matter most, the families. Two years later, right here. ics fin now with those who still and
forever are dealing with loss
and many questions still the
families. Martin Lang lost his
sister Nikki and brother in law
Louis in unity 804. Michael
Noriega lost his grandma, Hilda,
who lived in 602. And we are
very grateful the two of you
were here together. I know a lot
of families just have been so
private and you two of, you
know, very of the 98 families
have really stepped up into the
public light. And I want to get
a sense. MARTIN We’ll start with
you. How were you to do that and
why? It’s really hard. It’s
really hard. Never having been
in front of cameras before,
never having to grieve in a way
and then having to step up to
the plate. I this before sister
was even recovered when, the
land went up for sale and my
sister wasn’t recovered yet. I
said, How do I get this message
out to the world? The people
need to know what’s going on.
And my biggest ally was the
media asking me to speak to 100
people where I can speak to a
camera. The whole world can can
see. And when I started seeing
the impact that you guys as
reporters have and take that
also to a legislative process,
and we’ll talk about that in a
little bit. But that’s, you
know, so you have a specific a
goal that we’ll talk about. I
Want to hear from you, Mike. I’m
your grandma your dad was a
police has been a police chief
of various cities. And I think
that day the first inkling I
personally had is when I saw
Miami police chief come up on
the beach and I thought, wow.
And so you are a very, you know,
in somewhat a public family as a
public service entity. You were
a public family. Is that was
that difficult for you? And is
part of the reason you find
yourself able to be in the
public eye? Absolutely. I think
for my father, this was
extremely hard for him. It that
was my grandmother. But It was
his mother. It was his last
remaining parent. And she’s
lived there a time. She had
lived there 20 years. And Dad,
he just asked me. It was really,
truly an honor. He said, will
you represent your grandmother’s
daddy’s legacy? Will you
represent me? Will you represent
the inquiry’s that we got? And
it just became the honor of my
life. And I think, I speak for
Martin and I we’re we’re looking
for purpose. The pain that this
shouldn’t have happened and
should never happen again. And
we to make sure of that and part
of that and is what we’ve been
talking about for most of this
hour, and we I’m sure you were
able to either see the segments
that did or I know you’ve been
talking to the lawmakers and I
know. MARTIN You actually
testified Tallahassee in the
committee meetings as laws were
going through. Give us your
perspective on it. Did you did
they do what you think is right?
It was very hard. I don’t think
they did what was right because
I shouldn’t have had to go up
there and testify against the to
make it easier for to take
liability away. And when I want
to explain that I got involved
because an attorney called me
and said there’s a horrible bill
being passed that’s dropping and
taking away liability from and
pretty much putting it on the
innocent property owners after a
few years financially you’re
talking about structurally
financially let’s say the bill
they trying to make it if a
building collapses after seven
years it’s on the unit owner and
when you buy a building a unit
and a building that just got
developed seven years prior and
then it collapses on your eight
it would be on you and a call
from the developer that’s how it
got that’s how I got involved I
went to testify against those
bills. I said you should this
stricter now why are you losing
of these these regulations
developers how how were you in
the legislative process if at
all? No, not at all that was not
your thing. It not at all.
Because my viewpoint on
everything has been that there’s
that happen all over the world I
mean from earthquakes to the war
in Ukraine and one of the ways
that I’ve carried out my mission
is through writing my book on
Collapsible Sole, because there
was those of us that involved
where we lost our loved ones.
It’s been extremely hard,
extremely difficult. But at same
time, there’s tragedies that
happen all over the world. That
shouldn’t happen. And so it’s
been to bring purpose to the
pain regardless of whether or
not somebody had involvement
with the service. So would it be
proper to say you’re looking
forward of back? Is that is that
valid? Yeah Whereas you’re
you’re in the process. Yeah. I
mean this this wasn’t a natural
disaster. This was there was
negligence, a building just and
my way of putting purpose is
making sure this doesn’t again,
by actually getting involved and
making sure I push these
legislators to make a change
because families can go through
what we went through. Yeah They
can and it doesn’t really matter
what religion, what you believe
in or, what a building can’t
collapse in the middle the night
what happened a body to find 12
seconds. So when let’s let’s go
back just a little bit we talked
with Vicki Lopez mentioned the
Morabito report. You both know
what that is right you know the
MORABITO report. Morabito is the
engineer who essentially his
records were right there for
years. And in 2018 pointed out
all things that needed to be
fixed in the building and that a
focus right after collapse. So
with this Morabito report and
with was not done and now with
laws that are looking back and
saying what we’re going to do
now so it happen again like this
do you think that what is in the
laws so far that talked about is
a good step first step or
whatever but is it a good step
to fix those issues. I don’t
think that fixes the issue. What
think is when we these reports
what we see is that were
violations from day one so the
problems are coming the day
these developers are putting
sulfur to the ground and the
city and county inspectors go
give the green and then 30 and
40 years later, we see millions
of dollars in special
assessments. It be the unit
owners having to pay hundreds of
thousands of dollars out of
pocket because the county gave a
green light on a violation
yesterday. I know you all were
out yesterday. I know the
governor was here yesterday and
the mayor of Miami, all the
officials that come out to
respects to the families. And
you’re there and we have some
video of from yesterday. It
