Escape from Miami: The Belle Meade and Coral Gate Gated Communities

Last night I attended the Belle Meade Homeowners Association meeting at Legion Park. Approximately 30 residents and a handful of public officials were present at the meeting from both the City of Miami and the County Public Works Department. After an unfortunate home invasion in Belle Meade about a year and a half ago, the board of directors of the Belle Meade Homeowners Association has been trying to persuade the City and the County to build a fence along NE 6th Court in an attempt to make Belle Meade safer. The HOA went door to door and gathered signatures to support a fence around Belle Meade and ninety-two percent  of the residents voted in favor of the fence (I did not).

The petition was presented to the City of Miami and the County Public Works Department quickly weighed in saying that a fence could only be erected if it did not obstruct the movement of pedestrians and it also had to adhere to ADA requirements. This essentially meant that if a fence were to be erected, at the very minimum, a non-locking gate must be included in the scope of the project. The County Public Works Department even went a step further and said that a gate wouldn’t be allowed. Essentially there would be a fence with an opening where the fence meets each sidewalk. The County and the City will meet next week to discuss the issue. I have a feeling the County will concede and allow a fence with a non-locking gate.

Edward Blakely, co-author of “Fortress America: Gated Communities in the United States,” spent the past two years researching gated communities. According to Planetizen:

Based on his extensive research across the country, and the statistics of local police departments, Blakely upends the supposed benefits of gated communities — that they are more safe and more neighborly than other suburban communities. Aside from reduced rates of car theft, Blakely has found that, “gated communities do not have less crime than the suburbs from which they’re walled off.” He continues, “For many, the guards at the gate provide an artificial sense of safety. In our surveys of more than 1,000 residents of gated communities, many said they chose to live there because they traveled or worked long hours, so they had no time to meet neighbors and used the guards as their home security system.”

Let’s put aside that fact that there isn’t any convincing evidence to support that gated communities are safer than non-gated communities. At this point the County and City have rightfully said “no” to the complete fencing-off of Belle Meade. Yet the Belle Meade Homeowners Association still wants a fence (with gapping holes in it) with the false expectation that “something is better than nothing”.  The fence will cost at least $60,000; essentially our tax dollars are going to pay for a white elephant of a fence that will do absolutely nothing to make Belle Meade safer. We need to do more to strengthen the entire community, not erect obstacles that criminals will simply walk around

Coral Gate to Privatize the Wall?

About two years ago the community of Coral Gate decided to erect a wall around their neighborhood, cutting off access to the public streets. Last year the County Public Works Department asked the City of Miami to remove the wall and restore public access.  Needless to say the City has not done so. Instead, according to a representative from the City of Miami’s Capital Improvement Program that was present at last night’s meeting, the City is now looking into privatizing the real estate where the wall crosses the public right of way.  The City would then turn it over to the Coral Gate Home Owners Association, which would then have to maintain the wall. Talk about finding a creative (and sneaky) way to keep the wall erected.

I sincerely hope that the CPWD holds their ground and does not allow the public right of way to become obstructed in Belle Meade.  I also remain hopeful that they will force Coral Gate to restore the public right of way. The City of Miami should not try to “game the system” by privatizing the wall.  They should do what is right and restore pedestrian access to Coral Gate. After all, there is no evidence that gated communities are safer than non-gated. Something is not better than nothing-the research speaks for itself.

 

Pecha Kucha Night — Sustainatopia 2012 GREENworking event

Pecha Kucha Night — Sustainatopia 2012 GREENworking event
Join the Miami-Dade Branch for an evening of networking and sustainable dialogue. The Wolfsonian FIU and Pecha Kucha Night present

SUSTAINATOPIA 2012

Spotlighting an innovative group of Ecopreneurs who mean business – green business.

  • Robert Manrique – Fisker Automotive
  • Chad Oppenheim – Oppenheim Architecture + Design
  • Franco Lodato – Bionics in Action
  • Roz Gatewood – Energy Glass
  • Sian Evans – DuMond Conservancy for Primates and Tropical Forests Inc.
  • Donald DeAngelis – University of Miami Everglades
  • Rich Grogden – Island Sky
  • Jennifer Siqueira – Compost Mobile

Pre-reception for U.S. Green Building Council GREENworking meet up in The Wolfsonian Shop and Cafe at 6:00pm

RSVP on Facebook by clicking here!

