyards, were once home to artists and craftsmen who gave them a bohemian feel. Families have also lived there for generations. Now, more and more homes are being converted into vacation rentals. Each building is lined with signs advertising short-term occupancy. A combination master lock used to store keys.
Mr. Segurola, a retired lawyer and teacher, sold his home in another San Juan neighborhood in 2015 and moved to Old San Juan. Old San Juan was always his favorite place because it was so charming and close-knit. “Now that sense of community is falling apart,” he said. “This is the complete opposite of what we were looking for in Old San Juan.”
He and others blame, at least in part, a tax law passed in Puerto Rico in 2012, when the island was facing an economic collapse. The law, now known as Act 60, gives investors who buy a home in Puerto Rico a break on long-term capital gains, dividends, interest and other taxes if they haven’t been a resident for at least 10 years.
Gov. Pedro R. Pierluisi, who lost this week’s primary, stands by the law and said it is an important way for Puerto Rico to attract outside investors.
The influx of outside buyers has distorted the real estate market, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Inflation and rising interest rates have made renting and homeownership difficult for many Puerto Ricans, said Alonso Ortiz, founder of El Otro Puerto Rico, a nonprofit that works to slow the migration.
His organization found that 71% of residential properties purchased in Old San Juan from 2018 to 2022 were purchased by Act 60 beneficiaries or companies associated with it. Mr. Ortiz said these owners “often evict their families, remodel their properties and then convert them to Airbnb or short-term rentals, causing initial rents to skyrocket.”
Puerto Rican lawmakers last year passed short-term rental regulations requiring owners to pay annual fees for their properties, but critics said broader action was needed.
Margarita Gandía, a longtime resident of Old Town San Juan and a real estate agent, said she tries to emphasize the area’s historic character and friendly feel to clients looking for investment properties. Some buyers said they were willing to keep it, while others said they were not.
“Old San Juan will become a ghost town,” she said. “Don’t run into your neighbors. People used to say good morning. Yes, you will feel the difference.”
Although Ms. Gandía and other residents have pleaded with the city government to do better trash collection and noise regulations, she said, “as if we don’t exist,” the federal government has addressed what she considers more minor problems. Cat problem.
“The cat is not the problem,” she said.
