Open the parks up for events

Some of you feel that building and over-building is the answer to help Coconut Grove businesses. I don't. I don't think overpopulation and the destruction of a small village is the answer.

The City of Miami is inept when it comes to following their own laws when it comes to development and over-development. They have ruined the Grove by allowing developers to run rampant.

And now we don't have any events in Peacock Park because of less than smart new rules. The events have all left - the beer festivals, the seafood and bbq festival, the Bed Race, the pumpkin patch, etc. October 15 is the Grovetoberfest - which is outside the Grove! It's at Miami Marine Stadium, and Sunday, October 16, is the Coconut Grove Seafood Festival, also at Miami Marine Stadium. It's all about the grass. It was destroyed at last year's Grovetoberfest when trucks started setting up for the event after torrential rains, which tore up the lawn. In all my years here, I don't think I've seen that happen before so it's not a regular occurrence. It was just the perfect storm at the time.

Due to the lawn being damaged, all events in the park have now left. They don't want to be liable for damage and they don't want to have to call off their events with just one day's notice, which is the new rule now, too. Less than smart.

The Grove relies on all those bodies to come to the village. Restaurants and stores depend on that. Coconut Grove is event-driven.  I have to blame the City of Miami Parks Department for the loss of business in Coconut Grove. I have been on many committees trying to help make events happen to bring people to the Grove and the Parks Department has put the kibosh on that. Festival days have always been happy, happening days in the village. You can feel the energy and so many people pass through, having a good time, spending money, helping the Grove survive. 

I was watching the Global Citizen Concert recently, which was in Central Park in NYC. If they can manage a concert on the lawn with tens of thousands of people, why can't we manage events in Peacock Park? Miami is supposed to be a world-class city, but they can't even manage the parks?