Ni.Do Mozzarella Bar. Best Italian in Miami?

Yup, I said it.  I know those are some big words, but Ni.Do may serve the best Italian food in Miami and it’s in MiMo. The food just keeps getting better in our little neighborhood. Owner Mateo just sold Gusto Caffe on West Avenue in Miami Beach and opened Ni.Do, named after his son. He brought along with him Chef Luca, the former executive chef from Tiramasu on Lincoln road.  What a team these guys make, you feel like you’re at home. Mateo greets all of his guests and takes the time to talk and sit with them. Luca prepares the dishes and even serves his guests-a very nice touch. It is obvious that making sure their guests are happy is a priority for both of them.

Everything is freshly made-you can taste it. The sourdough bread is amazing and it went well with my pureed mushroom soup.  My wife had the pumpkin soup and it was exquisite-the fresh parmesan and rosemary with homemade breadsticks was a homerun.

I had the Gnocchi with fresh buffalo mozzarella in a homemade tomato sauce-it was perhaps the freshest gnocchi I have ever had.  My wife had octopus salad-again it was very fresh.  For desert we had the lemon cake with homemade gelato. It was outstanding.

It is obvious that the owners take their time to find quality ingredients and make what they can from scratch. If you are looking for fine quality Italian at a reasonable price this little gem is where it’s at.

Ni.Do is located at:

7295 Biscayne Boulevard Miami, FL 33138

Check them out on facebook

Public Sector Making Development Difficult for MiMo

The Biscayne Times is reporting that developers Javier Rabinovich and Mariano Karner are having a difficult time developing a partially vacant lot located at 6401 Biscayne Blvd. According to the BT article, There’s a Reason They Call It Boulevard of Dreams, they plan to build a retail project anchored by a Miss Yip restaurant with seven retail spaces ranging from 900 to 1375 square feet. Last month they were informed that they would have to pay $200,000 for the installation of a 12-inch pipeline, in addition to paying impact and permit fees. The Miami-Dade Water and Sewer Department (WASD) is requiring that Mr. Rabinovich and Mr. Karner to do so. In a written statement to the Biscayne Times Adriana Lamar, chief of WASD’s public and governmental affairs division had this to say:

In regards to [the MiMo Center], the existing water pipe in service is a six-inch pipe, this pipe would not support the code requirements of the new development, especially in regard to fire flow. That is why a 12-inch pipe is required.”

Wow! Where are the impact fees going?

As it is, things are tough enough for developers to build in MiMo with the 35-foot height limit. The height restriction alone makes it difficult for them to turn a profit and it is one of the reasons why we haven’t seen more development in MiMo. Unfortunately, the 35-foot height restriction has essentially limited development to retail projects, so we probably won’t see any mixed-use residential projects along Biscayne Boulevard. We desperately need more residential density in MiMo in order to make Biscayne Boulevard safer- the more eyes on the street, the safer the neighborhood becomes. The 35-foot height restriction must be overturned to allow development up to 5 stories as Miami 21 originally stipulated before it became watered-down by “Upper Eastside politics”.

Naughty Boulevard

Then we have the issue with the actual design of Biscayne Boulevard itself. The FDOT recently resurfaced Biscayne Boulevard but did nothing to make it business or pedestrian-friendly. Cars speed through the historic district and nothing was or is being done to calm traffic in order to make the street more inviting to those not in a car.  Crosswalks are few and far in between, there is hardly any on-street parking available and cyclists are forced to ride on the sidewalk because riding on Biscayne Boulevard is a death wish.

Boulevard of our dreams

More needs to be done by the public sector to encourage development and to ensure the economic success of businesses that are trying to make ends meet in the MiMo Historic District. The public sector should partner-up and work with the MiMo Biscayne Association and the MiMo Business Improvement Committee to make MiMo a more desirable place for developers and businesses to invest. If certain fundamental changes are not made drugs, prostitution and crime will continue to proliferate in the neighborhood.

*Felipe Azenha is a board member of the MiMo Biscayne Association and the MiMo Business Improvement Committee.