Tag Archives: Trolleygate

No Skin In The Game; Part One

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The flyer handed out by the protestors.

Thursday night was another night for divided loyalties and for putting things into stark relief. Let me explain.

In Coral Gables protestors from West Grove were expected to gather at 6PM to protest Trolleygate at the Coral Gables Mayoral Debate at 7PM. Also at 7PM, 3-and-a-half miles away, the Coconut Grove Village Council were expected to gather for its oft-delayed regular monthly meeting.* Trolleygate is a promised agenda item at the CGVC. What to do, what to do? The only viable solution: Go to both, like I did last month with the Coconut Grove Playhouse redevelopment meeting and the Charles Avenue Historic Preservation Committee meeting on the same night, and hope for the best. It turned out that I made all the wrong choices on Thursday night, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

The Biltmore Hotel

I arrived at 6 at the Coral Gables Congregational Church,
the location of the Mayoral Debate, only to see the first protestors just arriving. This is a beautiful little church which covers an entire block
in the middle of an expensive residential neighbourhood. It’s one small
block away from The Biltmore Hotel, one of the most exclusive resorts in the country.

Being dirt poor, I am always struck by the money on display in Coral Gables. It’s conspicuous consumption on a grand scale. The Biltmore is the physical representation of that. According to the WikiWackyWoo: 

In its heyday, The Biltmore played host to royalty, both Europe’s and Hollywood’s. The hotel counted the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Ginger Rogers, Judy Garland, Bing Crosby, Al Capone and assorted Roosevelts and Vanderbilts as frequent guests. Franklin D. Roosevelt had a temporary White House office set up at the Hotel for when he vacationed on his fishing trips from Miami. There were many gala balls, aquatic shows by the grand pool and weddings were de rigueur as were world class golf tournaments. A product of the Jazz Age, big bands entertained wealthy, well-traveled visitors to this American Riviera resort.

The Biltmore made it through the nation’s economic lulls in the late 1920s and early 1930s by hosting aquatic galas that kept the hotel in the spotlight and drew the crowds. As many as three thousand would come out on a Sunday afternoon to watch the synchronized swimmers, bathing beauties, alligator wrestling and the young Jackie Ott, the boy wonder who would dive from an eighty-five foot platform. Johnny Weissmuller, prior to his tree-swinging days in Hollywood, broke the world record at the Biltmore pool and was a swimming instructor. Families would attend the shows and many would dress up and go tea dancing afterwards on the hotel’s grand terrace to the sounds of swinging orchestras.

Now I have nothing against Rich folk, per se. Good for them. They got money and aren’t afraid to show it off. Double-plus good for them. As Max Bialystock, in the Producers, famously shouts, “That’s it, baby, when you’ve got it, flaunt it, flaunt it!” However, I had just come from the E.W.F. Stirrup House, currently undergoing Demolition By Neglect so some RICH developer can have his way with the land and turn a lovely and unique spot in ‘Merka into another ugly condo complex. But that’s another story for another day. Or is it? [See Part Two of No Skin In The Game.]

It’s always amazing to me that one only needs to cross an imaginary line on the map separating Coral Gables from Coconut Grove and witness a SPIKE in property values. It’s not something one needs to look up on Zillow. The evidence is right there before your very eyes. From slums to opulence in a few short blocks. Feel free to try it yourself one day. Then ask yourself why.

Panorama of the western facade of only the front
section of the Coral Gables Congregational Church.

Despite it taking up a block, the Coral Gables Congregational Church is still a small church that appears to have been added onto a number of times. From the outside, it appears to be a number of small interconnected buildings, with meeting spaces, chapels, a main church, a FREE TRADE gift shop, and band rehearsal spaces. A lot goes on in those buildings and a lot was going on Thursday night. I walked around the block 3 complete times, waiting for the protest and/or debate to get off the ground and took dozens of pictures of this lovely building. I saw sad people arriving for an Al-Anon meeting and happy people arriving for a wedding rehearsal. In the back of the building I listened to a band rehearse the same 16 bars of a Duke Ellington tune over and over again.

Rafael “Ralph” Cabrera,
posing stiffly for me.

However, the Coral Gables Mayoral Debate was no rehearsal. In this corner: sitting Mayor James Carson. And, in the red trunks, term-limited Commissioner Ralph Cabrera, who now wants the top job for himself. Obviously I have No Skin In The Game, but if I were to vote illegally in Coral Gables, I’d cast my ballot for Cabrera. He is the only politician in Coral Gables who has shown any open concern for the people of West Grove over the issue of Trolleygate. Last year — long before Trolleygate had become a lawsuit pitting West Coconut Grove [David] against the City of Miami and Astor
Development [Goliaths] — Ralph Cabrera was already ringing the [fake] trolley bell loudly
against this injustice by getting it put on the Coral Gables Commission agenda.

When Cabrara saw the Trolleygate protestors, he approached them and introduced himself. He expressed a general apology and said he was very concerned about this project. He thinks the West Grove neighbourhood is getting a raw deal. Cabrera was open in his condemnation, both with the protestors and with me, as I managed to buttonhole him briefly before he headed into the debate. Carbrera knows that none of those people are from Coral Gables and knows that he gains no votes for taking their side. Yet, he did so anyway.

Another gentleman I buttonholed was Edward Harris, a representative from Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez’s office.

Commissioner Bob Welsh of South Miami –not to be
confused with Miami, or Miami-Dade — protesting
against the polluting diesel bus garage.

SLIGHT TANGENT & MEA CULPA: There is a confusing array of governmental levels here, which I keep stubbing my toes upon when I confuse them. Miami-Dade County has its own Commission which presides over 1,946 square miles, the third largest county in Florida in area. However, it’s the largest Florida county in population and, according to the WikiWackyWoo, the 7th most populous county in the entire country. It includes “35 incorporated cities and many unincorporated areas.” Cities like Miami and Coral Gables are within Miami-Dade County, but both have their own city commissions. Coconut Grove, on the other hand, is not its own city, at least not since 1925 when it was annexed by the City of Miami

That’s why my questions to Edward Harris were so idiotic and for which I publicly apologize. When Mr. Harris said he was a rep from Commissioner Suarez’s office, I mistook that for Miami Commissioner Francis Suarez, who represents District 4. Although Harris said “District 7,” my brain didn’t make connection to Miami-Dade Commissioner Xavier Suarez of District 7. Consequently, all my questions were Miami-centric and not Miami-Dade-centric. D’oh! However, it also explains why Harris was speaking in broad generalities like “we’re watching it” and “our role is to learn” from the “voices of the people.” He was very polite to me, despite how stupid I was.

