Cervera Realty Services to Market The Waverly, Miami Jewish Film Festival Posts 25% Attendance Increase, Burger King’s Dasburg Buys Fisher Island Condo, Levine Named Beach Bank Executive Board Chairman

Business News:

The Waverly at South Beach has named Related Cervera Realty Services to direct the sales and marketing of its luxury condominiums, it was announced by Louis M. Dubin, principal, Athena Karlton SOBE, and Fredric Karlton of Karlton Properties. Related Cervera Realty Services, headed by Alicia Cervera, Jr., specializes in high-end condominiums. The firm is a spinoff of Cervera Real Estate, which has orchestrated the sellout of prestigious properties from Coconut Grove and Coral Gables to South Beach, Hallandale and West Palm Beach. Alicia Cervera, Jr. has more than 20 years of experience in the high-end condominium market in South Florida, making the firm a top choice of luxury residential developers and property owners.

Dubin stated in a press release, “We are very excited about our new strategic relationship with  Related Cervera Realty Services. Alicia Cervera and Andres Asion are leaders in the Miami Beach real estate community, making this an alliance that will benefit the already record breaking sales at The Waverly.”

Designed by Arquitectonica and strategically located two blocks from Lincoln Road between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean, The Waverly at South Beach features 399 one- and two-bedroom apartments and five specially designed penthouses. Condos are complete and ready for immediate occupancy. As an added purchase incentive, the development group is offering low-interest in-house financing
with as little as 10% down.

For sales information, visit The Waverly Sales Center on site at 1330 West Avenue. Hours: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., seven days a week. (305) 672-6700.

* The 2002 Miami Jewish Film Festival, which offered a run of more than 30 films from December 7 through 15, has marked a 25% increase in attendance for a total of nearly 8,000, announced Dr. Chaim Y. Botwinick, President/CEO, of the sponsoring Center for Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE).

In its sixth year, the festival widened the scope of its screenings to include Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and North Miami. Among major highlights was the December 12 mid-Festival “Centerfold Gala,” chaired by the mother/daughter team of Lynn Dumas Russin, Julie Bercow and Andi Russin. Held at the Hotel Inter-Continental Miami, Irma (Mrs. Norman) Braman was honored with the fifth CAJE Community Arts Award for her dedication and philanthropic support of the arts.

Artistic Director Florence Kaufman played host to a mix of important films from Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, France, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan, Russia, and U.S.A., several of which were sold out. Symposiums and director/producer-led panels gave audiences access to meet and chat with a score of important filmmakers and directors.

For information on forthcoming CAJE events, call 305-573-7304.

* In a Whopper of a purchase, John Dasburg has had it his way at Fisher Island. The Burger King Chief recently purchased a condominium for $4 million on exclusive Fisher Island. New on the menu: Dasburg's former Key Biscayne digs, once the home of Nixon “bud” Bebe Reboso, is on the market for the registered price of $10.5 million. Coldwell Banker Previews Division associate Pamela Ibarguen has a long association with both gentlemen. All three went to Miami High and Ibarguen sold the house both to Reboso and to Dasburg.


 

Congrats:

Long-time resident and businessman Jack Levine, CPA, was recently elected as Chairman of the Executive Committee for the Board of Directors of Beach Bank on Miami Beach.
A certified public accountant in the State of Florida, Levine is president of Jack Levine, PA, CPA’s and has more than 25 years of experience in accounting, financial and estate matters. Currently serving on the Florida Bar Eleventh Judicial Unlicensed Practice of Law Committee, Levine formerly e served on the Florida Bar Eleventh Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee. Levine is a member and former director of the Greater Miami Estate Planning Council and a member of the Entertainment and Sports Tax Committee of the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants and a member of the Miami Branch of the National Arts and Entertainment Association.
Levine serves on numerous boards, including The Prairie Fund in Miami Beach, Miami-based SFBC International, Inc, and RealCast Corporation, Miami. Levine raised his family in Miami-Dade County and is actively involved with a number of civic and charitable organizations. He is a member of the Tomche Program of Food for the Needy, Miami Beach Community Kollel and The Special Kids Fund.  Mr. Levine also facilitates for-credit seminars and helps a multitude of not-for-profit organizations by working as a pro-bono consultant.
Beach Bank was initiated two and a half years ago by local Miami Beach organizers who saw the need for a bank that could serve the diverse needs of the Miami Beach community. Located at 555 Arthur Godfrey Road, Beach Bank is the only bank to have its headquarters on Miami Beach.  For more information call 305-695-7400.

