Tag Archives: Building Permits

Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Eight ► The Powers That Be

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The Charles Avenue Historical Marker with
the E.W.F. Stirrup House in the background.

My quest to save the E.W.F. Stirrup House, and my running headlong into the Powers That Be in Coconut Grove and the City of Miami, began a few years back when I first happened across the Charles Avenue Historical Marker. I had never been in Coconut Grove before and, since I’ve always been a sucker for history and historical markers, I stopped to read it. It was by sheer coincidence (or total synchronicity) that on the day I discovered the marker detailing the oldest Black community in on the Florida mainland, I was also reading “Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism” by James W. Loewen. Lowen has written an amazing book of more than 650 pages, which goes to great lengths to explain why every ‘Merkin city looks the way it does.

The broken base of the marker
with garbage piled all around

On the day I discovered the Charles Avenue Historical Marker it was leaning backwards against a fence because the base was broken. However, I didn’t even know the base was broken on my first visit because of the garbage bags piled up all around it. Maybe it was the book I was reading, or maybe because I have studied race relations most of my adult life, but I knew INSTINCTIVELY that the reason the marker leaned and the reason it had garbage piled up all around the base, was due to Institutional Racism. Nothing in my subsequent research has disabused me of that notion. The Charles Avenue Historical Marker, and treatment of the E.W.F Stirrup House, seems to me to encapsulate the Black experience in ‘Merka.

It was only after I took in the sign did I look across the street and, for the first time, saw the beautiful, historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House (pictured below). When I saw that house in 2009, empty and being allowed to rot, I started my research. It was all that subsequent research that led to my campaign to save this house.

The saddest marker I have ever read.

As I said, I love historical markers. Word of warning: Never travel with me because if I see a sign that points towards an historical marker, I’ll detour from the main route just to see it. I have seen hundreds of historical markers in my lifetime, but the saddest one I’ve ever seen is one in my home town of Detroit commemorating where Paradise Valley once stood. To quote Joni Mitchell: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

While Joni Mitchell once lived in Detroit [where I met her at “The Castle,” the apartment on the east side that she shared with her then-husband Chuck Mitchell, but that’s another story], I doubt she was singing about Detroit’s Paradise Valley. Yet, the words apply to Paradise Valley better than anywhere else. An entire neighbourhood was razed in the name of progress and not a single building remains. Imagine that. A vibrant Black business district was destroyed for freeways under the guise of urban renewal. However, let’s not sugar coat it: This would have never happened to a thriving White neighbourhood. White folk would have had enough clout to have stopped it or have had the plans modified.

[I’ve touched upon the topic of Paradise Valley briefly in my two posts about the Detroit Riots.]

There was once a plan floated to tear down most of Black Coconut Grove in the name of Urban Renewal. In the 1950s the City of Miami considered the neighbourhood blighted. Compared to other houses in the area, the houses in Black Coconut Grove were somewhat ramshackled. However, that tended to be a function of the relative poverty of the residents, when compared to White incomes in the area, and the fact that many of the homes had been in the same family for several generations. Furthermore, whereas all the surrounding neighbourhoods had running water and sewers, Black Coconut Grove still used hand pumps and outhouses — in the ”50s!!! People who lived in the area at the time have told me about the “honey wagon” that was just a way of life on Charles Avenue back then. Why would all the White neighbourhoods in the area have the amenities denied to Black Coconut Grove? I’ll let you answer that for yourself.

Had this been Detroit it’s possible the neighbourhood would have come down just like Miami city planners wanted. However, what saved the neighbourhood was E.W.F. Stirrup’s foresight. Back in the 1890s, when he was one of the largest landholders in the area, he had this crazy idea that home ownership was important for growing Black families. According to Kate Stirrup Dean, Stirrup’s eldest daughter:

Father believed in every family having a house, a yard and a garden, so you would feel like you had a home. He felt that people became better citizens when they owned their own homes.

The 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House, the showplace
Ebenezer Stirrup built for himself that once looked out
over his estate, which included most of downtown
Coconut Grove at one point.

To that end E.W.F. Stirrup built with his own hands, and with help from his neighbours, more than 100 houses in the area. This is why Coconut Grove, at one time, had a larger percentage of Black home ownership than any other place in the United States. It was that high percentage of Black home ownership that saved Black Coconut Grove. People simply refused to sell out at the cut-rate prices the city was offering. These were the houses passed from one generation to the next, the way that some families hand down precious family jewels.

