IF THANKSGIVING IS ABOUT FRIENDS, FAMILY AND FOOD…

 …NOTHING CAPTURES THAT SACRED TRIO BETTER THAN EL CONTENTO RESTAURANT IN NEW YORK’S HARLEM

Steve Wright with Yannick Benjamin -- Contento

A handful of things define my purpose in life and what gives me joy.

Exquisite food is on the list.

Travel to experience new place and people is right up there.

Design that is universal, inclusive, equitable, warm and wheelchair-accessible is on the mountaintop too.

I have had the great fortune to make friends, work on planning projects and sample unique cuisine of more world cities than I can count.

Yannick Benjamin -- Contento -- accessible outdoor dining

On the Thanksgiving weekend, I want to highlight Contento.

It thrives on fresh ingredients, fabulous seafood, a nod toward the cuisine of Peru, a world class curated wine list and access for people with disabilities – from the outside tables to inside dining to a lowered bar to a fully-accessible unisex restroom.

The cozy, convivial space is in a hip location – close to the northern end of Central Park and in the heart of El Barrio – the colorful, historic East Harlem.

Many people contribute to the amazing team that is Contento. Yannick Benjamin -- master sommelier, entrepreneur, activist and leader who uses a wheelchair for mobility, heads to collection of veteran restauranteurs. 

He’s always at the front of the house, recommended a daily special, pairing it with a rare and perfect wine, making sure everyone is comfortable and happy.

Steve Wright with Oscar Lorenzzi -- Contento

Executive Chef Oscar Lorenzzi oversees the compact but powerful kitchen – turning out fresh approaches to ceviche, wonderful grilled octopus and sinful olive oil cake with fresh berries.

The wonderful thing is that while many national publications have noted and praised the wheelchair access and inclusive design – they are NOT evaluating the hottest restaurant in town simply in terms of accommodating people with disabilities.

No, everything from the New York times to Eater has heaped praise on Contento for its luscious cuisine and notable wine list – by the bottle or glass.

On this day of thanks, I am thankful for counting Yannick and his team as friends.

Yannick Benjamin -- Contento -- accessible indoor dining

WHAT MAKES US THANKFUL

In no particular order, this is a top ten list of what we are thankful for,                  on the 55^th Thanksgiving we have observed:

1. That we judge a person on their capability and character, not their bank account

2. That raw power doesn’t impress us at all

3. That true leadership and kindness does

4. That we have been able to help some of those who are less fortunate

5. That we have been able to help those folks with hands on efforts, not just writing a check and hoping some non-profit is doing the right thing

6. That being raised dog lovers, we have evolved to adore and appreciate the poetry that is cat

7. That we are not afraid to take an egotistical, criticism-hating elected official to task for dropping the ball on equality for all

8. That we have put our name behind criticism of high-ranking government officials who have failed to plan and provide for the needs of people with disabilities

9. That we have cast off the Midwestern Puritanical Suburban snobbery that values a neighbor only in terms of picket fence, manicured lawn and professionally painted façade

10. That we have extricated ourselves from extreme petty behavior – exhibited in (former) friends, associates, clients and bosses

SAVE MIAMI'S HISTORIC WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN PARK

It is unconscionable that the City of Miami would even consider paving over this little angel's paradise to put up a parking lot. But that's exactly what will happen if Bryan Park's green space is ripped from the grasp of the public that has played on it for nearly a century -- and handed over to a tennis club that will kick out families and pave over everything for tennis courts, club house and parking.

SAVE MIAMI'S HISTORIC WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN PARK

On this Thanksgiving Day, we have a lot to be thankful for as residents of urban Miami's historic Little Havana neighborhood.

While Calle Ocho is famous around the world, an unsung little two acre park five short blocks south of SW 8th Street is under siege.

For nearly a century, Historic William Jennings Bryan Park has served as a rare urban oasis for the working class families of Miami.

In overdeveloped town with the least amount of park space of any city in America, Bryan Park is an asset the should be duplicated in dozens of other neighborhoods aching for open space with a green, grassy play field to serve thousands of children and families.

