What do we want in a new mayor?
The race for Mayor is going to get nasty. I can just smell it.
I have been contacted by all sides already and today, an anonymous email arrived:
The subject line said: "Here to Listen," I almost deleted it thinking it was spam. It said:
"I know a certain politician who is running for Mayor pretty well. Anyways he will remain nameless, I am writing to you not to ask for your endorsement. I just want to know what you want/need/think should change or stay the same in the grove. I hope that you can keep your impartiality throughout the campaign. No tricks I am just here to listen. "
If this candidate doesn't know what we want for the Grove, he should try reading the archives here in the Grapevine. To start off, we want the Grove Harbour Marina project gone.
We want free parking 24/7, we want fair Code Enforcement people, we want all building zoning laws followed and not changed at whim, and we want the City Commissioners who are not part of our district to stop making the laws for us. They are ruining the Grove with their ignorance. We also want to be our own city and not be part of the City of Miami anymore. And and we want peace on earth. Anything else readers?
I have been contacted by all sides already and today, an anonymous email arrived:
The subject line said: "Here to Listen," I almost deleted it thinking it was spam. It said:
"I know a certain politician who is running for Mayor pretty well. Anyways he will remain nameless, I am writing to you not to ask for your endorsement. I just want to know what you want/need/think should change or stay the same in the grove. I hope that you can keep your impartiality throughout the campaign. No tricks I am just here to listen. "
If this candidate doesn't know what we want for the Grove, he should try reading the archives here in the Grapevine. To start off, we want the Grove Harbour Marina project gone.
We want free parking 24/7, we want fair Code Enforcement people, we want all building zoning laws followed and not changed at whim, and we want the City Commissioners who are not part of our district to stop making the laws for us. They are ruining the Grove with their ignorance. We also want to be our own city and not be part of the City of Miami anymore. And and we want peace on earth. Anything else readers?
posted by Tom Falco at 1:30 PM
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16 Comments:
*cracks knuckles and stretches*
We want someone who actually wants businesses in the grove to succeed.
We want someone who prefers to see local investors and local businesses succeed as opposed to corporate chains.
We want someone that understands that the Grove is the only real neighborhood that actually feels like a neighborhood in the city of Miami.
We want someone who will tell the complainers (about things such as the 3484 project) that we already have laws in place to keep noise within reason, and notes that if you chose to move into a house or apartment across the street from bars and restaurants, then you have to deal with living across the street from bars and restaurants. It was your choice after all.
We want to get rid of the ridiculous burdens on businesses (such as having to pay huge fees for parking spaces you don't actually get or use).
We want to put an end to stupid projects like the black checkpoints in the grove (which were ridiculously expensive and are useless) and instead have finished sidewalks not missing huge chunks.
We want bike lanes throughout the grove (particularly on Tigertail) because we like to ride skateboards and motorcycles and don't like getting hit by cars or worsening the traffic situation.
We do not want any more circles/roundabouts!!!!
We want someone who remembers that the grove was founded by beatniks and hippies as a community that was a little bit different, with different values.
We want bars open till 5. and we don't want code enforcement hassling every single one twice a month (usually at 11 on a Friday when there's a crowd to be served)at great taxpayer expense.
"That guy said": Couldn't agree more with every single point you made. You saved me a lot of typing cuz I was going to say the SAME EXACT thing... freaks me out, you said it better.
Carlos.
Thank you! I for one paid a lot more for my house to live in the Grove, in a vibrant walking district with movies and restaurants and interesting shops, not to live near a dead zone. As a resident I understand that there is a balance between business and the "quiet enjoyment" of my property, and value the fact that I can go out and have fun down the street from my house.
I'll just add the good 'ole mantra: Until the Grove becomes its own City, the Mess will continue, and we'll never see our generous tax dollar put to good use right here in our Village. Look at our adjacent, independent Cities: Key Biscayne and Gables. Nuff said.
Oh, and thanks for reading and doing nothing, Mr. Sarnoff and all of our BOGUS "representatives" at City Hall.
For all these people complaining, why don't they step up to the plate and run for office rather than complain - when is the last time they even attended a community meeting. They can hang around and drink til 5am, walk the streets of the Grove, check out all the broken glass from car windshields and go home and sleep til noon, and then start their rants again.
In general, we would like the city to stop treating us like its piggy bank for funding boondoggles in other parts of town while our local infrastructure gets ignored.
We'd like to see an end to corruption in the building and zoning department, and we'd like that department to actually treat us with some respect.
We'd like to see incentives for greening the city, such as tax-incentives for planting oaks and other long-term growth trees, rather than just draconian measures that make it prohibitively difficult to improve one's property.
dig on that swlip. I'd like to see more of the cities money going into clean energy ventures too. The fed is gonna start cutting checks for big clean energy projects, let's get some for miami in general.