Eventually the City of Miami was forced to put in sewers and running water. However, as much as some things change, some things never change. Institutional Racism has kept Black Coconut Grove in a bit of a time warp. While the 33133 Zip Code is now considered one of the most exclusive in the entire country, Black Coconut Grove has languished. This being the United States, Black income has always been less than their White counterparts — an undeniable truth — as have opportunities for Black folk. While other areas of Coconut Grove have thrived, Black Coconut Grove did not. Nothing represents that better than the E.W.F. Stirrup House, allowed to rot away at the end of Charles Avenue. And that’s where the Powers That Be mentioned in the first paragraph comes in.

The Powers That Be

Ever since I started making noise with this series, people I trust have told I am messing with dark forces far more powerful than little old me. People have told me that I am screwing with the power structure in Coconut Grove. People have told me that the City of Miami is one of the most corrupt in the nation. People have told me that Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has always been in the pocket of developers and runs his own district like a minor Fiefdom. People have told me that developers make the decisions and the Commission just rubber stamps them. People have pointed to the story of Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis as a cautionary tale of what can happen to someone who gets in the way of someone’s multi-million dollar deal here in South Florida. [My Canadian family and friends are aware of Gus Boulis, even if they don’t know his name.]

What do I know? I am still making noise, but now I’m watching my back very carefully.

The other night two facebook status updates crossed my screen simultaneously. Take a look at the unedited screen grab I captured:

Unedited screen grab. Nothing comes between the Coconut Grove Chamber of
Commerce and the owners of the Calamari Restaurant, both literally and figuratively.
The Grove Gardens Condominium Residences with Calamari,
La Bottega restaurants and Taurus Bar on the ground floor.

Does Gino Falsetto own and/or control the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce? They appear to move in lockstep, as evidenced by those messages sent out virtually simultaneously. It would make sense because Gino Falsetto appears to own, or control, almost everything else in Coconut Grove, at least that which can be seen from the corner of Charles Avenue and Main Highway. You see, Calamari is owned, in part or full, by Gino Falsetto, whom I have documented elsewhere in this series. He also owns, in whole or in part, La Bottega Restaurant, the Taurus Bar, and the Grove Gardens Condominiums Residences, all of which share the same plot of land. Falsetto, who left Canadian taxpayers on the hook after a string of restaurant bankruptcies in Canada before he high-tailed it to Miami, also controls the Coconut Grove Playhouse by virtue of a loan he made to the Playhouse board when the board was still thought viable. Because of that financial interest he has scuttled several potential deals to return the Coconut Grove Playhouse to the City of Miami. He is also said to be the owner, through a series of shell companies, of the two vacant lots immediately behind the Coconut Grove Playhouse, which are immediately across Charles Avenue from the E.W.F. Stirrup House. Falsetto’s Aries development company also controls the E.W.F. Stirrup House with a 50-year lease. It would appear in one way or another Gino Falsetto has almost all the properties surrounding the E.W.F. Stirrup House all sewed up.

How much power can one man have? I am beginning to think Gino Falsetto has the City of Miami Building Department all sewn up as well. On the 17th of August I reported to the City of Miami Building Department that demolition work was proceeding within the E.W.F. Stirrup House without the benefit of a Building Permit. Several phone calls later I have confirmed the case was closed without any notation of the resolution of the complaint. I have now been told twice that a lack of notation is very unusual and contrary to City of Miami policy. Many phone messages left with various people within the City of Miami Building Department have gone unanswered. The last time I phoned, on August 30th, while I was still on the phone a City of Miami employee sent an email to the Building Department requesting that they finally return my phone calls and let me know how my complaint was resolved. I am still waiting for that return phone call. I still do not know why my complaint was closed. Anyone is welcome to find out the determination of complaint #1200243103. Let me know if you have any success.

Meanwhile, I am also still waiting for a response to my email to the City of Miami’s Press Relations Department sent on August 10. Having had no reply, and not being able to get a single human on the phone, nor having any of my many messages returned, I published it as an Open Email to the City of Miami. That has still brought no results.

The historical marker that started it all.

Gina Falsetto is clearly a powerful force in Coconut Grove and, hence, the City of Miami. Not a single phone call, email, or public plea I have made has resulted in a response of any kind. Meanwhile, Gino Falsetto continues to wreak havoc on the E.W.F. Stirrup House in his attempt to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast without benefit of the proper building permits and without the Commercial Zoning required for such a business. After the (alleged) rapacious developer Gino Falsetto is done with the E.W.F. Stirrup House, all that may be left to honour the large and culturally rich Bahamian community that once existed in Coconut Grove might be an historical marker.

