Safety ambassadors are there for you
While you may not see it, the BID's ambassadors are out there keeping the Grove clean and safe. You've seen the around the Grove, in those bright green shirts. They seem as if they are innocently walking around, but they are really doing some great things. While we have talked about crime in many areas, keep in mind that the ambassadors are the eyes and ears of the Grove's business district. Too bad we can't have them Grove-wide, on every block.
Lots of graffiti is quickly removed that you may not even have known was there because they got to it so fast, they also have cleaned up weeds growing around light poles. Lots of gum has been removed from sidewalks and those flyers/bills that keep popping up are being removed constantly -- it's illegal to put up flyers for clubs, lost dogs, etc. As for trash, 4000 pounds of trash was picked up and removed in May alone!
The BID team not only tries to wipe out vandalism, but they are right on top of thefts at local businesses, they work with the police in nabbing the bad guys when it comes to thefts. Bicycle thefts are big problem in Miami. Safety Ambassador Eric Carithers noticed that a local panhandler was riding a stolen bicycle recently. The bicycle had been reported stolen.With one call from Eric, the police arrested the guy and recovered the bicycle.
Stolen phones that have been reported by the BID have been tracked down, via GPS and the culprit has been arrested and the phone returned to the owner. The ambassadors know of guys trying to charge people to park, they have been taken away.
People who are disturbing the peace are removed from the scene and even many who try to break into the Playhouse are apprehended by the safety ambassadors.
Lots of graffiti is quickly removed that you may not even have known was there because they got to it so fast, they also have cleaned up weeds growing around light poles. Lots of gum has been removed from sidewalks and those flyers/bills that keep popping up are being removed constantly -- it's illegal to put up flyers for clubs, lost dogs, etc. As for trash, 4000 pounds of trash was picked up and removed in May alone!
The BID team not only tries to wipe out vandalism, but they are right on top of thefts at local businesses, they work with the police in nabbing the bad guys when it comes to thefts. Bicycle thefts are big problem in Miami. Safety Ambassador Eric Carithers noticed that a local panhandler was riding a stolen bicycle recently. The bicycle had been reported stolen.With one call from Eric, the police arrested the guy and recovered the bicycle.
Stolen phones that have been reported by the BID have been tracked down, via GPS and the culprit has been arrested and the phone returned to the owner. The ambassadors know of guys trying to charge people to park, they have been taken away.
People who are disturbing the peace are removed from the scene and even many who try to break into the Playhouse are apprehended by the safety ambassadors.
posted by Tom Falco at 11:11 AM
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7 Comments:
How much is this stupid ideah costing us tax payers?
Having them on every corner sounds like a great idea. In addition to cleaning up gum and keeping an eye on the homeless thrives and troublemakers they could spot the obviously drunk people leaving the bars and call the police if they see them getting in a car.
Seriously though, the BID needs its own enforcers? Are these guys trained in any way? Are there any special requirements and like the above poster asked, how much does this cost the taxpayer?
I'm seriously curious exactly what their job description is.
I am wondering exactly which of the actions of the grove ambassadors are a stupid ”ideah” for the ” tax payers”. Well maybe, a spelling course for might be a better use.
BID activities are paid for by a "self-tax" that the local member businesses chip in for. This isn't paid for by tax dollars.
Those guys in the yellow shirts are all surprisingly nice and polite. I'm not sure they would serve as much of a proper security force, but their presence may deter some petty crime.
I'd like to see these people complaining about them anonymously to at least offer positive suggestions.
To offer positive suggestions we would have to know what their job description actually is and how much they are paid. From Mr Falco's statement it seems their job is cleaning up gum and weeds and keeping an eye on the homeless.
Brian, you say they are privately funded by the BID which means their purpose is to enforce whatever the BID tells them to.
What exactly is that?
I, apparently like the previousl posters in this thread thought that they were somehow involved with the City. Knowing that they are the BID's personal enforcement arm is actually kind of disturbing to tell you the truth.
What exactly IS their job description and requirements for hiring. How does one get this job? Ate there ads placed anywhere or is it another typical Miami nepotistic, friends only kind of thing.
Finally, I'm sure they're all nice guys but that's not really sayining anything about what they actually do. They present themselves as some sort of official security force (albeit with radios instead of guns) so I'm kinda surprised to find out that they are a personally hired and purposed enforcement team for a small group of businessmen.
Shouldn't the NRO's be around this much so they notice these types of crimes? After all that is their jobs correct?
Speaking of the BID... Was any member of their staff present at the Burn Notice / Expo Center meetings? You'd think if they wanted to help out local businesses, they would be present at all these meetings.
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