To Anon 2:41. I'm at my office bright and early every day, but I like having the option of having a drink at any time I damn well please. and what's the connection with broken glass from windshields (which I don't see)? oh, is that sarnoff's conjectural and unfounded idea that closing the bars early decreases drinking and driving. What a load of crap. 2 separate issues. closing at 3 just hands grove money to downtown bars, the beach, and So. Miami, and all the same people are still on the same roads in the same city.
But if you want to fund my campaign, I'm in. let me know.
ps. my last name is very gringo, so my chances of getting elected are slim.
LOL, That Guy. You're right, you have to have a name that ends in Z or a vowel in order to get elected in Miami. Then you can completely ignore our community and focus on Cuba like the rest of these traitors. They're all crooks that rob the American public daily. The problem is that tv people who vote for them vote only based on race and don't really pay attention to what the real issues are.
My wish list for a new and better Mayor that will benefit Coconut Grove and Miami.
1. If the Grove can’t be its own independent village, then at least only let our elected district commissioner to make choices for us.
2. We don’t want anymore out of our district commissioners deciding our zoning and our future like the 3 Amigos tried to do until the courts determined that their vote to change the zoning for Mercy Hospital was illegal spot zoning.
3. Let’s encourage a friendly village by removing all parking meters.
4. If possible let’s move City Hall out of the Grove and into Downtown Miami or Wynwood where there are many problems that need fixing.
5. Let’s make better use of our Historic Grove Airport buildings as a museum, community center, farmers market or even restaurant.
6. Let’s return the Glass House to a Community Center and bring life back to Peacock Park.
7. Let’s stop permitting cookie cutter repetitive faux Mediterranean homes and townhouses to proliferate the Grove.
8. Let’s set a limit of money on what our commissioners can vote on before the public has to vote for against the project, such as the Marline Stadium, changing zoning like Mercy Hospital, allowing Home Depot to enter our community.
9. Let’s not let the developers, their hired lobbyist, their paid off neighborhood associations and there elected pals determine the zoning, variance, special permits and such for our community. Zoning decision must be driven by the community and its best interest.
10. Let’s remember that no community can depend on development as a long lasting economic engine. We have to create a workable downtown, more employment, more clean industry, better transportation, more water, better sewers and more police and fire protection.
11. We don’t need more condos anywhere, especially on the Miami River.
12. Let builders develop a project as per its zoning, there must not be any more units built on a property by changing the zoning or lobbying for variance or special permits.
13. We need a Mayor that we can trust and that demonstrated through deeds and not just words that they are truly looking out for our community’s best interest and not just the interest of their developer pals.
Harry Emilio Gottlieb
Obama ends in a vowel....I dont see your connection. Stop being part of the problem and be part of the solution.
Everything Harry said.
And Spence-Jones' last name ends in what letter??????
If you are competent and honest, it shouldn't matter what your last name is.
And what time was it when that drunk driver slammed into the back of that car and killed 3 small innoncent children and wiped out a family? Was it arond the magic hour of 5am? Wonder where he was before then!
To 5:18 - probably downtown... or the beach... or So. Miami... or anywhere but one square mile within the city where this law is in effect.. or anywhere past bird, which is where special district 2 ends, or at least stops enforcing the 5am rule.
Ya know what, you have a good point, if there's one bad apple out there who decided to be a total A-hole and drink and drive, let's not let the law specifically aimed at drinking and driving handle it, let's ban booze altogether. Why didn't anyone ever think of that before???
Make it easy for visitors to go to the Grove, make it easy for visitors to park their cars, reduce parking meter hours to bring in more crowds during off peak times. Build parking garages in good, accessible locations. Make it safer by providing round the clock security patrols. Last but not least, license coffee shops to serve marijuana joints, like Amsterdam does. Then Coconut Grove will be part of the world map again.
Sorry, just a bit more ranting on that last subject.
People that want to drink till 5 will not be disuaded by having to go 2 or 3 miles to do so. What the 3 am law does, if anything, is make people that would be drinking in the grove till 5, leave at 3, then drive to downtown or So. Miami, then drink there till 5 or if downtown till whenever they feel like stopping, then drive home. That doubles the amount of drinking and driving.
Responsible people don't drink and drive. it's stupid, it's dangerous, it's illegal. However, you cannot curb it by addressing issues that are not logically connect.
Logic and reason folks, these are our arms. Let's try using them fight these battles.
What? If these places weren't open til 5am this guy might have been sitting in a Lazy Boy with his wife beater t-shirt drinking his beers and not behind the wheel of his car wiping out an entire family.
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