Everybody sing along with Joni Mitchell as you read all the parts of this ongoing series, Unpacking Coconut Grove:

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An Open Email to the City of Miami ► Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 6.1

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This is a copy of the email I sent to the City of Miami Office of Communications. It was addressed to an email address I was given over the phone by a recording when trying to reach that department. I have yet to receive a reply.

To: Press@Miamigov.com
Date: Aug 10
Subject: Trying to obtain information

I appreciate any help you can give me. I am a semi-retired journalist (with limited funds) trying to get to the bottom of a mystery concerning Coconut Grove’s historic E.W.F. Stirrup House at 3242 Charles Avenue.

It appears that when the Grove Gardens Residences Condominium project (3540 Main Highway) was first proposed (in 2005 or 2006 or 2007; sorry to be so vague) promises were made concerning the renovation and rehabilitation of the E.W.F. Stirrup House on Charles Avenue. However, no one seems to remember what exact promises were made and this is what I am trying to find out.

People in the neighbourhood tell me that when the Grove Gardens Condominiums were first proposed the surrounding community had several objections. Those on the east side of Main Highway, in the gated communities like Camp Biscayne, were concerned about the proposed height of the project. Another group was bothered that the 100+-year old Taurus Bar might be torn down. A third group was worried about the historical E.W.F. Stirrup House coming under the wrecker’s ball. Accordingly, the height of the project was scaled back, and the building was stepped back, so the street view didn’t present a massive condo tower. Then the Taurus Bar was saved and (reportedly) moved back 7 inches and placed on a new foundation.

However, nothing was ever done to the Stirrup House, which has now been empty approximately 7 years, and possibly longer.

Those in the neighbourhood I have interviewed tell me that the house had been given an historical designation, but I can find no proof of that. They also told me that it was their understanding the developer promised that the E.W.F. Stirrup House would be renovated and rehabilitated to become a neighbourhood Historical and Community Resource Center, honouring the original Bahamians who came to Coconut Grove in the late 1880s. However, I cannot find any confirmation of this either. Others have told me the same story, except it was the Mariah Brown House further down the block that was to be renovated and turned into a Community Resource Center. This cannot be confirmed either, but both cannot be true.

I note that whatever promises were made, if any, on the Stirrup House and/or Brown House, they have not been fulfilled. Both houses have been empty since I discovered them in early 2009 and, I am told, much longer than that.

Last year, according to newspaper articles, the owner of the E.W.F. Stirrup House petitioned the City of Miami to rezone the E.W.F. Stirrup House as a Commercial Property in order to build a Bed & Breakfast in the house. I have been unable to find out whether this change of zoning was ever granted.

So, you see, I have a lot of rumour and conjecture, but no facts.

Here are my specific questions:

  1. Did the developer of Grove Gardens Condominiums make any specific promises concerning the E.W.F. Stirrup House in order to get its building permits?
  2. If so, what were they?
  3. If not, what community concerns were addressed to get the building permits?
  4. Is there an Historical Designation for the actual E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  5. Is there anything to prevent the destruction of the E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  6. Was a change of zoning, from Residential tp [sic] Commercial, granted for the E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  7. Who is the registered owner of the E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  8. Who is the registered owner of the Mariah Brown House?
  9. Were any promises made concerning the Mariah Brown House?
  10. Recently Charles Avenue was designated an Historical Roadway from Main Highway to S. Douglas Road. What practical effect does this have?

I am trying to save the E.W.F. Stirrup House from what appears to be Demolition By Neglect. To that end I am using my Blog to get the word out. This is what I have posted on Coconut Grove so far:

[Deleted Chapter titles and URLs for Parts 1 through 3 of this ongoing series]

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide to me. Feel free to phone if you require any further information.

This email was sent a week prior to my discovering that (allegedly) illegal work has been taking place inside the E.W.F. Stirrup House without then benefit of a Building Permit. The questions asked in this email become more crucial now that the (alleged) rapacious developer Gino Falsetto continues to renovate the E.W.F. Stirrup House without a Building Permit. Will Gino Falsetto be allowed to get away with his alleged Bed and Breakfast Con? Will anyone at the City of Miami Building Department hold Gino Falsetto accountable? Will Gino Falsetto continue to be allowed to thumb his nose at City of Miami regulations concerning trash allowed to pile up on the property he controls, but doesn’t own? Will anyone at the City of Miami ever respond to my emails or phone calls?

Stay tuned, kids.