 

  Business Focus

Tae Kwon Do Master Builds Character in North Beach

“The structure and discipline children receive here will allow them to be whoever or whatever they want to be.” --Sang Koo Kang

By Mitchell Pellecchia
Contributing Writer

Walking into Master Sang Koo Kang’s Tae Kwon Do School at 7128 Collins Avenue in North Beach, your gaze is drawn to the left where silver and gold trophies six inches to three feet in height are massed from floor to ceiling. They belong to Master Sang, a seven-time champion in the Sunshine State Tae Kwon Do Competition.

Apart from some chairs scattered about the entrance, the rest of the spacious studio is a sprawling matted space enclosed on one side by ten-foot high mirrors. On the opposite wall a giant, somewhat surreal mural depicting a mountainscape creates a tranquil, meditative mood.

Master Sang Koo Kang, 35, hails from Seoul, Korea. He came to the United States in 1983 at age 16. After graduating from Miami Beach High, he went on to become a field goal kicker for the Florida State University Seminoles. Since 1990, Master Sang Koo Kang has been teaching the art of Tae Kwon Do at his Collins Avenue location. He has been featured on the cover of Black Belt Magazine and has mentored a countless number of local children, adults, politicians, athletes and movie stars in the practice of this ancient martial art. At one time, Sang had a Saudi Prince, his Princess and their bodyguards all training at his studio.

“My students come from all over. They come to study Tae Kwon Do to help them achieve whatever they want to in life. In life, just like in Tae Kwon Do, if you work hard and consistently and follow through you will succeed,” says Sang sitting in his office chair, a look of stoic determination on his face, his steely arms and the disciplined movements of his hands complimenting his discourse. 

Sang had a few minutes to talk before getting back to the business of shooting more demo footage for Hollywood movie producers searching for fighters with his high caliber skill set. Expert fighters and stuntmen like Sang are in big demand amidst the rapidly growing popularity of American made martial arts films in the States and abroad. His most recent stunt work was with Jackie Chan in Rush Hour 2.

Sang commented on the westernization of martial arts movies in America: “Entertaining is totally different from martial arts. When I was growing up in Korea it wasn’t about fun or playing or about joking or being funny. It was serious. I grew up watching Bruce Lee,” says Sang.

One need only watch a few minutes of any fight sequence in Enter the Dragon to realize there was nothing funny about Lee’s relentless ass-kicking technique, humorous maybe only in the ease with which he was virtually invincible. 

“Americans want to feel comfortable watching martial arts movies. American movie audiences like to laugh,” said Sang, crediting the popularity of Jackie Chan. “The laughs help Americans feel better about watching the fight.”

Sang allowed that the cool robes, colored belts, comfortable surroundings, mats and mirrors are big factors in attracting Americans to martial arts training. “It’s all about comfort for Americans,” he said.

“Most Americans cannot easily deal with the strict rule of the art, so we change some things to accommodate people’s feelings. Where I come from I did not study in nice classrooms and in neat clothes. It was about discipline and respect. You had a teacher, you did what the teacher said and you worked hard at it. It really didn’t matter where you were or what you wore. It’s a lot like Chinese food. It’s not prepared the same way in America as it is in China. It’s different,” said Sang.

According to Sang, the true essence of Tae Kwon Do cannot be smelled, tasted, touched or heard. Tae Kwon Do is an experience. The English translation of Tae Kwon Do is the art of kicking and punching. “Tae” means to kick, “Kwon” means to punch and “Do” means art. To Sang these definitions are superficial. He sees Tae Kwon Do, more as a means of attaining self-knowledge.

“Tae Kwon Do isn’t something you just pick up for a couple of years. It’s a way of life. It changes people’s lives. Anyone after just one class with me will not only feel the physical exhilaration of the experience, but will walk out that door looking at all things differently… better. Just one class and you will see how it will change your mental attitude,” Sang said pointing dynamically towards his eyes, then resting his fingertips on his temples. He glanced down contemplatively toward the desktop and one sensed the serenity of his aura.

Master Sang is a strong believer in Tae Kwon Do as promoting discipline in youth. “The structure and discipline children receive here will allow them to be whoever or whatever they want to be,” said Sang. He also believes it is a great way for kids to defend themselves in threatening situations. “Young kids can avoid a lot of trouble by knowing Tae Kwon Do,” he said.

Recently, Sang did a segment for WSVN 7 called “Tiny and Tough” exhibiting how Tae Kwon Do is effective for children in defending themselves against a possible abduction.

“Ninety-nine percent of the kids that start with me stay with me. I teach a lot of their parents too,” said Sang.

Sang has many young adult students who have with him for over ten years now. Many make what Sang refers to as the STORM Team, short for Student of Role Model Team. After fulfilling Storm Team requirements, many go on to become instructors for Sang.

Asked if he has many students whose goal in mastering Tae Kwon Do is to become better street fighters, Sang answered softly, “Oh, yes.”

Master Sang’s Tae Kwon Do School is located at 7128 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach. For information, call 305-861-7166.