Home City Of Deerfield Beach Century Village Fifty Years Later And The Hate Is Still Out There

Century Village Fifty Years Later And The Hate Is Still Out There

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Deerfield-News-Deerfield Beach, FL –

Here is the history of Century Village coming to Deerfield Beach. Below there are comments from a Facebook page in 2020 just read between the lines you will see it.

Century Village East is one of the largest retirement communities in South Florida. It opened in 1974 on 800 acres with 8,508 units to sell, and they sold rapidly.
Comedian Red Buttons became the face of the over – 55 development. He touted inexpensive housing and all manner of recreational and social activities on television and in full-page newspaper ads. Initially, the owners targeted retirees in Miami Beach and brought them here in buses to experience the lifestyle. In a short time, that effort was directed to the northeast and retirees came in droves to enjoy a leisurely life and warm weather.
The community was built by Cenville Development headed by Florida real estate developer H. Irwin Levy. Levy was also a successful and prominent attorney in West Palm Beach where he built the First Century Village. Mr. Levy passed away last year he was in his late nineties. Among the controversies that arose was the company’s insistence on owning the streets and utility lines. That resulted in friction over water rates that continues to this day.
Back in the day Villagers Ben Budd and Joe Trachtenberg became city commissioners the first from the Village. Back in the day, CVE had enough votes to have 2 commissioners now with the city’s growth and annexing expansions over the years the city has over 80,000 residents and the village has one resident who is a commissioner.
A solidly Democrat stronghold, its voters were courted by political powers on the highest levels: Hilliary and Bill Clinton visited twice when he was President thanks to the connections and influence of the late Amadeo “Trinchi” Trinchitella. Trinchi was a city commissioner and Vice Mayor and one of the best-connected and most influential people in Broward County.

 

This was just going to be a post about the history and building of one of Florida’s largest 55 and over retirement communities. Instead, I want to take a look back at how some hate the place not for what it is but for who lives there. Yeah, sure they say North-easterners, New Yorkers what they mean is Jews. We understand in the beginning there were also many Italian Americans and Canadians who moved to Century Village. Some local residents had never met or seen a Jewish person before 1974 then our small city was inundated with them and unfortunately the hate lives on. Subtle and quiet but still all the hate for people they did not know who were a little different from them dressed differently prayed differently and was rampant.

My maternal grandparents moved in April of 1974 to Century Village East. I moved to Deerfield Beach in 1980 and lived with my grandmother until 1986 when I moved to Independence Bay. My parents moved here in 1981 so from 1974 through 2019 when my Dad passed I have always had either a grandparent or parent who lived in Century Village. My paternal grandmother moved here in the nineties next door to my maternal grandmother in Berkshire I now live in that unit. My daughters and my niece and nephew also spent many days and nights visiting my parents making it 4 generations of our family who have enjoyed Century Village.

As a kid, I spent many winters and summers in Century Village. Year after year in my teens I had many friends who were also grandchildren of the residents. It was like a summer camp we rode bikes and mopeds, played ball hung out at the pools and behind the clubhouse on the golf course. Went to the beach and the rock pits(now Quiet Waters Park) and swung on the rope at Crystal Lake like many locals. I still have friends of forty-five-plus years I met from visiting Century Village in my teens.

I remember riding the Century Village bus and seeing things said to residents and stuff being thrown at the buses on the way to Pompano Fashion Square Mall. I remember the stories of the Villagers taking sweet and low from restaurants and the one about the guy who stole a steak and the blood was dripping down his face as he hid it under his hat while in the checkout line at Publix.The stories of all the buffet restaurants the villagers put out of business by taking take-home bags and on and on. Some of these things were true some just bad rumors and tropes.

Since October 7 things have not gotten better for Jews anywhere in the world, not just the village. The incidents of Jew hatred have skyrocketed worldwide including in the U.S.

There have been Anti-Semitic incidents locally in Boca Raton and Parkland.

The demographics of the village are changing with many Canadians, Midwesterners, and many non-Jews of all faiths, colors, religions, and countries living here.

The Jews in Century Village today are more orthodox than in 1974 including Chasidic Jews, and Haredim as well as some Conservative and Reform and more secular Jews. There are four synagogues located in Century Plaza we have written many posts about the potential security risks and the need for stepped-up vigilance and policing.

 
Photo -Facebook Group-Samantha Dietz From 2020 Facebook

Remembering “The Old” Pompano/Deerfield/LHP

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  • Opened in 1974

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  • The death of Deerfield beach as I knew it

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      Peter Roti

      very true!