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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Six ► Still Building With No Building Permit

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The E.W.F. Stirrup House on Friday, August 24, 2012. Note
the used metal studs leaning against the building. Used
materials to build their chi chi Bed and Breakfast? How nice.

Another visit to Charles Avenue on Friday demonstrated beyond a doubt that (alleged) illegal work is still going on inside the E.W.F. Stirrup House. More troubling is the fact that there is still no Building Permit on display.

Earlier in the week I called the City of Miami to check up on my complaint about work proceeding without a Building Permit. I was told the file had been closed, but there was no other information available. When I expressed my concern, I was transferred to a Building Department supervisor. I left a detailed message requesting I be called back. I am still waiting for that return phone call.

Used metal studs.

I am also still waiting for a return call from Maurice Pons, identified
as the Chief of Inspections (Field) for the City of Miami Building Department. I left a detailed message during the week, expressing my concern about the (alleged) illegal work proceeding inside the historic, 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House and practically begged that someone get in touch with me so that I could be assured that an (alleged) rapacious developer was not (allegedly) getting away with something (allegedly) illegal. Begging didn’t help either.

The funny thing is, depending on your definition of funny: No matter who I am transferred to within the City of Miami phone system, I can NEVER get a human on the phone. They all have voice mail and they all studiously seem to avoid returning their calls. I have made dozens of calls only to get voice mail with no way to reach a human being. Of those dozens of calls, I have left at least 10 to 12 messages with various departments and City of Miami employees. I have yet to hear back from any of them.

The dumpster is fuller than it was earlier in the week and
the piles of trash are larger than they were earlier in the
week. All of this is just waiting to be picked up by this
weekend’s approaching Hurricane Isaac.

While on the same topic: I am still waiting for a reply from the City of Miami Office of Communications to my email of August 10, 2012. [See Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 6.1 ► An Open Email To The City of Miami] It was sent to “Press at Miamigov dot com,” an email address given to me over the phone by a recorded message when trying to get that department on the phone. One would think that, by now, I would have had a reply, even if it was to say, “Sorry, we can’t help you.” At the very least you’d think I would have received a acknowledgment that the email had been received. Oh, and again, there is no way to get that department on the phone or to return my calls either. It’s like falling into a black hole.

As a journalist of long-standing, I have had to call Mayors, Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament and city departments many times. I have never had this kind of trouble reaching someone by phone in my entire life. And, when I have left a message, I have always received a prompt call back. What the hell is going on at Miami City Hall?

RECAP: My complaint was closed with no other notations on
the file. Two City of Miami Building Department inspectors have failed
to return my phone calls, as have many other City of Miami employees.
Furthermore, the Media and Communications Department doesn’t respond to
Media and Press Inquiries. What the hell is going on at Miami City Hall?

This is just more proof that the owners
Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums
uses this property for unintended uses.
While at the E.W.F Stirrup House I
saw workmen carrying out piles of trash
and dumping them next to these doors.

I have been told many times, by many people far more knowledgeable about Miami politics than I, that the City of Miami Building Department is in the pocket of rich developers. It’s hard NOT to come to the same conclusion when I cannot even get simple answers to my simple questions from ANYONE in the Building Department or the Press Relations Department. What the hell is going on at Miami City Hall?

Meanwhile, there is continued evidence that (allegedly) illegal work is still proceeding within the E.W.F. Stirrup House without benefit of a Building Permit. Will anyone at Miami City Hall address this issue? Will anyone at Miami City Hall return my phone calls? Will anyone at Miami City Hall take any notice that a developer is (allegedly) doing whatever the hell he wants, despite the fact that he doesn’t even own the property, but merely has a 50-year lease on it? Stay tuned . . . .

Meanwhile, here are some more pictures taken yesterday which proves that (alleged) illegal work is still is ongoing inside the historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House without benefit of a building permit and that workers within the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums (immediately behind the Stirrup House) are using the property to dump their trash.

These trash piles have grown since Monday. They will make good projectiles for this week’s approaching hurricane.
Everything in this dumpster will become a projectile if and when Hurricane Isaac hits.

Fresh sawdust outside the side door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House indicating work inside is ongoing.

This fresh sawdust has not even gotten wet, despite the fact that it rains almost every day down here.
The fresh sawdust trails under and inside the side door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.

This pile of construction materials has also grown since Monday. Plywood makes a great sail in a hurricane.

These piles of trash, hidden behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House, away
from the prying eyes of City of Miami inspectors, have not grown.

This pile of trash behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House has not grown either.

This pile of trash has grown since Monday.

