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|
The Bass Museum is keeping its
national accreditation status. Photo by Michael
Menchero |
The Bass Museum has been found not
guilty of allegations of unprofessional practice related
to its exhibition of The Jade Collection of HIH
Princess Thi-Nga of Vietnam, and thus retains its
status as a nationally accredited art museum. The
exhibit ran from Feb. 8 through April 29, 2007.
This
positive ruling for the museum comes after a nearly
two-month investigation by the American Association of
Museums that was sparked by Justo Sanchez, a freelance
journalist and local art world gadfly.
Wednesday afternoon the Bass’ interim director, Gary
Farmer, faxed the news to the SunPost.
“The [AAM]
Commissioners discussed the museum’s conduct regarding a
recent exhibit of objects owned by a board member
[Princess Thi-Nga]: specifically whether the museum
abided by the AAM Guidelines on Exhibiting Borrowed
Objects, and whether the museum made good on its pledge
to donate a portion of the proceeds from the exhibit to
UNESCO,” wrote James A. Welu, chairman of AAM’s
Accreditation Commission. “After careful consideration,
the Commission has decided to take no action because
there is insufficient evidence that the museum violated
the standards of accreditation.”
Founded
in 1906, the AAM has more than 3,000 member museums,
including famed institutions such as the Metropolitan
Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York
City.
“We
were confident that the allegations would be dismissed,
and look forward to bringing the finest exhibitions to
Miami Beach and its residents,” Farmer told the
SunPost.
Though
the Bass has satisfied the AAM, it may have more trouble
getting rid of Sanchez, who said he will not give up.
Sanchez still asserts that because Thi-Nga is chair of
the museum’s board of trustees, and president of the
Friends of the Bass Museum, showing her Jade collection
was a conflict of interest. And he plans to push the
point.
“I’m
submitting all the evidence to the State Attorney’s
Office,” Sanchez told the SunPost. He claims to
have proof of doctored documents sent to him by a city
official, as well as letters from eight Vietnamese
scholars proving Princess Thi-Nga’s claims to being of
Vietnamese royalty false. Sanchez also plans to submit
his allegations to the International Council on Museums
in Paris.
The
clearing of the Bass’ name comes while the museum is
looking for new leadership. Diane Camber, the director
for 26 years, retired June 29.
As
interim director, Farmer’s main goal is to find a
permanent director. He has a list of search firms and
hopes to present them at the Aug. 21 Bass Trustee
meeting. Trustees meetings and Friends of the Bass
Museum meetings are all open to the public, after the
City Attorney’s Office recently opined that the museum’s
public funding subjects it to Sunshine Law.
Eventually the trustees will hire a firm to advertise
nationally, perform background checks and do initial
interviews of promising candidates. A special committee
put together by the trustees will hire a director from a
list of finalists. Once the trustees choose a search
firm, the process is expected to take four to six
months.
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Picketing for Preservation
Demonstrators Seek Justice After Demolition of Coral
Rock House
By
Margaret Griffis
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|
Protestors, including employees
from Mango’s Café, picket to save what’s left of
the Coral Rock House, a.k.a. the Avery Smith
House. Photo by Margaret Griffis. |
On Wednesday evening, well over a
couple dozen historic preservationists, interested Miami
Beach residents and local businesspeople came out to
protest the partial but sudden recent
demolition of the historic Avery Smith house at 900
Collins Avenue.
The
demonstrators carried signs in an excellent effort to
draw attention to the ongoing issues with the Avery
Smith house, also known as the Coral Rock House. The
streets filled with the sounds of beeping horns as
scores of vehicles slowed down and demonstrated their
solidarity with the boisterous group. Tourists and
residents alike stopped to learn the latest on the
historic home that seemingly everyone but its owners
wants to preserve.
