Ruffling feathers and we don't mean peacocks

I was called into Commissioner Sarnoff's office after writing about the Virginia Street closure proposal. They didn't like that I called it stupid, it's sort of like being called into the Principal's office. I suspect it was more about me shedding light on the issue than calling it stupid.

I was hoping to get a photo of me at the computer with the Commissioner slapping my knuckles with a ruler, but that didn't happen. Instead I was shown the only image, by Ron Nelson, Sarnoff's chief of staff, the one you see here, and told that it was a good idea for the Grove. I still can't remember why, something about restaurants having a place to serve their customers. Not sure which restaurants since most are at the other end of town.

The plan may be a great thing, my gut reaction was that it isn't, but what do I know. I do know that the public should have a right to see and vote on such a drastic change in traffic patterns. It's a matter of them making "executive decisions" again for the taxpayers. No one is ever invited to meetings, things are just done. You wake up one day and it a done deal with so many things around here.

When Felice Dubin, co-owner of the Bookstore, and my good friend, confronted me about the article, she said it was a good thing, she said it's very European; she is right. But at Virginia Street? She said all the restaurants including The Grove Spot could use the area. I just can't see the waiters running from a block or so away to serve people on the corner. We couldn't even get waiters to be in a five minute Waiters Race the few times we tried for various charity events, I'm not sure they want to be racing back and forth all day and night to serve people.

What about the folks on Commodore Plaza and Fuller and all the other streets in the Grove? They would love their own streets turned into a plaza, too, I bet. Especially Commodore which has the Plaza name already. And their streets are not even a major artery into the Grove, like Virginia Street is. But again, maybe it is the perfect place for a plaza. I think Fuller Street is too. Fuller used to be a little lane with a fountain. It was widened into an actual street to allow for better traffic flow I think in the 1960s.

But does the new streetscape need to be shoved down everyone's throats without discussion?

I went around town and asked people in person what they thought. Most don't like it, others love it.

Stephen Murray, Village Council member, sent a letter to David Collins, head of the BID, on Friday afternoon. Here it is, I don't like being dragged into it, but he does make sense when he asks for relevant plans, which I was told there were none when I visited the commissioner's office. All they have at the moment is the rendering that you see above. That's it. Here's Stephen's letter:

Mr. Collins,

In a post on the Coconut Grove Grapevine, Tom Falco has offered some new details about the proposed Virginia Street closure at Grand Avenue. This fast-paced movement comes as a surprise to me. From my understanding, this was something that has not been discussed at length, nor have the residents that live in the surrounding streets been notified, myself included. Since this seems to be on the fast-track, let this email serve as a Public Records Request for the following:

1. Copies of all relevant plans related to the creation of the Virginia Street closure including maps, traffic studies, review by the City of Miami Fire Department, and budgets.
2. Copies of all emails between yourself, Commissioner Sarnoff, Ron Nelson and your staff where the content of the correspondence includes mention of the Virginia Street Closure.
3. A transcript of the BID meeting where this project was discussed.

Given the time-line of this project, it would be wise for your office to comply with this request in a timely matter or provide me with any reasons you cannot.

Respectfully submitted,
Stephen Murray