I don’t want to be anywhere near this plywood when Hurricane Isaac arrives.
This Reggae flyer is still in front of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. Hurricane Isaac will take care of it.

This Red Stripe carton in front of the E.W.F. Stirrup House is a new arrival. It matches my shoes.
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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 4.1 ► A Photo Essay

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The room on the second floor in
which the (alleged) illegal
demolition was taking place.
Another angle, showing the 2nd
floor front room and the former
upper porch, now an interior room.

A quick visit to Charles Avenue confirmed the (allegedly) illegal demolition inside the historic, 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House has stopped. Whether that was due to my reporting them to the City of Miami Building Department, because of my weekend blog post called Open Houses and Broken Laws, or whether they just ran out of work to do, is something I don’t know.

However, I have a small clue that my post has been read by the alleged rapacious developer. There is now a lock and chain through the double-doors in the wall that separates the E.W.F. Stirrup property from the Grove Gardens Residences Condominiums mentioned in my previous post. I have never seen a chain and lock on that door before. Maybe they think that’s how I get onto the property when I visit and thought this would block my way.

That looks formidable, doesn’t it?

This is the formidable lock on the front gate. The gap is large enough to squeeze through, but I’ve never done that.

Yet locks do not prevent me from taking pictures through a chain link fence.

The workers conducting the (alleged) illegal demolition of the
E.W.F. Stirrup House filled this dumpster before work stopped.

If I were in Great Britain I’d call this a skip, which is taken to the tip. In any language, it’s full.

Locks do not prevent me from taking pictures over the wall from the Regions Bank parking lot either.
This angle showed me a new pile of trash that wasn’t there on Friday.
This is the parking lot of the Regions Bank. The wall is chest
high and you can just see the E.W.F. Stirrup House in the background.
It’s not clear what that pile of trash is, but I’d lay money it’s non-conforming.
Note the height of the grass. I’ve seen the property cited previously for a lack of upkeep on the landscaping.

Notice from the City of Miami for code violations taken by author on August 26, 2009
Close up of notice from August 26, 2009. The property is in worse condition now than it was in 2009.
Also from August 2009. The property across from the E.W.F. Stirrup House with a similar citation.
This is the property currently being used to shunt cars in and out of the Coconut Grove Playhouse parking lot.
A new picture from yesterday of the same fence, with far more growth than for
which the property was cited in 2009 (above). Note how it’s impeding the sidewalk.
Back to the Stirrup property and yesterday. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find
this pile of trash is also non-conforming. This is next to the padlocked doors seen above.
The mailbox at the E.W.F. Stirrup House at 3242 Charles Avenue
indicates the neglect as well as anything else.

Another view of the mailbox at the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
I have photographed this hole in the front of the E.W.F. Stirrup House before.
This is the first time I ever saw a creature come out of it.
It’s always a good day when I see a flyer for Reggae music.
This was on the sidewalk directly in from of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Four ► Open Houses and Broken Laws

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The meeting place

Is there illegal work going on inside the E.W.F. Stirrup House? I certainly think so. Get comfortable and read on. This is a long one, friends.

It was Friday noon (08-17-2012) and I was to meet someone in front of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. This gent was going to get the full Charles Avenue History Tour, which I have now given to several people, several times. In fact, I’ll give the Charles Avenue History Tour to anyone who shows an interest in helping me get the word out about the E.W.F. Stirrup House. It’s almost like the Coconut Grove Ghost Walk, except the ghosts I’m talking about once lived on Charles Avenue. If you want to book a Charles Avenue History Tour, contact me.

This particular Charles Avenue History Tour turned out to be the longest one yet, almost 2 full hours. Either this gentleman was very interested, or he feigned interest very well; I only saw him glance at his watch once. Or, it could be I’m a much better story teller than I give myself credit for, despite all the swearing.

Since I arrived before he did I had a bit of time to kill and used that time to take a few pictures. The first picture I took was of a brand new structure that’s popped up
on Charles Avenue since the last time I was there, mere weeks ago.