Sadly, a small group of politically-connected tennis players are lobbying hard and forcefully to pave over the entire park to make it there personal tennis club.

The idea of taking away public land for one privileged group is ludicrous, but the tennis lobby has frightened many people into signing petitions in favor of the tennis center -- by falsely telling them that if the park isn't given over to globe-trotting tennis teams, it will be abandoned and taken over by gangs and violent criminals.

We live on Bryan Park, we see thousands of children and families playing and exercising on the one acre of green space left in a park already half paved over with tennis courts, hitting wall, park office and playground equipment.

We will fight the good fight to protect this park for the people.

We hope readers will forward this link and tell city officials to protect neighborhood parks.

If tennis players want a private club, they can secure sponsors, grants, public private partnerships and other means to build their compound on a piece of commercial land large enough to accommodate the parking, traffic, lighting, noise, stormwater runoff and other impacts that are out of scale for the tiny houses and narrow streets of the Bryan Park neighborhood.

We trust that the Honorable Francis Suarez, the Miami District 4 Commissioner who represents our area, will honor his commitment to preserve the rare and valuable green space in the beloved Bryan Park.

We trust the Mayor of Miami, who used to represent this area when he was a Commissioner, will honor the will of several hundred Bryan Park residents who signed petitions against the tennis center five years ago -- and were lead to believe that they had successfully protected their park forever.

We trust that the Miami City Administration and remaining four City Commissioners will hear the voices of hundreds of thousands of City residents who have voted again and again to preserve what little green, open space is left in the Magic City.

We trust that other neighborhoods throughout the City will join our cause for preservation, just was we will come to their defense when needed.

We trust this threat to parkland for children will be resolved before the press -- television, radio, newspaper and on-line - will be forced to expose the piggishness of tennis backers who would toss kids into the street to pave over a playfield for a single-use sport and the foolishness of anyone who would support such a land grab by the few to the severe detriment of the many.

We trust that the hardworking people of the Bryan Park neighborhood -- many of them immigrants to this country who believe in a Democracy that protects their public park from hostile takeover and preserves their right to play soccer and flag football, to fly kites and play catch, to bring their toddlers play safely and freely on the green urban oasis that is Bryan Park -- will not have their park stolen from them.

EMAIL MIAMI CITY COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ AND TELL HIM TO SAVE BRYAN PARK AND THE LITTLE NEIGHBOHROOD AROUND IT -- fsuarez@miamigov.com

OR PHONE COMMISSIONER SUAREZ AND TELL HIM TO SHOW GREAT LEADERSHIP BY FINDING A PROPERLY-SCALED SITE FOR A TENNIS CENTER -- (305) 250-5420

Please forward the link to this blog posting to everyone you know who cares about parkland preservation in America.

To help our cause, please contact me at stevewright64@yahoo.com


Politically-connected tennis supporters would pave over the precious green grass --used by this and thousands of other families dependent on this respite from the concrete jungle - to sate their piggish hunger for a tournament-caliber tennis complex.

SAVE MIAMI'S HISTORIC WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN PARK

This family, playing on the green playfield, will be tossed out into the street if the City of Miami paves over Bryan Park to turn it into a tennis club.

HISTORIC WILLIAM JENNINGS BRYAN PARK:
AN URBAN OASIS THAT MUST BE PRESERVED

On the eve of Thanksgiving, we have a lot to be thankful here in our 1920s home in the heart of Miami's fabled Little Havana.

This year, we launched this unique blog on land use, planning, sustainability, wheelchair-access and travel.

While all of our articles have been global, we regret that we must dedicate some space to a very local concern.

For the second time in five years, a group of selfish tennis parents are trying to rip an historic little park from its working class neighborhood -- so it can be paved over as a tennis club for the exclusive use of a handful of elite tennis players.

This bullying attitude toward any and all users of the green space at Bryan Park nearly succeded in destoying a rare urban oasis.

A group of valiant activist residents shamed city officials into doing the right thing five years ago and Bryan Park was spared.