takes me back to a year ago for
the one year anniversary. And I
don’t I know about you, but to
me, it seemed like a couple of
weeks ago. Yeah, it’s crazy
vast. Yeah. And I watched the
families going through this
ceremony public. Mike take us
through. Let us in little bit,
if you would since since you
have graciously been one of
those people who did when the
cameras are away and the
ceremonies aren’t what is your
day day like in in relation to
the grieving process? Well, in
the beginning, I knew that I was
messed up from this. And I had
to go through a healing a
restoration process because as
grieving as a process. It’s a
cycle. So at one point I was
seeing a therapist, a
psychologist, just trying to
deal the pain and at the time,
like like you had mentioned from
the very beginning, I was doing
interviews and I was just trying
to see now that we’ve buried my
grandmother, that is this behind
me trying to go back to life as
it was or is there something
bigger here? And so I wanted
carry my grandmother’s legacy
forward by writing a book. And
so that’s consumed lot of my
time. Yeah That’s I think
everybody grieves in different
ways. And it’s amazing that you
found down to at least an outlet
I want to I hope you can stick
around for a couple more minutes
because I have some more
questions. We’re going to take a
quick break. And so we will have
more Mike Noriega and Martin
Langsford when we come right
Langsford when we come right back. I feel like. I’m making a difference in
everyone’s life life. We are
back Mike and Martin. Families
of the victims of Champlain
towers south who so graciously
give their time and their voice
sort of representing the
families. I know that’s not a
sanctioned thing. I feel like
you bring the viewers in and the
public in. I want to talk about
I know one of the things you’ve
worked really hard on in
particular was the memorial that
so people want on that site. Are
you in on that as well do you
feel like I haven’t about it
publicly because hasn’t been my
primary message but that would
be on this of course.
Absolutely. Would you mind if?
It was not on the site for me
personally. Would prefer to be
on the site because for me. My
focus has been that my
grandmother was legacy is what
she left in me. It’s not
anything that’s here on earth
like not anything that’s outside
of ritual for you. Absolutely.
Yeah But I think a memorial
should be there and. Where it is
not my fight. Yeah but I’m for
it. I know that you. I mean, I
don’t to characterize it as a
personal fight, but I’ve. You
really step up. Know, I very,
very involved in making sure
this memorial goes onto the site
of the collapse because we’ve
seen tragedies like 911 happen
the cause that is very
different. But once it goes down
and that building crumbles and
the human remains just vanish on
that site in 9011, they were
able to use eight acres of the
collapse in prime real estate to
make sure it gets remembered.
The year there was a terror
attack in Champlin Towers, it to
be a place where we remember and
we respect. This is the day that
legislation got changed. This is
a day we respect and we remember
the 90 who got taken. So entity
who perched this this piece of
property at auction just this
was it this week or maybe a week
and a half ago sent out a press
release really about the
building that they to build and
used words like luxury and you
know I wonder how that sat the
families fighting to make sure
or hope that a piece of that
property is for a memorial have
you have you talked to the
developer at all you we
establish that relation we’ve
tried to many families have
tried to request meetings with
the developer and the only one
that’s out of that meeting,
Mayor Shlomo Danzinger, who had
a secret meeting in Dubai. What
happened behind those? We need
transparency as families, not
the mayor, to go and meet with
the developer, not let us know
what happened. Those doors,
we’re just asking for a memorial
. Go on the site of the
collapsed building and we’re not
trying to stop that development
. And what is the city’s
position as, far as you
understand it, there’s I have no
contact with them anymore. With
them. It’s private land. It is
like yesterday had to do my
separate press before the event
because they don’t want me
speaking about these things in
public in the short time have
left together. I know there a
settlement last year just about
this time the judge in the case
was able to reach $1,000,000,000
settlement for the families.
There’s a lot of layers of drama
there. But what I for purposes
today there were entities that
paid into this settlement who
were accused of having a part in
that collapse and to pass are
private insurance companies. No
one took liability and that was
actually going to be my question
to and to Mike, how does how
does that sit with you? That
although there was this payment?
Nobody accepted any kind of
responsible city. There’s no
responsibility. There’s no
liability. I think it was over
40 around 40 defendants whose
liable. Insurance companies
can’t just pay way out of this.
Someone has be liable. It’s been
two years and we don’t know the
cause of the collapse. Why did
this fall? Who is liable? It’s
not just an insurance. There’s
people behind these companies.
And if it was faulty inspections
, where’s this better? What
other buildings that he has. But
you can see the anger and
frustration. Do you do you the
same? Absolutely I firmly
believe that the 98 that died,
they didn’t just die. They’re
were taken their lives were
robbed and. I hope this never
happens again. Is it more is it
more painful because there is no
closure is that a thing thing
you it’s painful because we
don’t understand why, I think,
is what it comes down to. And
there will never closure, you
know. Yeah Because at the end of
the your question is going to be
regardless the cause. Yeah.
You’re going to say was my
family in their that name. Yeah
and it’s something that we may
never understand why it happened
you know all we really control
is. Number one, making sure that
this happens again. But also
controlling our attitude in our
activity going forward from it.
It’s really it’s our
responsibility, how we respond.
And I that’s why you have Martin
and I on here today Mike Noriega
Martin Lang is feld we are very
grateful for your time and as
always everyone is just with you
and your families and 100. Thank