Blessed relief with the E.W.F Stirrup House in background

This Port-A-Potty is just off the Charles Avenue driveway entrance to the Regions Bank, and is situated just east of the locked gate at the E.W.F. Stirrup property. Half off/half on the sidewalk and half off/half in the bank’s driveway seemed a very unusual place for a Port-A-Potty, but I was undaunted. I used it anyway. After the 65 minute drive from Sunrise, it was actually a welcome sight, if my bladder could see. Usually my first stop in The Grove is the washroom for the Taurus Bar. I don’t know how many times I can get away with “I’m a tourist and I need to use your washroom,” but this week I didn’t need to. It appeared as if my every need was being anticipated, and you have no idea how right that thought turned out to be in the end. It was a day of wonderful Synchronicity and being able to take a whiz without lying to the bartender at the Taurus was the least of it.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Still life: Damaged fence with dumpster

I noted some new, recent damage to the fence surrounding the Stirrup House, which is no big deal; chain linked fencing is easily fixed. However, the dumpster in the background MIGHT be a big deal. Then it occurred to me that the dumpster might be connected in some way to the Port-A-Potty. I made a mental note to keep an eye on the dumpster as best I can. I have seen many dumpsters come and go from inside the Stirrup property. However, I’m never around to know what they are being used for because I only get down to Coconut Grove once a week.

Then I hustled over to the front of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, just a few hundred feet away, to meet my Charles Avenue History Tour guest.

Skip ahead about an hour. My guest and I were standing directly in front of the Stirrup House while I conducted my Charles Avenue History Tour as fast as I could, because I never know when someone will tire of it. It’s a long, complicated history that spans 120 years and several different Charles Avenue properties. All of that background becomes necessary before I can even get to what I consider the important part of the story: Who Controls What On Charles Avenue, which, is not coincidentally, Part Three of this continuing series. I was at the part in the Charles Avenue History Tour, where I start connecting all the dots. Suddenly a white pickup truck arrived and the two gents in the truck unlock the gate surrounding the Stirrup property and drive inside.

The Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums

My attention was now divided. I wanted to finish the Charles Avenue History Tour, but I could not help be curious about the pickup truck, the bed of which was filled to the gills with carpet and padding. Are they going to start carpeting the rotting E.W.F. Stirrup House, currently undergoing Demolition by Neglect. That would be like putting lipstick on a GOP vice presidential candidate.

However, it turned out the carpet was merely remnants ripped up from somewhere else and was being tossed into the dumpster. It is my assumption (without any proof whatsoever) that the carpet was ripped up during some renovation from inside the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums immediately south of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. It’s not such a leap of imagination. The Grove Garden Residence Condominiums, or rather the powers that control it, seem to use the Stirrup property for its own benefit for all kinds of things.

To the left is a set of doors built into the wall that separates the E.W.F. Stirrup property from the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums. If one peeks through the partially open doorway, pictured at right, one discovers the “La Cava Wine Club,” just one of four Chi Chi restaurants that occupy the ground floor of the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums. La Cava Wine Club is a near redundancy, since “la cava” means “the wine cellar.” The other businesses are two high end restaurants, and the 100+ year old structure that houses the Taurus Bar, that began its life as a tea room. It was saved from the wrecker’s ball when the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums was built around it.

That’s not all the Stirrup property is being used for to benefit the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums. In the southeast corner of the lot are two air conditioning units (left) that feed cold air to somewhere within the condo complex, maybe to the wine bar, which is the closest business. There are also many piles of garbage (just one is pictured at right) and trash hidden behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House, away from the prying eyes of city inspectors, who would levy fines if they knew how much trash was being piled up on the property. This is clearly illegal. Even though I have seen dumpsters come and go, these piles of garbage just get larger and larger. It’s clear the dumpsters are not being used for these piles of garbage. So what, exactly are their purpose? Turns out I wouldn’t have all that long to find out.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself again.

While my attention was divided — giving my Charles Avenue History Tour and trying to see what these gents are doing inside the Stirrup property — I missed the most important thing of all. These men unlocked the side door of the Stirrup House and stepped inside. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to get my camera out of my quick-release holster to take a picture of them entering the side door; I only managed to take a picture of the open door after they passed through it. I have never seen anyone in the Stirrup House before!!!

The open side door to the historic E.W.F. Stirrup House, currently undergoing Demolition by Neglect, and now hammers

Then we heard pounding from inside the house. The two gents are visible through the front window of the upper floor of the Stirrup House and they are ripping the room apart. I yell up, “What’s going on?”  They yell down to me that the E.W.F. Stirrup House is being turned into a Bed & Breakfast.

WAIT!!! WHAT???

No! That can’t be! It was only last week that I was on the City of Miami web site and confirmed for myself that the property is still zoned Residential. I was checking the status because last year, according to CBS Miami, Aries Development Group (oddly not named in the CBS article, but named by the Coconut Grove Grapevine) was petitioning the city for a change of zoning on the E.W.F. Stirrup property from the current Residential to Commercial. According to the CBS report a decision was to be made by May 26th of last year, which apparently had been deferred to the April 6th meeting. Now, fifteen months later — as I mentioned above — the Miami web site still lists it Residential and I can find no OFFICIAL mention anywhere that the zoning has been changed to accommodate the developer.