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    • Peter Roti

      i know exactly what you mean . But when i turned 47 and divorced my mom and dad lived there and i stayed with them about 6 months. A one one was put up fore sale there. I was 50 at the time but was old to purchasr it. I paid 18000 for it f…

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  • Oie vei

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  • Anyone remember “Kings Plate” Buffet Restaurant? I remember they had a sign in the foyer “Residents of Century Village

    are not welcome at Kings Plate”. Think it closed not too long after I saw saw the sign. Can you imagine if that had happened today…

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    Cemetery Village. LOL

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    • Michael Helock

      ? hahahahahaha

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    • Michael Helock

      yup. That’s what we called it

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  • biggest group of shop lifters.They had to go to their own entrance not thru stores at the fashion square because none of the stores wanted them to walk thru

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    • Colleen Taylor

      they would come to Harris Imperial House to eat in large groups. Would steal everything they could from food off the buffet in there garbage bag lined beach bags to the salt and pepper shakers off the tables. Glasses, silverware, you nam…

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    • Bryan Silwanicz

      my dad was a cop in Pompano their bus went to the pantry pride store.Manager knew that someone had shoplifted but because of their age didn’t want to prosecute just wanted product back.Police officer got on the bus announces that the st…

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  • The century village folks put the kings plate out of business. They used to bring zip lock bags in and load up on food . Sugar and salt shakers too as well as silverware . Had a school friend that worked there

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    • I remember signs on restaurant doors saying Century Village residents not welcome.
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    • Jeanne Franklin

      that’s what my friend said that worked there . And also Deerfield Publix prohibited them from bringing in large bags .

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    I had no idea that shop lifting became the biggest issue with this place. Lol. Do you all
    Think that Century Village aged the small town and deterred younger families from settling in Deerfield?

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    • Samantha Dietz

      yes!

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    • Samantha Dietz

      no it was always a place to retire. Way before century village was built seniors were moving there.My grandparents had a house in Deerfield.

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  • I think it opened earlier than that…they had a very nice concert hall there and as a music major at FAU, we did a symphony concert there in ‘77. Century Village definitely changed the vibe of Deerfield when it came about

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  • Some of their residents were absolute criminals stealing from Publix and other retailers….they were banned from numerous businesses….the NY East Coast attitude….shameless…

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  • Red Buttons sued to get his name off the place due to its horrid reputation….

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  • I remember Red Buttons! Have a friend who lives there now.
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  • I remember the ads well.

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  • I’m shocked & saddened at how awful many of these people seem to have been!

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      Chris Michelsen Corry

      same!

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  • sad, but my memory, is how many people were killed trying to cross Hillsborough Blvd. by just raising their hand as they crossed.

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      Ronda Norwood-Sharlow

      really?!

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    • Ronda Norwood-Sharlow

      Would they just walk into traffic?

      Stupid!
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  • Does anyone recall the plan to build a training stadium for the Pittsburgh pirates baseball team in the late 60’s. It was defeated by the then city council and century village was approved for the same property soon after. Wonder what the difference w…

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  • I worked there in 1978 as a pool guard. part of a job was making sure the bathrooms were clean and stocked with toilet paper and hand towels. I learned a lot about anti-gravity because It wasn’t uncommon to enter the bathrooms and find shit on the wall…

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    • Trish Johnson

      they would drive cars into the pools, and robbed the stores and many restaurants would not let them in ..

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    • Trish Johnson

      Wonder why they were so trashy and would even steal silverware in resturants.

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  • That Red Buttons Place!

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  • Used to buss tables there.
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  • Maybe started with good intensions, but became an enclave of a certain kind of people who thought they were a cut above the rest of us. Rude, self important, God’s chosen!

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    • Craig Smith

      certain kind of people? My grandparents were there from the start.Certain kind of people is just a bigoted generalization of your stereotype of a Jew.

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    • Howard Levy

      Basically the Northeast versus the Midwestern values and attitude is really the characterization.

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    Write a reply…
     
  • City of Deefield Beach got swindled. Nice, affordable place though….0
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  • I work there to in70’s punch out installation stoves and refrigerate s
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  • Worked there for years!
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  • I thought it was a retirement place!! In the late 70s
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  • Used to have a decent golf course there, but it went out of business
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  • Chuck Zink did advertisements for Century Village.
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  • Cemetery village we called it as a order taking local restaurant when I was a teenager
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  • I did lawn maintenance there in 1975
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  • I worked there in the early 70s
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  • Very different today
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  • Amen Goldy! I have lived here (CVE, Durham) for three years now, and I love it!! Wonderful Clubhouse with sooo many activities, Gym, classes, very good shows and entertainment, very well maintained by Seacrest Mgmt. Very friendly people. Many Canadians…

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  • It definitely had a bad reputation while I was growing up, but my mom has a place there now and I love. It’s so affordable and they have so many great amenities and activities. It’s like summer camp for seniors.

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  • Happy pouram

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  • They ruined the beach. We used to toss frisbee in front of hojos drink our PBR. They would come down and block the sidewalk with their chairs ( back then it was 4’wide). Call police on everyone

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    • They had a reputation for being selfish back in the day.

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  • I performed there so many times!
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  • Casket Village

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  • Not a nice thing to say about that place
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    • Frederick Woodruff

      . Truth always hurts.

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    • John Brooks

      the truth you cant han!le the truth

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  • Jurassic park villages
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  • I was in high school and the discussion was about Century Village. The volume of money pumped into the area over whelmed all of broward co. I still have a family member that still lives there
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    strange–I worked thee too.grounds keeping
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