Pierre Sands, West Grove Homeowners and Tenants
Association, arriving with more protest signs.

However, when I asked him if he thought the Coral Gables diesel bus garage will ever open, his answer was pretty succinct. “Not as a bus garage.” He went on to say that while the facility is being built, what needs to be considered is environmental safety and the close proximity to the residents. “We can find some use for the facility.” Thinking I had my scoop for the day, I moved on. However, I realized on reflection (after figuring out the mistaken identity), Miami-Dade has little to say about this bus garage. While the county may sympathize with the neighbourhood’s predicament, the project was green-lighted by Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff, who worked with an out of town developer behind the scenes to bamboozle West Grove. He did this and then justified not allowing the normal neighbourhood notification to his constituents or the Coconut Grove Village Council.

Aside from visually skyrocketing land values, these
corner street signs are a visual symbol one has
entered Coral Gables.

One thing that I think is very telling is that a citizen’s group from Coconut Grove thought its protest would have more traction in Coral Gables than with their own Commissioner in their own district in their own city. After all, it was their Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff that sold them out, not unlike a Modern Day Colonialist. Follow the bouncing ball to see how only the carpetbagging White folk win, while the native Blacks are screwed:

  • Coral Gables benefits because it gets to off-load a polluting diesel bus garage onto the neighbouring city of Miami [maybe**];
  • Coral Gables also benefits from all the new tax revenue that a multimillion dollar mixed use development brings from a chunk of land that it currently uses for a polluting diesel bus garage; 
  • Astor Development, tasked by Coral Gables to find another location for its polluting diesel bus garage, couldn’t afford land in Coral Gables, by it’s own admission;
  • Astor Development thought nothing of finding cheaper land in in the neighbouring city of Miami;
  • The land is cheap because of it being blighted due to 90 years of Systemic Racism. But that’s another story for another day;*
  • Speaking of not speaking about racism: Coral Gables has a statistic on its web site proudly proclaiming the city as 98% White (Hispanic qualifies as White);
  • Speaking of not speaking about racism: It would take a greater Social Demographic Scientist than I to figure out the racial make-up of West Grove. However, if I had to hazard a guess I’d say it was 98% Black;
  • Speaking of not speaking about racism: Statistics like that are not accidental;
  • Speaking of not speaking about racism: Oh, by the way, Coconut Grove. No! You can’t have a Coral Gables [fake] Trolly Bus stop outside the diesel bus garage because that’s the free bus that takes people around to all the exclusive shops in Coral Gables. If you want to get there, you’ll have to do it on your own steam;
  • Miami will receive no tax revenue from said polluting diesel bus garage;
  • Astor Development wins no matter how this goes. It now believes the 4 parcels of land acquired to build the diesel bus garage is now worth $3.5 million;
  • Marc D. Sarnoff worked behind the scenes with the developer to play one community group off against to find the best way to get this project through with the least amount of fuss;
  • Therefore . . .

Okay . . . okay . . . I’ll ask the question that everyone else is too afraid to ask: What is Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff getting out of this deal? Why else would he sell his own constituents down the river to work in backrooms with a developer to get a polluting diesel bus garage slipped into the neighbourhood almost in the dead of night?

Just as Pierre Sands arrived with a stack of protest signs, it was time for me to zip over to the Coconut Grove Sailing Club for the Coconut Grove Village Council meeting. I should have stayed at the Mayoral Debate/Protest because the rest of the night was tedious. My GPS logged the fastest route to the Coconut Grove Sailing Club, which took me through another opulent neighbourhood before dumping me out onto 37th, where the real estate takes a markedly visual downturn. I’m back in Coconut Grove. I drove past the polluting diesel bus garage and across Grand Avenue. When one is driving east along Grand Avenue you can also see where White Coconut Grove starts.

The stark relief I spoke of in the first paragraph. In Part Two of No Skin In The Game we’ll explore why;
In Part Three of No Skin Left In The Game: The exception that proves the racist rule

* No Skin In The Game; Part Two – An Alternative History of Coral Gables or The Town That Racism Built
** This is still being adjudicated by a court of law and the law is whatever a judge says it is on the day this is decided

An Update On Sarnoff’s Trolleygate aka Astor’s Trolley Folly

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The view of the diesel bus garage from the closest house, a
mere 100 feet from where the polluting buses will be idling.

These days whenever I visit Coconut Grove I check on the progress of the Coral Gables diesel bus garage. I am always surprised that the building of what will be a polluting bus garage continues unabated. The lawsuit launched by residents of the West Grove demanded for it to be stopped in its tracks — even though these are not really trolley cars and they don’t use tracks. 

Curious that the work continues, I reached out to Ralf Brookes, one of the lawyers who has taken on the case pro bono, for an update. Here’s where the case stands:

The City of Miami filed a motion in the 11th Circuit Court to dismiss the case, arguing that Astor Development, which had not been originally named in the lawsuit, was an indispensable party to the suit.

In the meanwhile, Astor Trolly LLC filed a motion to intervene in the case. Astor Trolley LLC is a new-ish “limited liability company” owned by Astor Development Holdings LLC [which itself seems to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Astor Development Group, LLC], incorporated to isolate Astor Development from any financial fallout of Trolleygate. While it seemed inevitable that Astor would eventually be drawn into this case, I don’t know why it willingly asked to have its head put on the chopping block. No matter. The judge granted that motion on February 26th and has given Astor Trolley LLC until March 18th to file a response to the lawsuit.

And that where it all sits as of today.

