City approves CRA expansion into Village West
"You ever have a day that has gone so well that you just can't get off of that cloud?" asked District Commissioner Ken Russell. Well he had that feeling Thursday after the Miami City Commission voted 4-1 to extended the life of and to include Village West as part of the existing Omni Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA).
Commissioner Ken Russell has been pushing for this for a long time. He feels that with the money and power that the CRA has, it can help Village West remain the Bahamian historic neighborhood that it is, and head off development that has overtaken the neighborhood.
Ken has directed the city to sue the slumlords in the area and his goal is to preserve what is left of the area including wood frame and shotgun houses that belonged to the original settlers. The legislative changes will allow this to begin. Village West has the highest amount of demolitions and evictions in the City of Miami. "Speculative development is going in there like a vulture," said Ken.
Street improvements, affordable housing and historical designations will help preserve the neighborhood. Infrastructure and green space will also be improved.
Money from the CRA from tax revenues will go directly to the area to help eliminate blight. The CRA money must go to the designated area, "The CRA traps that money," for that area, says Ken. The CRA can incentivize development by trapping future tax dollars there and steer that development so that is to the benefit of existing residents.
"I just have to thank my fellow commissioners for their support of what I have been trying to accomplish," said Ken. "I couldn't do it without them."
Ken campaigned for CRA reform when he ran for office. The original Omni CRA's money went to a tunnel and performing arts center and Ken's goal was to always have the money go to impoverished neighborhoods and affordable housing.
$100 million of future revenue will go to affordable housing. This money will be available due to the extension of the CRA. An agreement was made with Commissioner Joe Corollo to reinstate funding from the CRA, that was previously removed, to fund Maurice Ferre Park which is in downtown Miami. The park can be invested in now. It originally was a contaminated park which the CRA cleaned up at a cost of $15 million.
Sadly at the commission meeting on Thursday, there were less residents who spoke in favor of the CRA prospect simply because there are less people in the neighborhood. So many from last year had been evicted, displaced and moved away.
The CRA expansion still needs to be approved at the County level.
posted by Tom Falco at 4:00 AM
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11 Comments:
Interesting. Thanks for sharing. Where can we learn more about the CRA and how it operates?
There's a link in the first paragraph.
While great in theory, the CRA has had major issues with corruption and graft. It has been used as a slush fund for development. Also, it was disconcerting to see Commissioner Russell sign on with Carollo to "redevelop" the FEC slip next to the American Airlines Arena.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article58425078.html
https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/editorials/article59229838.html
“The CRA statute does not require agencies to engage in a formal bidding process when spending monies,” the report found. “That means those who operate CRAs, or the board members who approve expenditures, are free to solicit a particular person or company to do a specific project without a competitive bidding process.”
And we all know what that can mean: “cronyism, collusion, inflated or exorbitant costs as well as other issues that lead to corrupt practices.”
Agreed. The CRA is a joke. Sounds good on paper, but it does not actually accomplish much other than enrich insiders and their friends (sounds a bit like Ken Russell now that I Think of it...). The projects are so misguided. Take, for example, Overtown's CRA's "successful" recent heraldrd accomplishment of bringing the Red Rooster, a successful NYC-based BBQ restaurant to Overtown (https://www.miamitodaynews.com/2019/06/11/celebrity-chef-marcus-samuelsson-brings-red-rooster-here/). One look at the menus (https://www.redroosterharlem.com/menu/) and you will quickly realize that the new establishment will not be serving Overtown's locals ($23 cheeseburger or $9 broccoli anyone?)
CRAs are operated like slush funds in Miami. Ken certainly does that.
This is a crooked deal and Ken's decision to hand $28 million bucks from the Omni CRA to Commissioner Wife Beater for Ferre Park after a grand jury (!!!) said that spending $600k on a dog park from CRA funds was a corrupt move by Marc Sarnoff.
Ken Russell is a swindler.
Vote him out.
Take a drive from 32'd Ave, down Grand to 37th Ave. Vacant lots, many units boarded, ripe, Ripe, RIPE for development-took 10/15 to clear those out. If human nature is evil, long before humans became corrupt, greedy and became sufficiently sophisticated to apply the word nepotism, why has it been demonstrated cave dwellers kill cave dwellers to get that cave? "Housing for All" Are you ridiculous!? These two ladies and others who feel the same need to put down your paltry 30-cent signs and think of ways for your kind to earn about $20,000,000,000,000 USD just to accomplish what your 30-cent signs espouse, and that's just for starters in the Good Old U.S. of A. Then go to Africa, Central & South America, China, India, Asia.