But now the threat is greater than ever, so we present these bullet points that lay out the reasonable and just case for preserving Bryan Park:


• Miami has the least amount of parkland of any major city (according to the Trust for Public Land) and needs to be creating more grassy playfields, not less.

• Pavement is not park land. Tennis courts can only be used for tennis and only a few people can play on a court at a time.

• Bryan Park's acre of grassy play space is an urban gem because it can be used for dozens of things -- including soccer (hundreds of kids practicing or a full-out game with portable nets), flag/touch football, kite flying, playing catch, exercising on a soft surface and many more impromptu games not restricted to a specific playing field.

• Bryan Park is the perfect blend of space right now -- half is active with tennis courts, a hitting wall, barrier-free playground, comfort station, park benches and tot lot. The other half is heavily-used open space.

• Bryan Park is entirely surrounded by small single family houses. A tennis center would overwhelm it with parking, light, hours of use, traffic and other issues when a semi-private club takes over a park.

• If the thousands of kids and families who use the green play space are driven from a park paved over for the exclusive use of tennis, they will have nowhere else to go.

• If City leaders work wisely, they can located a tennis center on any of the dozens of commercial sites that would not suffer from pavement for courts and parking, a clubhouse, grandstand and other impacts.

• Southwest 13th Street already floods frequently. Covering the western half of Bryan Park with impervious surface would cause very damaging flooding of the small, single story homes along the park.

• A tennis center would completely take a nearly century old park and urban oasis of play space away from its working class neighborhood.

• In a democracy, the government does not take away the peaceful enjoyment of thousands (everyone who uses and enjoys the safe green grass) for the benefit of the few (tennis -- a single use sport that forever destroys the green space whether it gains, or quite possibly loses interest and players in the years to come.)

• If there is a groundswell of support for a tennis center, then the tennis supporters should work with pro tennis, tennis associations, sponsors, foundation grants and sources to generate funding for location that would not take away park land and negatively impact a low-rise neighborhood with narrow streets and little parking.

• A tennis center would be ripe for a public-private partnership. If such a partnership cannot materialize -- and none of the above funding sources can be tapped -- then there is not enough support behind a tennis center to justify its construction.

• The Bryan Park neighborhood has already compromised greatly. For more than half its long life, the park was a wide open green and play space with no pavement within its two acres.

• Over the decades, neighbors have compromised again and again while a comfort station, basketball courts (later tennis), enlarged playground and hitting wall were built over the green play field.

• Neighbors of Bryan Park are simply asking to preserve the half the park that hasn't been altered from its intended use as open space.

• Many residents are so tired of being promised their park would be saved (like we all were promised five years ago) then put under siege again, that they simply stop coming to meetings to protest.

• A decision to pave over a park cannot be made simply because a few dozen tennis coaches and parents want it to happen and the old neighborhood is too bewildered and battle scarred to fight.

• Preservation is a legacy issue for an elected official with a legacy surname. Protecting an historic park and finding an alternate, properly-scaled site for a tennis center is hard work. A young commissioner with a bright future will prove himself by establishing a track record of going the extra mile to create such a win-win solution.

EMAIL MIAMI CITY COMMISSIONER FRANCIS SUAREZ AND TELL HIM TO SAVE BRYAN PARK AND THE LITTLE NEIGHBOHROOD AROUND IT -- fsuarez@miamigov.com

OR PHONE COMMISSIONER SUAREZ AND TELL HIM TO SHOW GREAT LEADERSHIP BY FINDING A PROPERLY-SCALED SITE FOR A TENNIS CENTER -- (305) 250-5420


TOMORROW: A Thanksgiving Day essay that tells the real story of our beloved Bryan Park.

Please forward the link to this blog posting to everyone you know who cares about parkland preservation in America.

To help our cause, please contact me at stevewright64@yahoo.com



Bryan Park is in a very old neighborhood with small, single-story homes that flood when it rains. This picture shows how bad the flooding is after ten minutes of rain. If the acre of grass is foolishly paved over, can you imagine how many millions the bankrupt city will be paying to homeowners for willfully contributing to the flood hazard?