However, just about everyone seems to agrees the diesel bus garage will never be used for the purpose for which it was designed and intended. It does not conform to the Miami21 plan, which specifically forbids a “government vehicle maintenance facility” along the South Douglas Road corridor. One wonders why Astor Development wouldn’t just cut its losses and stop building and fighting.

Well (I speculate), it’s probably because Astor Development has too much invested in the project already. It acquired the land, purchased the building materials, has been paying the work crews, and (presumably) already bought all the equipment that will have to installed in the diesel bus government maintenance facility. The losses would be too great to just cut and run. It might be better to be ordered by a court of law to do the right thing, as opposed to doing the right thing in the first place. Then it can turn around and try to sell the structure for a profit.

Since the West Grove lawyers are working pro bono, this is not costing the community a penny. However, it is costing the City of Miami (read: every Miami taxpayer) money to defend Astor’s Trolley Folly. Those costs can be placed squarely at the feet of Commissioner Marc “Doggy” Sarnoff, who rammed through this diesel bus garage project without the normal neighbourhood consultation.

The Marc Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park with the Marc Sarnoff Memorial
Traffic Circle in the lower right. Click here for an interactive map.

Commissioner Marc Sarnoff is used to ramming through projects — which cost the Miami taxpayers big bucks — without the normal neighbourhood consultation. Exhibit A: The Marc Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park [right], across the street from his house. No one seems to know who approved this, but to date this boondoggle has already cost Miami taxpayers $546,065.00. The latest renovation to the Marc Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park came within the last month. Work crews installed astroturf for the dogs because these are privileged dogs, donchaknow, and shitting on grass in their own backyards just won’t do.

Clearly these dogs are more privileged than the children in the community. The bigger crime is how a pocket park created for the enjoyment of children, has gone to the dogs. Prior to Doggygate the length of the children’s playground was approximately 300 feet. Once Marc Sarnoff was done with it the children’s portion of the park was reduced to approximately 100 feet, while the dogs get 200 feet.

See an interactive map of the Marc Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park

Go by the park yourself and you’ll see what I have noted every time I go there: The children’s area is packed tight, with barely any room for kids to run and play: The playground equipment is overcrowded and there are not enough benches for the parents to sit. [While I’ve tried to take pictures that illustrate this, every time I show up with a camera I get the evil eye from parents.] Meanwhile, the Marc Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park always appears underutilized, with a whole lot of room for the dogs to run free.

Luckily for the taxpayers of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff is term-limited. Unless he runs for mayor he only has to the end of his term to waste taxpayer’s money.

For more on Trolleygate, aka Astor’s Trolley Folly, click here.

A Return To Frow Avenue

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When I was in the Coconut Grove on Saturday, I was so intent on taking pictures of the people celebrating the One Grove mural, that I didn’t notice something that had been right in front of my eyes. In fact, I didn’t notice it until I reviewed the dozens of pictures I took that day.

Part of the reason I missed it was because the cooker/grill had been set
up right in front of it. But, I was also mostly looking through a camera viewfinder. That’s why I returned to Frow Avenue yesterday to take close-ups. Take a look at the
sidewalk adjacent to the mural:


This broken sidewalk is not something new. Clearly it has been disintegrating for a very long time to arrive at its current condition.

Construction continues on the
diesel bus garage, March 4, 2013

To my mind this perfectly illustrates the reality that two Groves exist: Black Grove and White Grove. A sidewalk like this would never be allowed to exist in White Grove. However, because it’s on Frow Avenue in West Grove, this sidewalk can easily be ignored by the City of Miami.

It’s simply more of the same kind of quiet racism that the City of Miami demonstrated in allowing Coral Gables to locate its polluting diesel bus garage in the middle of a residential neighbourhood in West Grove, which (maybe not coincidentally) is being built right across the street from this broken sidewalk.

This is a well-traveled route. Hundreds of pedestrians pass by that sidewalk every day: school children, the people who use the store on which the mural is painted, mothers
with strollers, old people on canes, children riding bicycles . . . you
get the picture. If not, here are a few more:

Maybe “One Grove” is merely a slogan whose time has passed.

Trolleygate Brings A Community Together

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Diesel bus garage, February 27, 2013

While crews continue to build the nonconforming Coral Gables diesel bus garage, a lawsuit by West Grove residents is working its way through the court system. If the residents of the community have their way, (and why shouldn’t they?) the bus garage will never open. If Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff has his way, his constituents will get screwed . . . again.

Flier announcing tomorrow’s unveiling.

The residents of West Grove have sued to stop Coral Gables, the neighbouring town, from building its polluting bus garage in the residential neighbourhood of west Coconut Grove. Oddly enough, the border between Coral Gables and Coconut Grove is just one block west of this construction site.

However, before the residents even knew about the diesel bus garage they were already looking at the corner of Frow and Douglas for an urban renewal project. Teaming up with MLK Community Mural Project, the community decided to paint a mural on the wall of a convenience store. With the announcement of the diesel bus garage, the mural has now become a rallying point.

The design of the mural came together organically from the ground up. A survey was sent around asking neighbours three questions:

1). What symbols of the community would you like to see in a mural?

2). What elements of the community are you most proud of? 

3). What are the future dreams you wish for the community?

The wall before it had been transformed.

Kyle Holbrook, of MLK Mural, took all the suggestions and created 3 different designs for the mural, incorporating them all. The designs were then voted on, with the winning one translated to the wall in colourful paint. What had been a nondescript wall has been turned into a vibrant mural and symbol of community pride. The painting pays tribute to the original Bahamians who settled the area, as it also
honours the history and people that made the Grove what it is today.

Tomorrow afternoon at 1 the community will come together to dedicate this wonderful work of art.

One of the things I have heard several times recently, from more than one person, is how people used to just call it The Grove, or Coconut Grove. These days, however, people refer to North Grove, East Grove, West Grove, Black Grove, White Grove. The mural reflects the concept of One Grove, with a banner proclaiming that at the very top of the mural. Reunification seems to be the desire of the community and return to the idea that everybody is in this together. This is something Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff should take the time to learn, as opposed to pitting community groups against each other in order to divide and conquer. 