Among
the protestors were Bill Farkas from the Miami Design
and Preservation League, George Neary from the Greater
Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau and Mango’s Tropical
Cafe owner Dave Wallack, who sauntered over with a pair
of traffic-snarling beauties. Miami Beach Commissioner
Saul Gross and his wife Jane also dropped by to share
their distress over the demolition.
The
circa-1916 coral rock edifice has been in legal limbo
since 2004, when the building’s owners, Ivor Rose and
Michael Stern, sought a permit to make repairs shortly
after purchasing the property. Instead, they received an
“unsafe structures violation,” and the complicated
series of legal events that led to the recent partial
demolition was set in motion.
As
recently as last month, the owners had promised to make
a good faith effort in restoring the building before
going through with any demolition. In fact, the Miami
Beach Historic Preservation Board ordered them to as
they cut a deal with the owners that would make the
property more profitable. The deal would have meant the
loss of the rear part of the house, constructed in the
1930s, but perhaps save the Avery Smith house’s front.
However, the owners were quick to set everything aside
when they learned that their neighbor, Mitch Novick, who
owns the Sherbrooke Hotel across the street, was
appealing the decision. On July 9, Stern started up two
bulldozers and started taking apart the rear portion of
the house.
Novick,
a former member of the HPB, believes that the original
demolition order was erroneous because the owners had
“engaged in a pattern of neglect” and did not permit
city inspections to examine the house. If proved, this
would mean that last year’s demolition order on the
house should be revoked and, according to Miami Beach
ordinances, the owners would be constrained to keeping
any new buildings on the site to the same dimensions and
mass as the original Avery Smith house.
Of
course, any proof of neglect was likely lost when most
of the home was demolished, and that left some of the
crowd wondering if that wasn’t the intent of the
demolition in the first place.
The
next round will be another Miami Beach Historic
Preservation Board meeting that takes place at 9:00 a.m.
on Tuesday, Aug. 14, when they will address Novick’s
petition That day, the board will consider Novick's
appeal of the demolition plans they approved for the
site in June. The board's agreement allowed Stern and
Rose to tear down parts of the Coral Rock House, a
Mediterranean-revival apartment building it just behind
it and a garage erect a
five-story mixed-use building at the rear of the
property.
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Initiating Decency
Demonstration Held Against Derogatory Words In Music
Lyrics
By
Angie Hargot
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|
State Senator Frederica Wilson
addresses 100 “Decency Initiative demonstrators.
Photo by Angie Hargot. |
Around a hundred people gathered
in front of F.Y.E. Music at 501 Collins Ave., Miami
Beach, Tuesday afternoon, to demonstrate for the Decency
Initiative, an endeavor that pressures the music
industry to abolish the use of offensive words in music.
The
celebration was scheduled on A National Woman’s Day of
Outrage, as a protest of the use of derogatory words —
widely referred to as the “n-word, b-word and h-word”—
and others in some genres of music.
The
list of local and national organizers for Tuesday’s
event was long, but included the National Action
Network, the New Birth Cathedral of Faith International
and many like-minded local organizations.
The
Rev. Al Sharpton, president of the Decency Initiative,
led the movement that was scheduled in 20 cities across
the country (he appeared at Detroit’s assembly).
Debra
Toomer, director of marketing for AM 1490 WMBM of the
New Birth Broadcasting Corporation, and Bishop Victor T.
Curry of the New Birth Cathedral of Faith International
and president and general manager of the New Birth
Broadcasting Corporation gave fervent speeches to a good
showing of supporters — demonstrators lined the
sidewalks outside of F.Y.E as Miami Beach Police, in
generally good spirits, expanded barricades out into the
parking spots to accommodate the burgeoning crowd.
Curry
made sure to add that the demonstration was not intended
to protest F.Y.E itself — but the music industry that
allowed the continued use of those particular words in
music.
“This
isn’t against this store,” Curry told the SunPost,
“it’s against the music industry. In fact when this is
over I plan to go in there and buy some music — they
have a great gospel section.” Curry added that the city
of Miami Beach and the police department were very
accommodating during the weeks of planning for the
event.