Now it’s time to get even deeper into the weeds. According to a 2010 article in the South Florida Business Journal a man by the name of Gino Falsetto is head of Aries Development. According to the Coconut Grove Grapevine “Aries Development Group [are] the people [sic] that own Calamari and the Taurus restaurants.” That seems somewhat misleading. It’s my understanding that Aries Development Group also built the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums, which has never been fully occupied.

Who is Gino Falsetto? To begin with Gino Falsetto is, or was, Canadian. So am I, so I don’t hold that against him. What’s IS worth holding against him, however, is the string of bankruptcies Falsetto and his brothers left behind in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and just across the river in Quebec, which left Canadian taxpayers on the hook for a good chunk of change. According to the Ottawa Citizen:

An Ottawa success story in the restaurant business ended in failure Tuesday when two restaurants owned by the Falsetto brothers declared bankruptcy owing creditors and the tax department more than $1 million.

Sheriff’s deputies acting on the orders of Revenue Canada Tuesday raided the House of Caesar on Somerset Street, Stephano’s Restaurant and Bar on Bank Street and the Amoretto Restaurant on Lisgar Street seizing items including liquor, beer and cash to offset back taxes.

On Wednesday, Stephano’s (521327 Ont. Inc.) and Amoretto (521326 Ont. Inc.) filed for bankruptcy. House of Caesar is not bankrupt, but has closed.

Stephano’s and Amoretto are still operating under the trusteeship of Thorne Ernst & Whinney until a buyer, or buyers, can be found for the restaurants, said bankruptcy trustee Brian Doyle. [Fri Jan 30 1987, subscription required]

According to a February 3rd article in the same newspaper, the Revenue Canada seizure angered Gino Falsetto:

“They left us to operate three restaurants with no inventory and no cash,” says an irate Gino Falsetto, the president of Falsetto Holding.

The failures mark the end of a restaurant business that in its heyday had annual gross revenues of about $4.5 million, 120 employees and a $1-million payroll.

It started eight years ago when the four Falsetto brothers – Gino, Antonio, Enrico and Stephen – and a handful of shareholders opened the House of Caesar.

Expansion was rapid with Amoretto opening next, then Stephano in 1982 and finally Sapper’s Bridge in 1984.

Revenue Canada’s action was the result of a series of financial problems that started with the opening of Sapper’s Bridge – a classy restaurant in the Atrium in the Byward Market.

In less than two years, the Sapper’s Bridge operation lost $1.2 million, half of that in the six months before it went bankrupt last March.

“Our problems, no question about it, started with our Sapper’s Bridge operation,” Gino said in a recent interview.

A PDF file found on the internet, titled “The Gino Falsetto Bed and Breakfast Con, not only goes into some of Falsetto’s Canadian business failures, but more importantly, traces the various corporations that claim an interest in the E.W.F. Stirrup House. Assuming the information is correct, it’s like those Russian dolls, with one nested inside the next, nested inside the next, nested inside the next. And, whaddaya know, it all goes back to Gino Falsetto and Aries Development.

The author of the PDF, who has his own issues and lawsuits with Gino Falsetto and his
business partner Pierre Heafy (who is also from Canada), maintains a web site called Heafy-Falsetto Leaks. The author comes off as a combination of Crank and Gadfly, leaning towards Crank. Yet, he has obsessively followed the business activities of Gino Falsetto and asks 3 legitimate questions about the nesting-Russian-doll aspect of the property’s ownership, which I don’t feel qualified to answer:

Why, Mr. Falsetto, the shenanigans of hiding the true identity of corporate ownership of 3242 Charles LLC? It couldn’t possibly be simply a maneuver to accrue benefits under the IRS Tax Code? What if it is a means of building a solid wall should creditors knock on Gino Falsetto’s door?

But, I digress.

Back to the story. To remind you: I’m yelling up to the guys tearing apart the front room of the 2nd floor of the historic E.W.F. Stirrup House and they’re yelling down at me. One of the guys agrees with me that it’s a beautiful house, needing restoration. The other one is saying that it should be set on fire because it’s full of wood rot, mold, and termite damage. This is troubling because my guest on the Charles Avenue History Tour had just said almost the exact same thing to me. However, he was talking about how unscrupulous property owners have been known to do away with inconvenient structures standing in the way of development and then blame drug addicts or electrical problems for the ensuing conflagration.