The wall after it had been transformed.

Close up of the center section of the mural. Grand Avenue and Charles Avenue do not actually meet, except as the two streets around which the community congregated and thrived.
Another close up.

A family visiting the mural, as the parents teach the children about their history and heritage.

Three of the important pioneers of Coconut Grove: (L to R) Father Theodore Gibson, who did so much to integrate Coconut Grove during the various Civil Rights struggles; Esther Mae Armbrister, who championed turning the Mariah Brown House into a museum and community resource, among other good works in a lifetime dedicated to serving others; E.W.F. Stirrup, whose forward thinking ideas about Black home ownership more than 120 years ago is what makes Coconut Grove a unique place in this country to this very day.

Mangos! Shotgun houses! Foliage! All symbols of Coconut Grove.

These four young ladies were among the first to show up to paint the mural. A photograph was taken of them posing with their paintbrushes, which was then incorporated into the mural.

Caribbean dancers! More foliage and shotgun houses. And, the very building on which the mural is painted.

Full circle: Young man admiring the mural within the mural.

This is a wonderful work of art which will adorn this building for many years to come. It has also become a symbol of pride for a neighbourhood coming together to fight the Coral Gables diesel bus garage.

Modern Day Colonialism and Trolleygate

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To paraphrase Rene Margritte: This is not a trolly

At a lunch meeting yesterday with a Miami developer (who wishes to remain anonymous) I mentioned how my next blog post on Trolleygate would be called “Modern Day Colonialism.” 

I started riffing — kicking around the analogy — and compared developers building in Coconut Grove to the original 13 Colonies. Those colonies were really only business charters, set up by the British Crown/Parliament, that allowed the corporations to plunder all they saw and send the bounty back to the home country. Simply replace “Crown/Parliament” with “Miami City Commission” — and “colonial charters” with “building permits” awarded the Modern Day Colonists™ — and the analogy is complete. Once Marc Sarnoff [allegedly] greases the wheels for them, rapacious developers are free to plunder the rich cultural heritage of West Coconut Grove, aka Black Coconut Grove.

By the time I was done riffing I had the rough outline of my next Trolleygate post in my head. Then I came home and read a Letter to the Editor from Carlos Medina on the Miami Herald website that said what I was going to say a whole lot better and in far fewer words:

Miami, Gables practice ‘brick-and-mortar’ racism
 
I have been invested in the Coconut Grove community for 20 years, as a volunteer, an employee of a business there and a concerned citizen. Moving Coral Gables’ trolley-bus repair depot to the West Grove is an action steeped in historical injustice. Once again, this pleasant community is being treated unjustly, with condescension and with a sense of privileged charity by those in power, whether they are business people or politicians. 

What I saw and heard at a recent meeting run by city of Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff was appalling. Sarnoff is on the wrong side of this issue, as are the phantom Coral Gables politicians who sent their lawyer but skipped this important meeting, which was overwhelmingly attended by West Grove residents. Sarnoff’s presentation was self-serving and insulting, publicizing the names of those in need who he so selflessly helped throughout his career. 

This is a racial issue of the first order. It is a replay of the playbook from the ’50s and ’60’s used by people with political and economic power to place their ‘inconvenient’ highways, stadiums, garages, depots, hospitals and prisons in the less powerful neighborhoods. Then they would cite “property rights” to sugarcoat such unseemly actions and the sprinkling of “benefits” already bestowed upon the “ungrateful” neighborhood. 

That is why Sarnoff’s presentation was so demeaning to our local democracy. He defended Coral Gables, with people who do not vote for him; there was the glaring absence of any Coral Gables politician and a “master knows best” attitude vividly on display. I was moved by the large presence of residents and by the many volunteers who are working like mad, on various fronts, to put a stop to this miscarriage of justice. 

I suggest that the West Grove community contact Al Sharpton and Bishop Victor Curry, of Miami’s New Birth Baptist Church Cathedral of Faith International, who sits on the board of Sharpton’s National Action Network. Jesse Jackson should also be informed. If necessary, I am willing to donate funds, time and heart to help make this possible. 

The glaring light of the media that their presence attracts will expose what is going on in Miami. The West Grove is a living witness and survivor of brick-and-mortar racism. 

Let the City Beautiful build its oh-so-perfect repair depot within its own boundaries. Let the West Grove residents have some peace. And let Commissioner Sarnoff, who has done many wonderful things for Miami, get back on the right side of this issue and use his talent to protect and preserve the neighborhood of those who voted for him. 

Carlos Medina, Miami

Mr. Medina hit the nail on the head. I have been doing research into Marc Sarnoff’s interaction with his Black constituents. It’s not good. “Some people say” he shows a fear of Blacks, citing the size of the entourage he took with him to campaign for office in the West Grove. Apparently Sarnoff would send someone to the door of the house, while he waited on the sidewalk until he knew whether it was safe to approach.

I was at the same meeting Mr. Medina attended and thought I detected a threat from Sarnoff during his presentation. While reading between the lines, it sounded like told the West Grove residents if the neighbourhood didn’t play along with the Coral Gables diesel bus garage being plopped into West Grove, the community would not only lose the $200,000 renovation to a football field, but West Grove might also lose his backing for the current urban renewal projects awaiting City of Miami approval. Was that really what I heard? Nah! It couldn’t be. It was far too naked a threat to be real.

As the newbie to Coconut Grove politics I asked someone who has years of experience dealing with Sarnoff, “Did I see a subtle threat?” The emailed reply:

It was a threat. That’s his standard MO. I call it the Sarnoff Dance. It has three steps, Ingratiate, Intimidate, and Attack. There are three steps to his dealing with anyone he considers a potential threat. First, he strokes their ego, makes them feel like they are his friend, includes them in something to make them feel special. That’s enough for him to get most people on his side. If that doesn’t work, he does them a favor, often something they really need and that may not be quite kosher, to get them in line or shut them up. Like arranging for the football field payoff. If that doesn’t work, he resorts to veiled threats, like you saw at the meeting. Finally, if he still doesn’t get what he wants, he attacks. Like I said, economic terrorist.