“Rev.
Al Sharpton spearheaded this event,” National Action
Network Coordinator Balgene Chinn told the SunPost.
“Our entertainment industry is being used by corporate
America by denigrating women in their lyrics through rap
songs. They do it for the money. You can’t use that type
of language about any other ethnic groups.”
Toomer
said the gathering began as early as 9 a.m.
“It’s
going very well,” she said, moments before she took the
microphone to introduce the first speakers. When the
mike went on, the crowd was led in a prayer.
Demonstrators Tuesday came from all walks of life, age
groups and organizations. Some held signs and umbrellas
bearing messages about ending the use of certain words.
Members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU)
stood on the sidewalk alongside students wearing bright
yellow T-shirts that sported the Miami-Dade Youth
Council logo.
“We’ve
been a part of [the Youth Council] for years,” said
Terika Hutchinson, a senior at William H. Turner
Technical Arts Senior High School. Hutchinson said once
she and her fellow students graduate, they plan to join
their respective college and then adult chapters of that
organization. “We want equal empowerment for everyone,”
she said.
Before
giving a short speech herself, Hutchinson stood next to
Tamaya Jackson, who attends Parkway Academy High School,
and fellow Turner Tech student Johnathan Parker. Parker
would later read a spoken word poem titled “Why Do I
Sing?”
“I sing
because I am afraid of losing history,” Parker recited.
“Because I’m afraid that one day singing will be lost. …
I sing to break an evolution of words. … I sing for
every ghetto, every hood, every city.”
A
steady stream of speakers followed, including
representatives from the Miami-Dade chapter of the Delta
Sigma Theta sorority, and Linda Johnson of
Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first Greek-letter
organization established by African-American college
women.
“After so many years, we continue to allow our
oppressors to enslave us,” Johnson told the crowd.
“Where is our self-respect? Greed and hate is the
success of rap music. We have to derail the economic
engine that funds this institution.”
When Curry took the mike, he related the story of how
two young girls came up with the idea for a recent NAACP
event in which the group held a mock funeral “to bury
the n-word,” he said. “That idea came from the young
people.” He also mentioned a plan to come back and hold
another event in the days leading up to the Winter Music
Conference. “This is not the end — this is only the
beginning,” Curry said.
“We have to respect ourselves first as women,” the
events keynote speaker, Sen. Frederica Wilson, said.
With particular condemnation of female rappers for using
what the group considered derogatory words in music,
Wilson promised to initiate legislation to ban such
language. “We have to teach the children,” she said.
“This is your job, all of you standing here.”
Toomer
thanked all who had attended, extending special thanks
to the Miami Beach Police Department for its support
during the event.
“If you
go into this music store, you’ll find no other ethnic
groups calling women ‘bitches’ and ‘whores,’” Chinn told
the SunPost. “It’s got to stop,” she said.
Chinn
said Sharpton is preparing a meeting with record label
executives about the widespread use of the language in
music.
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Putting
the Fun Back in Funeral
As a
Local Funeral Home Is Laid to Rest, Some Retail Space Is
Poised to Rise From Its Ashes
By
Angie Hargot
The Miami Beach Design Review
Board voted unanimously Tuesday to approve plans for a
five-unit retail facility to set up shop in a former
funeral home in the North Beach area.
The
property, located at 7140 Abbott Ave., is the next in
the neighborhood-wide trend to install retail components
in North Beach.
“It
will be nice to see a little life there, so to speak,”
said DRB member Steve Lefton, to the rest of the board’s
chagrin.
After
incorporating the DRB’s design-tweaking comments,
developers Aqua-Vista Holding, Inc. can move forward to
convert the former Walsh & Wood Funeral Home to small
retail units, for cafés and other commercial components,
without demolishing the existing building. Some
modifications will be needed, including crafting
storefront openings and expanding the floor area by
adapting the carport, previously used for hearses, into
a retail unit.