Looks like County will have to approve expanding CRA. Good luck with that. Think Russell wasted his good will with the County after torpedoing Mayor Gimenez's playhouse plans.
PART 1
Good old Ken has sat on the CRA expansion to the West Grove since January 11 2018.
Ironic that anony 741am July 15 2019 would comment like he or she did3 yrs to day Ken showed up at Renescha’s.
This epitomizes how Ken's way in which he has handled the mass evictions and slum conditions in which human beings are living all these years are panning out. People assuming everyone only wants to be low income and has their hand
out. He was supposed to start on Grand Avenue not end there.
So how about this for a irony?
July 15 2016 3 years to the day of anon 741am comment Ken his staff Xavier Suarez then MPD Commander Greater St. Paul’s Housing coordinator and Victoria Mendez all stood in the courtyard of 3410/20 Hibiscus while Ken said, “I am late but I am here now I have city attorney Vicky Mendez here and she will be filing a law suit against these slumlords”
He said he was giving $500,000.00 to greater St. Paul’s to assist in emergency housing. Never happened church has more empty units to date.
Well that lawsuit accomplished everyone being evicted. With eviction on their records and not for non payment of rent.
Lawsuit to repair or relocate
Neither city or county assisted in finding housing. Legal service of Miami one lone attorney found housing for everyone in that building but when it came to the next building
Holland & Knight took over pro bono w brand new young attorneys unable to do what this young man did.
Renescha brought this to Ken.She was the voice.
She has 4 kids was moved the furthest away. Brought her kids to school in Coconut Grove. Worked in Coral Gables.
Started and finished nursing school. Has taken and passed her nursing boards and starts nursing job end of this week.
Any idea how she felt when she saw the Grapevine w her picture on the front w a missionary (who We have learned lives off donations) and she knew nothing about the CRA bc only select people were notified to attend to prevent any 1 or 2 of the commissioners hearing any truths from someone who has something to say that may tell the ugly history of
days gone by.
The old picture was one thing but Ken's handling of the west grove has made assumptions from the whiter side of the grove
The social media comments over the years are sickening
Stereotyping the entire west grove based on grand avenue.
I brought in licensed by the state of Florida mold inspectors
December 11, 2016I paid for this myself.
Inspected 2 of the buildings on grand Ave.
Owners were given 60 days to respond they did not
February 11 2017 those reports were sent to the state of Florida Tallahassee.
The attorney handling the relocation of 3410/20 Hibiscus aka Southwinds Apts myself Renescha met w Ken & staff regarding the issues multiple times and the mold reports.
PART 2
We were promised Ken's office would follow up w Tallahassee.
Nada.
We also had requested no more evictions on people’s record moving forward on any other buildings grand Ave.
Along w for lack of better words as I am not an attorney expungement for those who received condemnation evictions
Instead of doing this ken;s staff worked on gender neutrality language.
Try being black and finding a place to live w eviction on your record. Renescha has worked like no one I know that looks like us never giving up.
Ken was presented w hard receipts of what it cost to relocate Renescha & family. He committed to a Specific amount the funds were delivered to CDC aka Collabrative Development Corporation on grand avenue Where is the money?
Frank Schnidman came to Sunshine meeting feb 16 2017 end of meeting he approached Francis suarez w idea to do a non contiguous expansion of the Omni CRA. He liked idea said talk to ken. Frank did. Ken hires frank. Frank does the work plus more comes to Miami educating community how this would benefit. Ken decided we aren’t good he runs for congress.
CRA sits at county.
The interlocken agreement Omni CRA presented at Commision is blank for west grove.
To be negotiated.
Lol
Lol
Hahaha
Ken goes behind all our backs does wooden houses
Why wasn’t frank in that loop?
CRA was the Funding mechanism for saving the old wooden Houses.No plan. why?
What’s the real agenda?
Thank you for allowing 741am July 15 2019 comments to be posted so myself Renescha and others are reminded of Ken's lack of respect to asking those who really know the
people. Including those who do not have their hand out but both hands out.
Like that TASK FORSE people threatening to sue the city getting free houses.
Amazing what like the old saying goes and Ken is doing this well
DIVIDE & CONQUER
CRA sounds good ...
Money for the West Grove sounds good ...
Too bad its a lie ... NOT ONE CENT GOES TO THE WEST GROVE !!!
Huge sums allocated to other areas, but West Grove is "to be negotiated" ... and Ken has the gall to pat himself on the back! Once again the West Grove is used by a politician for self promotion, but the West Grove gets nothing!
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