Letters: Does the City of Miami Beach Still Care for its Residents?
To the Editor:
What follows is an email I sent to one of my neighbors that called me this morning wondering why she had endure a trash filled and ill kept city park; Maurice Gibb Park here in Sunset Harbour. In full disclosure I ran for city commission in 2007 and lost to DeedeWeithorn.
“Libby, with respect to you phone call this morning about the deplorable state of Maurice Gibb Park; I could not agree with you more. Eversince the city went to using sub-contractors to maintain the park land and shrubs they have just deteriorated to a point where as you say it is arguably the worst maintained of the city parks.
The waste hauling sub-contractor employee; many of whom I personally have observed when I walk our dogs; behave as if empty trash and re-cycling containers is an imposition on their personal lives; the trash containers are consistently overflowing; a situation I have observed more and more throughout the city. I am sure out political leaders and city administration will blame this on revenue shortfalls and budget cuts; however they will fail to explain why retired police and firefighters and other former city employees have been rewarded with lucrative six-figure pensions and why we are now paying more in real tax dollars and getting less for our money. The power of the unions over our elected officials has never been more evident than today when we all pay more and get less each budget cycle.
Mrs. Tanner you asked why our park is a mess; it is simple arithmetic the city no longer has money to take care of its residents; it has to use a vast majority of our tax dollars to pay for retirement plans our elected officials blindly gave city employees in exchange for union endorsements and support for re-election.
So we all will learn to adjust to living with less and less city services; that is the price we pay for the free ride given out by elected officials and the failure of city leaders to reign in this give away.
In regards to your comment that Sunset Harbour seems to be a forgotten step child – YOU ARE CORRECT! We have been promised re-surfaced streets for five years, we are still waiting, Bay Rd, West Ave and 18th street have the worst street lighting of any part of this city. The city pours money into other neighborhoods and we sit and beg for new street shrubs, we sit with streets so poorly lit that they are plainly un-safe to walk at night. Graffiti is everywhere and nothing is done.
And of course some city official will point to the parking garage as the city commitment to this neighborhood; that is so disingenuous; the garage is more about some elected officials making good on their commitment to move Property Management out of their backyard; Flamingo Park and down our throats in the guise of a parking garage. The fact that the entire garage deal financially benefits a well contacted developer never entered their minds; no of course not. Yes sure we can use parking for all the restaurants but at what cost and why a 350 car garage; a question I asked when I was on the Planning Board; oh we “the city needs parking” ah there is the answer the city needs parking not Sunset Harbour; valet operations here we come!
So Mrs. Tanner the people you can address your comments too are all on the email; good luck getting them to listen. It shall be interesting to see just how the Tremont Towing makes out Tuesday at the Planning Board; my money is on them being given carte blanche to continue to operate just as they have; reckless, nosily, un-safe and with a total disregard to their neighbors.”
Frank Kruszewski
Miami Beach
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Category: LETTERS