The
building has not been in use as a funeral home in recent
years because the landowners found it difficult to rent
as such. The property has been used to hold church
services in the large upstairs room, where caskets were
once kept on display.
Board
member Gabrielle Redfern expressed some concern over the
building plans that she said she initially “didn’t get.”
“These would be smaller than my home office,” Redfern
said, referring to the proposed retail units. She also
questioned how safe the building was since it was
possible bodies were once embalmed there, though
planning staff had not pointed out any biological safety
concerns.
“You
want them to build a Goth club there?” board member
Clotilde Luce asked.
Lefton
said he believes the project can be successful, citing
sandwich shops that have managed to stay exceptionally
successful in tiny spaces, like La Sandwicherie, a
buzzing French sandwich shop on South Beach.
Some of
the tweaking board members required Tuesday were changes
to window treatments, stipulations about the manner in
which the masonry work would be completed, and screening
the parking lot from view for neighbors. Bike racks will
now have to be incorporated into the design changes,
which are subject to staff approval.
Board
members expressed some reservation that the corner on
which the property lies is congested due to the
placement of a light pole — a problem acknowledged to be
not the developers’ but one for the city and the Florida
Department of Transportation.
Nevertheless, neighbors might expect to see a sidewalk
café or a sandwich shop or two springing up where folks
were once laid to rest.
Redfern
also expressed concern over the future of the corner the
property sits on.
“Capital Improvement Projects is $130 million in the red
with all of the projects promised money,” she said,
adding that the CIP fund started with $90 million for
projects a decade ago. “We don’t have to pin our hopes
on the city solving our sidewalk problems.”
While
corner sidewalk congestion remains troublesome for many
Miami Beach projects, the problem must be addressed
across multiple local and state agencies.
“It’s
desirable to have an active retail component there
instead of an empty mortuary,” William Cary, of the
city’s Design, Preservation and Neighborhood Planning
Division, told the SunPost. “The corner condition
is not ideal, but it’s not the purview of the Design
Review Board to change that. Hopefully some pressure can
be applied on FDOT.”
Board
Member Thomas DeLuca was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.
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Sunny Isles
Beach
City to Cut Property Tax Rate
But
Building Boom Will Help Offset 19 Percent Cut in Millage
By
Randy Abraham
At a recent budget workshop, Sunny
Isles Beach city officials set the maximum
tax rate at
$2.398 per $1,000 of assessed property value
and
discussed a proposed $22.1 million general budget for
fiscal year 2007-2008. The tax rate is about 19 percent
lower than the current rate.
However, with a tax base that jumped more than 30
percent, from $4.77 billion to $6.22 billion, the city
of Sunny Isles Beach will be able to maintain a $12
million reserve fund and avoid severe cuts in services,
programs and activities. New construction alone added
almost $950 million to the tax rolls.
The 19
percent decrease in millage from the current tax rate of
$2.95 per $1,000 of assessed value follows a state
mandate approved in a special session this June. The
Florida Legislature passed a statute that requires
cities to adopt the rollback rate — the tax rate that
would generate the same revenues as the previous year —
and then further reduce that amount by up to an
additional 9 percent.
About
$1 million in net operating and maintenance expense is
being trimmed by cutting back landscaping plantings from
three times to twice a year, and Edelcup assured that
“there will be no visible curtailing of services.” The
city also will eliminate a $250,000 hurricane-response
line item, and would instead tap into its reserve fund
in the event of a natural disaster.
In
addition, the city’s anniversary party next year is
expected to be far less elaborate and expensive than the
special three-day festival held in June 2007 to mark the
city’s 10th anniversary.