When I mentioned how Sarnoff struck me as being extremely uncomfortable talking to the Black community and there seemed to be a large police presence in the room, I got the following reply:

Half of the uniformed officers assigned to the Grove were at the back of the Commission Chambers during the Town Hall Meeting. Don’t think that was a normal thing. I have never seen more than one uniformed officer there, even for the most controversial items. He was extremely uncomfortable, and that is what you were seeing. He usually comes across as very polished and well spoken […]

So far no one is willing to go on the record to allege racism on the part of Marc D. Sarnoff. However, I have been given several promising tips. Eventually someone will go on the record and when they do, I’ll publish it here. Just a reminder: I now have a Marc D. Sarnoff tip line. Feel free to contribute information. All tips remain confidential.

Through The Gates Of Trolleygate

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On Oak Avenue looking south towards Frow Avenue.

Yesterday I popped over to the construction site for the Coral Gables diesel bus maintenance garage, which is being foisted upon the residents of West Grove, to see how far along it’s come since my last visit.

Noticing the gate was open, that’s where I stood to take a series of pictures. Within a a few seconds a workman noticed me. He shouted to a foreman and gestured my way. The foreman started walking over, yelling at me in Spanish. When the message is “Get the fuck out of here” I don’t need a translation. However, I stood my ground and continued to take pictures, but responded “No habla Español,”* which I find amusing for its internal contradiction.

“You have to leave! You can’t stand there!”

“Yes I can. Draw a line between those gate posts. I am outside the line on the public sidewalk. You can’t order me to leave.”

As he closed the gate on my face instead, I asked him what he was afraid of. “I’m not afraid of anything,” was his reply as he locked me outside the gate. That just forced me to take pictures over the top of the fence, just like I have done every other time I visited.

Hey, I didn’t just fall off the diesel bus.

The gentleman on the left is the foreman who yelled at me.

In the pic above you can also see what will be the diesel bus entrances, which are located behind the structure. The gates (where I stood to take the pictures) will be approximately 200 feet west of the main street, Douglas, on residential streets. This will necessitate the diesel buses driving in and out on Oak and Frow Avenues. Whenever I visit this corner I see pedestrians — mostly children — all over the place, walking up and down these streets.

Frow and Douglas is a busy little corner with a lot of foot traffic, again a lot of children. The corner also serves as a convenient meeting place, and there always seems to be a few people standing around and talking. Diesel buses driving in and out will do little to enhance the neighbourhood.

As West Grove waits for the court to rule on its lawsuit, you can help by signing the Change.org petition.

Read more about Trolleygate here.

* This should not be construed as a slight against Spanish-speaking people. In this sitch-eee-ay-shun I am the dumb one. I only know one language. Besides, Spanish was spoken in this territory long before English-speakers arrived..

Launching The Official Marc D. Sarnoff Tip Line

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Sarnoff preparing his troops for the Trolleygate Town Hall.

I might as well make it official. So many people have come forward to give me tips about City of Miami Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff on DEEP BACKGROUND, that I now have enough investigative leads to last me a lifetime, provided I die by Presidents’ Day. 

It’s clear that people in Miami are eager to unload what they know about Sarnoff and Miami corruption to anyone who will listen. To my regret the tips are coming from people who would prefer to remain OFF THE RECORD, which indicates a fear of Sarnoff among those who know him best. On the other hand, the tips themselves are not off the record. Consequently, I am free to chase them down to see how much truth they contain. I’ve learned through my many years as a writer that it can be a bit like hard rock mining. Some tips won’t pan out, but others will contain valuable nuggets of information. The most recent tip sounds like it might contain pay dirt, but until I run it through the dredger I won’t know how valuable it really is.

In case this latest tip is nothing but Fool’s Gold, I’m launching an Official Marc D. Sarnoff Tip Line. Feel free to tell me what you know. Feel free to tell me what you merely suspect. I won’t print your name if you ask for anonyimity. In fact, I won’t print anything about anything unless — or until — I can confirm it myself. That’s just how I roll.

You can contact me via email, rattle my cage at facebook, or drop a comment below.

I’m most interested in Sarnoff Sightings. If you catch Mark D. Sarnoff out and about, take a picture and send it to me. Especially if he’s having another one of those meetings with a developer to map out how to slip something past his constituents.

Is Marc D. Sarnoff Corrupt Or The Most Corrupt Miami Politician?

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His Excellency
Marc D. Sarnoff

In researching the long history of the E.W.F. Stirrup House, one name that never came up was Marc D. Sarnoff, unofficial Emperor of Coconut Grove. 

However, that changed once I started investigating the current state of Coconut Grove. The name “Marc D. Sarnoff” started cropping up with some regularity. The more I uncovered of Gino Falsetto‘s real estate deals, the more I saw the Sarnoff name. When I
started looking into the Coconut Grove Playhouse, I encountered the
Sarnoff name again. It didn’t matter where I turned, Sarnoff always
seemed to be RIGHT THERE. On one level that’s not surprising; Sarnoff is the Commissioner for Miami’s District 2, which takes in Coconut Grove. 

However, it was how his name kept coming up that intrigued the journalist in me. Whenever I read about a new development, I would read about how Marc D. Sarnoff was supporting it, often against neighbours’ objections. The Sarnoff name also came up often when interviewing people on deep background about the history of the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House in Coconut Grove. The prevailing opinion seems to be that if you are a developer, Marc Sarnoff is on your side. If you live in White Coconut Grove, Marc Sarnoff can be your best friend. If you live in Black Coconut Grove, Marc Sarnoff is the invisible man.

Nothing illustrates this better than last week’s hastily scheduled Town Hall meeting on Trolleygate. Sarnoff only called for this community meeting once the shit hit the fan, not when this diesel bus garage was still on paper. Trolleygate can be a complicated story if one gets too deeply into the weeds. However, clearing away the clutter — and narrowing the focus to a single issue — it is easier to see what’s at stake. In a nutshell:

Diesel bus disguised
as an old-tyme trolley.