I shudder at the thought that someone would do such a thing to the beautiful, historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House. As I am shuddering I have a flash of inspiration, so I yell up, “Can I take a look?”

And they said YES!!!  

AMAZING!!!

It has been my dream to see the inside of this house ever since I first discovered it in early 2009. Even though they gave me permission, I knew I was being subversive when I entered the Stirrup House. I took as many pictures as I could while I was in the house before I skedaddled. Not all of them came out good, but I am including those as well.

This is what the inside of the historic E.W.F. Stirrup House looked like as of yesterday.

The mud room just inside the side door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
Many of the rooms are used to store construction materials and other junk.

Another ground floor room. The house had many small rooms and no large ones.

This seemed to be the largest room in the entire house. The front of the house is through that door of the bright room.

Another room in a warren’s maze of rooms. More storage.

Another room. More storage.

Upstairs. A cute little built in shelving system.
I can imagine E.W.F. Stirrup’s books, family photographs, and knickknacks  here.

A lovely little window seat on the second floor with a western exposure. Afternoon sunlight would fill this window.

Another room on the second floor looking towards the front of the house to the room where the men are working.

Another view of the room on the 2nd floor where the men are working, looking west.

This is where the work was going on, the front room on the 2nd floor. The guys are ripping the paneling off the wall.
While I was unable to get pictures of it, the boards being pulled down have termite tracks all on the back.

Men at work. Behind the wooden paneling are wooden walls, not lathing. Houses of this era were built entirely with
Miami Dade Pine. It is impossible to get Miami Dade pine these days. It’s all been chopped down.

This is the room above the front porch, which provides the shade below. It appears
as if the white wall at left was once an outside wall because it’s made of siding.
That screen door is very pretty and highly sought after by restorationists.

The same room as above, but the reverse angle. It’s very small.

Paneling about to be chucked to the ground from the 2nd story window. You can see the
elements that lead me to believe this was once an exterior 2nd floor porch: the screen door,
the solid door behind the workman, the exterior siding, and the pitched roof above.

The top of the stairs with more built in shelving.

Rooms after rooms after rooms. The back of the house on the 2nd floor.

Aside from the room where the guys were working, this was the least cluttered one.

A relatively modern bathroom.

Another view of a relatively modern bathroom.

Coming down the stairs. That’s the front door.

I’m not entirely sure what those things are, but they might be shelves. The rest? Who knows?

Junk and exposed PVC drain pipes. Sorry it’s out of focus.

Another room on the 1st floor, just inside the mud room.

Another view of the same room At this point I decided I better get out while the getting was still good.

Now I wish I had taken more pictures. All told I guess I spent about 15 or 20 minutes inside the house and I was nervous the entire time. Even though the workers gave me permission, if anyone higher up the chain of command showed up it could have gotten dicey, especially if they learned I was the one writing all about the E.W.F. Stirrup House.

Fortunately my guest was still waiting for me when I left. He had declined stepping on to the property himself because, as a newly minted immigrant who had only recently received his Green Card, he didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize his stay in ‘Merka. However, he was pretty much out of time. So I summed up a few bullet points for him, we shook hands, and parted.

It was only after we parted, and I was already on my drive home, did it occur to me that I had witnessed a potentially illegal act. Whether the property is zoned Residential or Commercial is something that I don’t know for certain. Unconfirmed reports say the zoning has been changed. The City of Miami web site informed me last week that it was Residential. I tried to locate the same information today to see if it had changed and couldn’t even find the place where I had been last week to see if it had changed in the meantime. It’s a very confusing web site.

However, that’s not what is allegedly illegal. The law is pretty clear about construction and renovations and it’s no different in Miami than anywhere else in the country. There must be a Building Permit issued by the Building Department. Furthermore, the Building Permit must be conspicuously displayed. I saw no Building Permit outside the house or inside the house.

That’s why the minute I got home I called the City of Miami and reported it to the Building Inspection Department as a potentially illegal work site. I stressed with the woman who took the information that this needed to be expedited above a normal building inspection because this is a 120-year old structure and there is a fear that the owner/developer is trying to get away with making so many changes it will be too late for the E.W.F. Stirrup House to be the Community Resource Center that neighbourhood rumours say was intended when the Grove Gardens Residences Condominiums was granted ITS building permits.

I have a confirmation number for my complaint and everything. So yeah, MoFos. If you are wondering who reported you, it was me.

Previous Chapters in Unpacking Coconut Grove

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