CITY OF MIAMI SUES STATE OVER LONG-DELAYED FLAGLER STREET CONSTRUCTION

THANK YOU COMMISSIONER REYES, COMMISSIONER HIGGINS 

AND ALL ELECTED AND APPOINTED OFFICIALS 

WHO ARE PROTECTING OUR RIGHTS

Thanks to all the elected and appointed officials who are holding FDOT's feet to the fire.

We stated publicly, months ago, that only a lawsuit would protect the rights of people with disabilities, the elderly, folks who use wheelchairs for mobility and all of the hard working people.

Tens of thousands in Little Havana have lost all rights to mobility in this important corridor during disastrous work.

Ultimately, damages should be paid to the dozens of business owners who have lost it all, or on the verge of losing it all due to endless delays and failure to maintain access during construction.

Failure to maintain pedestrian mobility, even during construction, is a violation of civil rights.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article222922770.html

I WOULD HAVE BEEN ASHAMED TO NEGLECT A HUMAN BEING THIS WAY

WHEN I GAVE NEARLY A DECADE OF PUBLIC SERVICE 
WORKING FOR THE CITY OF MIAMI

William Jennings Bryan Park, thanks to our sacrificing the better part of 2 years of our free time, remains an oasis of greenery, safe place space, proper scale, 3 tennis courts, a reduced community center the size of a typical house in the area and a barrier-free playground.

The 1920s, 1930s, 1940s and other Mediterranean, Spanish Mission, Art Deco and other houses are a proud part of Miami’s past.

The old neighbors that hung on during bad times and the influx of new urban dwellers that are fixing up neglected houses are creating a neighborhood that could be almost as nice as nearby Coral Gables – at about half the housing price.

The economic and ethnic diversity is fabulous and enriching.

But a mentally ill person camping out on his family land with no power, water or toilet, is endangering the neighborhood.

Yesterday’s blog post went into deep detail about how the man allowed his family home to fall apart to the point where it was demolished to remove a health hazard.

But the government action stopped there, as countless City of Miami officials have claimed they are powerless to help this man or the neighbors around him.

When I posted this story yesterday, several people contacted me saying the man sounds like a candidate for the Baker Act – an involuntary commitment to a mental health facility for evaluation and treatment.

We reached out to countless city and county officials suggesting the same thing.

The Baker Act is no laughing matter, but it can be a tool to save a person from himself.

We certainly don’t view it as a as punishment, but as an act for the homeless (but living on his families vacant land) guy's own good.

Clearly he has severe mental illness.

My mom has had the same issue for 50 years, so it's not like we are hard hearted about the situation.

But the government folks charged with upholding our quality of life have left a lot to be desired.

A former government worker acquaintance -- who shall remain unnamed (and generally came off like a kind and decent sort) -- went there twice to try to talk reason into the man.

The staff person -- who darn well knew that insane guy was living in the house he inherited with zero FPL, zero water, zero sewer and a heard of bats, rats, roaches, birds, and other vermin....who poops and pees outdoors....who shouts at passerby -- said after a long chat with the man, he found him to have no mental issues at all.

I would say any one of two dozen of the man's life actions -- from letting a habitable house collapse around him with no utilities, to camping out for 3+ years through Hurricane Irma, eat you alive mosquitoes and bathroom conditions worse than a Viet Nam field latrine ditch -- pretty much nominated himself for removal from the lot and rehabilitation at a public-funded mental health center.

THE HISTORIC BRYAN PARK NEIGHBORHOOD HAS A PROBLEM

WILL THE CITY OF MIAMI EVER FIX IT?

We have lived in the Shenandoah section of Miami for more than 15 years.

We have restored, with permits, a nearly 100-year-old house that was on the verge of condemnation when we bought it.

We had squatters in the house behind us and the beautiful park out front got a giant steel gate around it.

At first we thought it looked like a prison yard – but soon found out so many kids misbehaved after dark, that the short-staffed city had to find a way of closing down the park and locking out trouble makers till dawn.

We knew of some drug arrests and dealt with loud neighbors.

Slowly, the area rebounded.

We even had to fight the city, which I worked for at the time, when it wanted to turn virtually every inch of historic William Jennings Bryan Park into a tennis center.

This would turn a 2-acre oasis, in the city with the least amount of park space of any major American city according to the Trust for Public Land, into a virtually privatized tennis tournament revenue-maker.

It would create noise, traffic, parking, quality of life and other negative issues while chasing hundreds of families out of the park and its green grasses.

Finally, that battle won, we watched carved up illegal units being restored to single-family houses. Dilapidated small apartment buildings were lovingly renovated.

Property values started to reward the hard work both urban pioneers and longtime residents who suffered through decades of neglect from police, parks, public works and elected officials.

But a few years ago, we noticed a man squatting on his own property at SW 12^th Street and SW 22^nd Avenue.

He is so mentally ill, he allowed his family home to fall apart and get demolished by the Unsafe Structures Board.

Rather than moving to a subsidized apartment, he camps out.

He has no toilet or shower, so he does all bodily functions out in the open on the trash-strewn lot.

We have complained for more than 3 years.

Nothing is done.

When I tried to take pictures to post -- maybe even to send to media to shame city into action – the crazed man ran out with his big dog and told me he was going to attack me for spying on him.

I was in public right of way in broad daylight -- had every right to do what I was doing.

I have no idea if he really had a knife, guns, trained attack dog.

I guess it will take an adult getting severely injured or kid mauled by his dog...before anyone at City, County or other agency lifts a finger.

While we fear him, this kind of life also is dangerous to this man.

How he survives bugs and heat of hot weather I'll never know.

His unsanitary conditions are dangerous to this community.

How anyone on his block could sell a house, for anything above half the true value, is beyond me.

It is dragging down the whole of Bryan Park area.

Crap like this encourages illegal units, illegal parking, loud parties, vandalism, theft and everything else that drags down a neighborhood of quality homes and good people on the rebound.

Commissioner Manolo Reyes campaigned on a platform of constituent service.

Our current mayor, who we like very much, was the district commissioner for our area.

One would think a new mayor, commissioner and city manager could come up with a good solution to this problem in all of about 10 minutes.

So far, we continue to suffer.

Not a thing is done.