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It was
good to read some real on-the-ground reporting in the SunPost
from Rebecca Wakefield in her Dec. 6 column, “Art Wynwood: What
Art Basel looks like from Little San Juan.” With the
construction and condo boom (and slow bust), it is rare to read
about the impact on already existing neighborhoods and
communities.
The
overwhelming presence of Art Miami and the concerns of the
Wynwood residents point to a fundamental question: Who has a
right to the city? Who has a right to Wynwood? One need only
look at the allocation of government resources and funds in
support of galleries, production and the erecting of tents
versus the fixing of Wynwood streets, the restoration of the
community center, etc. Wakefield is posing the fundamental
question of who has the right to the neighborhood. This question
is often lost through the process of gentrification.
The scale
and pace of gentrification in Wynwood, aided by Commissioner
Johnny Winton’s giveaways, has outpaced the neighborhood’s
ability to organize and counter the planning, zoning and
development decisions. Wynwood residents, and groups like Miami
in Action, are rightly articulating the right to governing and
deciding the growth and development of the neighborhood. When
you see the stalled condo towers, whose owners are fraught with
lawsuits, it makes you wonder why we left planning, zoning and
development issues solely in the hands of corrupt politicians
and their rich speculator friends.
Sushma
Sheth
Campaign
Director,
Miami
Workers
Center
Museum
Park:
Fund-raising Ahead of Schedule
Thank you
for Cynthia Archbold’s comprehensive article on the design of
the new Miami Art Museum building planned for Museum Park
[“MAM
Reinvented,” published Dec. 6].
It is great to have such positive feedback from the unveiling of
these unique plans and designs from world-renowned architects
Herzog & de Meuron. However, there is an error in the story —
Ms. Archbold says that MAM has “already acquired $100 million in
private donations.” Ms. Archbold was probably referring to the
$100 million in funding from Miami-Dade County that was approved
by voters. While we are still in the
“silent phase” of our capital campaign, we are ahead of our
fund-raising goals and have exceeded the amount needed to
construct the new building. As Ms. Archbold noted, our
fund-raising efforts are now focused on raising money
principally for the endowment, which will insure that the new
building operates on budget after it is inaugurated.
Michael
McLane
Assistant
Director for Communications, Miami Art Museum
Museum
Park:
For the Dogs — of Active Volunteers
When
Bicentennial Park opened in 1976, within a week a woman was
murdered in the park. Miami hired 24-hour unarmed security
guards to protect the park. One after another they quit, afraid
to patrol the grounds after sundown. The park became a disaster
and never materialized as the crown jewel of
Miami.
Eight to 10 million dollars went down the drain.
The only
way for the proposed
Museum
Park to become a success [“MAM Reinvented,” published Dec. 6] is
to understand how New Yorkers reclaimed their parks and green
spaces from the drug dealers and muggers who prowled them 30
years ago. For instance, Washington Square Park receives grants
from New York University for park maintenance and security.
Washington
Square
Park is virtually the “green campus” for the university. Private
conservancy groups all over Manhattan set themselves up
as “friends of their local parks” and contribute financing for
police protection and the like. In the fall, it is not uncommon
to find hundreds of volunteers planting tulip bulbs for the
spring bloom.
Miami
people don’t seem to grasp idea of volunteering or contributing
money for a taxpayer-supported system. Perhaps it is time to
plant the trees and install solar power lighting, but the real
proof of the park’s success will seriously depend upon its
day-to-day usage by new and local residents across the street on
Biscayne Boulevard. The question is, how long will it take to
sell and fill up these thousands of apartment-condo units? Three
or four years? The park planners need to forget the idea of
adding parking spaces because when gasoline reaches $5 per
gallon, very few folks will waste a gallon of gas to take a
stroll in the park.
The best
bet is for the builders of the five high-rises to get together
and finance a pedestrian and dog bridge over Biscayne Boulevard
to the park (the walkway being an amenity and sales gimmick).
Then the park will be filled with locals from sunrise to sunset.
This is the way to make Museum Park a success for everyone to
enjoy. Get the local residents and dog-lovers involved.
Robert
Fournier
Miami
The Insensitivity of a Free Weekly: Say You’re Sorry. Say It!
Say It!
Your Nov. 29 article entitled “Taking Advantage” on Commissioner
Marc Sarnoff’s idea for scattered site workforce housing was
sound. Your depiction of him on the cover, however, made him
seem nonsensical or corrupt. He is neither, and you should
apologize in a very prominent place in your next edition for the
insensitivity of the cover photo.
Sue McConnell
Coconut Grove
The Insensitivity of Hard-Ass Corporate Types: They Should
Just Cough Up the Penny
I was just
reading your Dec. 6 article “Nine Miles for a Penny.” Great
article! It would be so easy for Burger King to just pay the
penny and be done with it. It also would be the right thing to
do, but that would wreck their hard-ass corporate rep.
Name
Withheld By Request
Miami
Actually Waterfront Ain’t Selling That Well, Except for the Rich
and Famous
I’m not sure who your “real estate expert” is, but in her recent
article there is mention that “waterfront still sells well” and
a reference to
6300 N. Bay Road [Groundwork, “Waterfront Still Sells Well,”
published Oct. 2]. Please note that the price of $658 a foot
reflects only land value. The home is a tear-down (it still has
original and well-rusted galvanized pipes) and, thus, the
investment aspect as a home on a 24,000-square-foot bayfront
lot, as it is, is a sheer pipe dream. This was a distress sale
from the estate of an elderly man who passed on. By the time
they build a new home, they will be in for well over $1,000 per
foot. Maybe in three years,
North Bay
waterfront will be selling where it once was — at $1,000 or more
per square foot. To check this, see the lot at 6396 North Bay
and the house next door, 6410 North Bay — both 24,000 square
feet and $5 million each (down from the $7 million each were
listed for). The house at 6360, completely gut renovated at
9,600 feet, was listed for $9.2 million and is still on the
market. The only sunshine of recent sales was the rip-off
purchase of the home at 2900 N. Bay Road (runs along a road,
looks directly across at other homes) for $18.5 million
(purchased for $12 million two years ago.) The sale was between
two celebrities, which just confirms that actual property value
means very little to the rich like J-Lo, Calvin Klein, Billy
Joel, Matt Damon, et al.
Dean Corso
Miami Beach
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