On one hand: Marc Sarnoff claims Astor Development complied with all legal requirements and had every right to build a diesel bus garage in the middle of West Grove. 


On the other hand: Lawyers for West Grove say that the Miami21 Plan specifically prohibits a “government vehicle maintenance facility” along Douglas; therefore, building permits never should have been issued. 

They both can’t be right.

True to form, residents say, Sarnoff couldn’t be bothered to look for any reasons to deny a developer, even though West Grove lawyers say many exist. The courts will now sort this mess out, at a cost to all Miami taxpayers (the West Grove lawyers are working pro bono). However, Sarnoff clearly thought his time and energy would be better spent working with the developer, as opposed to the neighbourhood groups that came out against the diesel bus garage.

By his own admission: Once he decided that Astor had every right to build a diesel bus garage on Douglas, that’s when Super Sarnoff sprang into action to get the best possible deal for the neighbourhood. To that end, he claims, he convinced the developer to change the exterior of the building to give the diesel bus garage a Bahamian feel. Sarnoff also claimed that he convinced Astor to donate $200,000 to improve the football field at Armbrister Park. Sarnoff insists the developer did this because “[t]his particular developer, his wife is very charitable. He’s very charitable,” according to what he told the Miami Herald. Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact that Astor Development stands to make several millions of dollars developing the current diesel bus garage property in Coral Gables.

Google Street View showing 3 of the 4 tax-paying buildings along Douglas Road (at Oak Avenue) destroyed to make way for the Coral Gables diesel bus garage, which won’t be paying taxes. Nor will the buses be picking up passengers in Black West Grove. That might allow them to get to Coral Gables, which is 98% White.

West Grove neighbours describe Sarnoff’s bad faith:

But
residents say when he encountered opposition, Sarnoff simply moved on
to another group. In April, he attended a meeting of the Coconut Grove
Ministerial Alliance and, in October, a gathering of football coaches at
Armbrister Park, according to those in attendance.

“He wanted us
to say it was a good project and we were behind it, considering they
were going to renovate the playing facility,” said Rondy Powell, a coach
at the park for 20 years. “I kind of figured when they came, it was
kind of like a back-room deal.”

An artist’s view of Bahamian-influenced diesel
bus garage on the same corner of Douglas and Oak.

If I were Marc Sarnoff’s Day Timer, I would know how much time Marc Sarnoff spent on Trolleygate, both before and after it became a controversial project. I would also know how much time Sarnoff spent negotiating with Astor Development and how much time was spent negotiating with West Grove residents. However, maybe Marc Sarnoff doesn’t put down all his meetings with developers in his Day Timer because the most often used adjective when discussing Marc D. Sarnoff appears to be “corrupt.” 


How long has Marc Sarnoff been corrupt?

That’s up for debate. According to Sarnoff’s own biography at the City of Miami web site, bad grammar and all:

In 1987 I made the big move to paradise: Miami. I settled in Coconut Grove and established my practice as an Aviation Attorney, specializing in representing passengers’ families and airline staff, and pilots, who were wrongfully killed or suffered life threatening injuries in airline crashes. In 1991 I had the honor of representing Eugene Hasenfus, the former Marine whose C123 Maulewas shot down over Nicaragua while delivering guns to the Contras. I also had the honor of representing, Kassenee Sawyer, who was the widow of the pilot in the Hasenfus plane. For those too young to know, this downing was the beginning of the Iran Contra Affair.

While I think we can all agree that even the worst criminals deserve a defense, this was not a defense. Hasenfus was suing because, after he got caught, his CIA handlers and the government cut him loose. Regardless, Sarnoff seems inordinately proud of his association with the criminal Hasenfus, who was serving a 30-year sentence before being pardoned by Nicaurguan President Daniel Ortega. I wonder why Sarnoff doesn’t mention that he lost that case. 

It might not be a good idea to put much credence in Sarnoff’s official biography. It used to be longer, but he was forced to remove the section where he claimed General David Sarnoff was his grandfather, after the real Sarnoff family said it wasn’t true. 

Then there’s the Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park and Traffic Circle

The Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park and Traffic Circle can be seen from space.

If you are one of those North Grove residents lucky enough to live near His Excellency Marc D. Sarnoff, then you will have no doubt seen your property values rise due to improvements right across the street from where he lives, and used to do business. According to recent reports the city is spending ANOTHER $190,000 on Blanche Park (that’s the name of the Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park on paper, but the dogs know who to thank). The bulk of this cost is to replace the grass with astroturf. Back in my day dogs shit on the grass and liked it.

The Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park
Photo by author Feb 6, 2013

How was Marc Sarnoff able to take a small park dedicated entirely to children and turn 2/3rds of it over to dogs? No one is quite sure because all the formalities seem to have not been followed. The same way that no one is quite sure how The Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Traffic Circle circle came to be located in the middle of the intersection of Shipping Avenue and Virginia Street, right next to the Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park. When you’re the Emperor of Coconut Grove good things drop into your neighbourhood, just like a real life version of Sim City. This will be the third time good money has been thrown after bad; Blanche Park appears to undergo regular upgrades. 

Illegal offices and bar closing hours

The Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park
Feb 6, 2013

To be fair: it’s just within the realm of possibility, of course, that Sarnoff’s corner really needed a traffic circle. Any increased traffic, however, might have been due to Sarnoff’s illegal law office, located right next to his residence. And, from beginning to end, the story of the illegal law office provides another taste of Sarnoff Scandal.

That Sarnoff had an illegal law office appears to have been an open secret. While references can be found to it on blog comment threads, the home office was never reported to the City of Miami until Coconut Grove bar owner John El-Masry decided to exact a little revenge on Sarnoff. El-Masry, owner of Mr. Moe’s, was angry because Marc Sarnoff had rammed through a new law, which only affected bar closing hours in Coconut Grove. Whereas bars in the City of Miami could stay open until 5AM, suddenly all bars in “Center Grove” were forced to close at 3AM. An active nightlife in downtown Coconut Grove dried up overnight. In addition to launching a lawsuit against the city, El-Masry reported Sarnoff’s illegal law office to City of Miami staff. City of Miami staff promptly ignored the complaint, tipping off Sarnoff in the process. 