Some
new expenses will be incurred, such as approximately
$560,000 to start up and operate Pelican Community Park,
which is scheduled to be completed this fall. That $8.4
million project will serve as the playground and
gymnasium facility for a public elementary school under
construction across the street at 182nd Street and North
Bay Road, and will serve double-duty as a community park
during the school’s off hours. The city also plans to
implement a merit pay system and budgeted a 3 percent
salary increase for city employees.
City
officials have tentatively earmarked up to $700,000 for
a “wireless island” project that, when complete, will
provide wireless Internet service throughout the city.
However, Edelcup said the initial expenditure may be
trimmed back and city officials may gradually phase in
the project over the next few years. The city will also
scale back on holiday lights at the Government Center.
To meet
the state mandate, fueled by discontent over rising
taxes among property owners — and, some say, to help
jumpstart a stalled housing market — City Manager John
Szerlag asked department heads for ways to trim
expenses.
In the
end, 28 positions were targeted for elimination. Edelcup
said most positions were unfilled and no layoffs are
planned. Some staff members have been reassigned. The
biggest cuts came in administrative police positions: an
assistant chief, sergeant and coordinator who had led
the city’s successful efforts in recent years to obtain
professional accreditation for the police squad. “Most
of the positions that were cut had not been filled in
recent years,” said Edelcup. “About half of those who’d
been assigned to positions that have been eliminated are
being reslotted to other positions. All of the employees
are being absorbed.”
If the
budget is adopted, the owner of a home valued at
$200,000 for tax purposes who claims the $25,000 Florida
Homestead Tax Exemption would pay about $479 in
municipal property taxes. Besides municipal property
taxes, property owners also pay taxes to the public
school district, hospital district, water management
district, the county and other tax-levying agencies.
If
approved in public hearings scheduled for Sept. 17 and
27, the proposed budget would go into effect Oct. 1, the
beginning of the city’s 2007-08 fiscal year.
During
the June special session on property tax reform,
legislators agreed to require that local governments
take one of three approaches to setting the property tax
rate:
*Adopt
the rollback rate plus up to 9 percent, depending on
that city’s growth since the 2000-01 fiscal year, in
additional cuts. That is what the SIB City Commission
agreed to do in a unanimous vote on July 23.
*Adopt
the rollback rate, which would have required a
super-majority, or four affirmative votes out of five,
for approval.
*Adopt
last year’s tax rate of $2.95 per $1,000 of taxable
value, which would have required a unanimous commission
vote for adoption.
Also
looming for municipal governments, said Edelcup, is the
possibility that voters will approve a homestead
“super-exemption” in a January 29 special election,
which would initially provide taxpayers a $200,000
exemption on the assessed valuation of their property
and could cost local governments additional millions in
lost tax revenues.
In
contrast to many nearby cities, the ongoing building
boom in Sunny Isles Beach brought several large projects
on line. Added to the tax rolls this past year were
Acqualina, a new tower in the Trump Towers complex at
180th Street and Collins Avenue, and the first tower of
the Turnberry Ocean Colony, said Edelcup. Expected to be
completed next year are additional projects, including a
third tower for Trump Towers and Turnberry Ocean Colony,
which Edelcup estimates will add an additional billion
dollars to next year’s tax rolls.
“Earlier in the year the level of new construction
helped tide us over” the transition caused by the
state-required tax cuts, said Edelcup. “The cuts were
less painful because of the billion dollars in new
construction.”
And
despite the housing market’s slowdown, 16 building
projects are under construction in the city, and the tax
rolls’ increases should cushion state-mandated property
tax cuts in coming years. Expected to be completed in
the next two to three years are major projects, such as
two Jade condo towers, the four-tower San Tropez
mixed-use projects and a multitower Trump project at
158th Street and Collins Avenue.
This
building activity, said Edelcup, should leave the city
in good fiscal position for the future. “Naturally we
had to do some belt-tightening, but the city’s in really
good shape financially,” he said. “If this
[state-mandated tax cuts] was going to happen, this was
the best time for it to happen.”