Possibly the Miami Department of Code Enforcement viewed Sarnoff as their boss and didn’t want to rattle any cages at City Hall. However, long-time-Sarnoff foe and Miami Muckraker Al Crespo wasn’t going to let the complaint go, and neither was (then) Coconut Grove Village Councilor Stephen Murray. In a letter to City Manager Carlos Migoya, dated August 31, 2010, Murray reminded the city manager of his duty:

I understand you are a public service rookie, so I’d like to take the time to explain something critical to you. Unlike in the private sector, where you have a clear-cut executive, Board of Directors, and stockholders who need to be answered to, as the City Manager you are a public servant. A public servant has one real boss – the public. You, as a public servant, took an oath to protect the residents of the City of Miami. You did not take an oath to allow yourself nor your subordinates to protect crooked politicians who believe they are above the law.

When I recently asked Stephen Murray if he would go on record for this article, Murray replied:

The only on the record thing worth saying is the following: “Commissioner Sarnoff is a scumbag corrupt piece of shit that doesn’t give two fucks about the people of the West Grove.”

It’s easy to find people who agree with that assessment, especially these days. 

Sarnoff eventually moved his illegal office and Mr. Moe’s eventually won its lawsuit against the city, which was forced to fork over $10,000 of taxpayer money to cover the costs of El-Masry’s lawsuit. Mr. Moe’s remains the only bar in “Center Grove” allowed to stay open until 5AM.

The calm before the meeting. Sarnoff preparing
to meet with the community on Trolleygate.

Dog parks. Traffic circles. Bar hours. Illegal offices. This shows how much power Commissioner Sarnoff wields in Coconut Grove, power that he’s not afraid to use openly to his own benefit. While Sarnoff controls just about everything that happens in the Grove, he claims there is no way he could have stopped the building of the Trolleygate garage.


My first Sarnoff encounter

As mentioned above, the name Marc D. Sarnoff kept popping up once I started investigating the recent history of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. According to (unconfirmed) reports Sarnoff worked closely with Aries Developers, and owner Gino Falsetto, in getting the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums built. This apparently included meetings and accommodations by the developer to mollify neighbourhood concerns. One of those concerns was what would happen to the historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House, which would be dwarfed by the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums. Whatever promises were made by Gino Falsetto and Aries Developers concerning the Stirrup House, to both the neighbourhood and Commissioner Sarnoff were broken. [See my ongoing series on the E.W.F. Stirrup House.]

This explains why Marc D. Sarnoff was already on the very periphery of my radar. That all changed a few weeks ago while I was interviewing a West Grove resident about the E.W.F. Stirrup House and Sarnoff’s name came up again. The resident asked, “Did you hear what he did this time?” While he described the broad outline of Trolleygate to me, the story sounded very similar to what had happened with the E.W.F. Stirrup House (Stirrupgate?): A redevelopment project is proposed, neighbours complain, Sarnoff steps in to help the developer, in the end the developer gets what it wants, the immediate neighbours get the shaft.

Trolleygate diesel bus garage; Feb. 6, 2013

I discounted this story almost immediately. While the pattern sounded familiar to what I had discovered in my E.W.F. Stirrup research — not to mention my research into the Coconut Grove Playhouse — I thought, “No one can be that nakedly stupid, can they?”

However, after a few hours of working the phones, the answer came back “YES!” Commissioner Marc Sarnoff is stupid enough to use the same tactics to, once again, help a developer and screw the neighbourhood he represents. That’s when I decided to go to the emergency Town Hall meeting, which I describe it in my previous post The Trolleygate Dog and Pony Show. However, it was only after watching Sarnoff’s performance at that meeting that I decided I needed to do some research on Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff. I fired up the Googlizer and it’s not a pretty picture. Each headline just makes you want to shake your head that Sarnoff was ever reelected.

View of Trolleygate diesel bus garage from
its closest neighbour’s backyard; Feb. 6, 2013

My favourite two headlines are Marc Sarnoff: ‘Reid Welch Called Me a Cop Cock Sucker!’ and Marc Sarnoff (Allegedly) Told Reid Welch: ‘I’ll Kill You!’ These were just two of the dozens of headlines that arose out of a bizarre incident adjacent to the Marc D. Sarnoff Memorial Dog Park, just across the street from the Sarnoff’s residence.

I’m the first to admit there are two sides to every story. One side says the Commissioner jumped into his metaphorical phone booth, changed into Super Sarnoff, and flew into action, saving a neighbour lady from imminent harm. This is countered by the actual police report and the witness statements, which tell a very different story than the one Sarnoff told. In fact, witnesses allege Sarnoff sucker-punched Reid. Francisco Alvarado, of Miami New Times, makes the undeniable point:

Call us crazy. But if two people saw Banana Republican approach someone, sucker punch him or her, and then pin our victim to the ground, chances are we’d be taking a ride down to Miami-Dade County jail. In fact, any Joe Schmo would have been arrested for assault or battery. But Marc Sarnoff is no regular citizen. He is a Miami city commissioner who has apparently gotten away with beating up his former pal and current nemesis, Reid Welch. 

Sarnoff was never charged in that incident. However, it’s almost as if the Sarnoff Beat is a full time job for Alvarado. Among other stories he’s written about Sarnoff:

Some other random headlines I discovered include some other random Sarnoff scandals:

Cast of Burn Notice. Left to right: Sharon Gless as Madeline
Westen, Bruce Campbell as Sam Axe, Jeffrey Donovan
as Michael Westen, Gabrielle Anwar as Fiona Glenanne.

And, don’t even get me started on Sarnoff’s whacky intervention in the “Burn Notice” lease, which produced weeks of international headlines. The USA Network’s hit show is shot in Coconut Grove and uses the former Convention Center (where Jim Morrison whipped it out) for its production offices. The controversy that Sarnoff instigated, not the Commission, made Miami look small-time and bush league. More specifically Marc D. Sarnoff came off like an uninformed jerk. He even attempted to write the last “Burn Notice” episode. The producers were forced to explain to him, slowly I assume, that they don’t really blow shit up on tee vee when they blow shit up on tee vee. Consequently, Burn Notice wouldn’t accommodate the city and blow up the Convention Center for the show’s finale.

To his credit, Sarnoff was able to squeeze more money out of “Burn Notice.” I’m sure it felt more like extortion on the other end. Why would any other Hollywood production want to locate in Miami if this is the treatment they get? Especially since the weather is not local to Coconut Grove.

Developers Win; Miami Taxpayers Lose

Everywhere you look it appears Sarnoff is acting against the best interests of his constituents and in the best interests of developers. And, in the end, it always seems to cost Miami taxpayers money to support the developer. Take Trolleygate, f’rinstance. Miami taxpayers have already footed the bill for the environmental study produced to justify building the diesel bus garage; a study ordered after the emergency Town Hall meeting had been called. Miami taxpayers also footed the bill for the preparation of Sarnoff’s part of the Trolleygate Dog and Pony Show in which he defended himself against charges from West Grove residents that he doesn’t do anything for them. There are also the various costs associated with holding an emergency Town Hall meeting, from the many police officers who were in attendance to the several City Hall employees who seemed to be there to run the fancy slide show. The biggest expense is yet to come. Now Miami taxpayers have the privilege of paying lawyers to defend Astor Development against the lawsuit launched by West Grove residents.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff is free to befriend new developers and to create more mischief.

Unpacking The Aunty Em Ericann Blog ► A Writer’s Rant

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Having been a professional writer for my entire adult life, I have come to the conclusion that Bill Gates ruined my trade.

Writing has always been something I did for as long as I can remember. If I wasn’t being paid to write, I was writing something for which one day I hoped to be paid. If neither, I was journaling, trying to capture smoke with my pen and ink hieroglyphics that often only I could decipher.

It was back at Sheridan College in the early ’70s that I got my first taste of writing to a deadline. I also learned how to publish on deadline, when I became the editor of “A” Student Magazine, working with an entire staff of writers and graphic designers to get issues out on time.

I was taking Media Arts and always assumed I would go into tee vee, or movies. Writing for the college paper was just for fun. So was being a DJ at Radio Sheridan, the ‘underground’ radio station that myself and several others had built from scratch a few years before. When I graduated, I became the first full-time paid manager for Radio Sheridan, which had been floundering after a series of part-time, student volunteer Station Managers almost drove the station into the ground.

Writing about music. What could be more fun?

During this period I started my first freelance writing/editing career. [There have been several.] First came ZoundZ Magazine, a small Rock and Roll handout placed at record store cash registers all over Toronto. Marty Herzog was my business partner and managing editor for a couple of years, for a couple of publications, as far back as “A” Student Magazine. ZoundZ [the second “z” was backwards] led to being asked to edit Cheap Thrills by Concert Productions International. It had promised a publication as part of its Cheap Thrills membership, a VIP line for ordering concert tickets. However a Cheap Thrills publication had never been produced and they were getting flack.

I was 100% against the idea. I loved the idea of having our own publication, without adult supervision. ZoundZ was starting generate income. We were being forced to consider more pages and a larger print run to justify the advertising we were getting from some of the “majors.” However, I didn’t have the headaches Marty did. He had been fronting all the money to have ZoundZ published. Aside from this, he did all the running around to printers and vendors, and sold all the advertising. Marty decided to ‘sell out’ to Michael Cohl and CPI (which really only solved his money headache) and I went along for the ride. [See my previous post on Ivor Wynne Stadium] For the first time in our loose partnership I was suddenly an employee. When Marty started ordering up good reviews of certain records because that’s what he promised the record company, I took a hike. My opinion was never for sale. I went back to freelancing. Marty went on to work for the record company to which he promised good reviews.

Over the years I have done every kind of writing there is, except the greeting card. I’ve crafted Hollywood puff pieces and gritty Rock and Roll profiles; written for Canadian music trade papers and various record companies; created artist bios, as well as reviewed concerts and records; practiced investigative and political journalism; did an entire decade as a tee vee news writer, where I called myself a ventriliquist; and, using the nom de plume Travis Bickel, wrote a regular column for Taxi News, while I drove cab and continued to sharpen my free lance Word-0-Matic Machine.

One of the supreme ironies is that I also wrote the first column in Canada which explored the nascent World Wide Web, still being called The Information Superhighway. I sucessfully pitched the editor of “We Computes,” a publication about hardware, the idea of monthly consumer-style column on those funny “http” things that had started to crop up everywhere you looked. At first Eric was baffled because even he didn’t know what an URL was and what it did. However, in the end, he took a monthly column for a couple of years, until a guide for navigating the World Wide Web seemed superfluous.

This is the same period when Bill Gates was turning the Information Superhighway into a point-and-click dealie. In the days of 300 baud modems and BBSs, one needed to know EXACTLY what to type on the C: prompt to get the computer to do anything whatsoever. Before Bill Gates made it easy, one needed to know programs like PINE and understand how to navigate USENET. Then came the mouse and GUIs and everything changed.

Suddenly HTML ruled and everybody and their brother thought they were a writer, which totally devalued the craft. Everywhere I go (on the innertubes) from the smallest sites to the largest, I see poorly written and poorly edited web sites. Most of these are making money hand-over-fist (whatever the hell that cliche means). Meanwhile, I’ve barely figured out how to monetize this web site. [I continue to be open to suggestions.] If I were being paid by the hour for these words, I’d starve. The irony is that I should have seen this coming and found a way to cash in. 

That’s why every once in a while I write one of these Unpacking The Aunty Em Ericann Blog posts, which my regular readers recognize as my way of urging them to click on one of the adverts. They know it doesn’t cost a cent, but will put a few — and I do mean few — cents in my pocket. Go ahead. It won’t hurt at all.

Now, don’t you feel better? Meanwhile, let’s break down the Top Ten Posts for the last 30 days, pulling back the curtain:

A moment on this blog frozen in time.

My post on the Detroit Riots has exploded. While it’s #1 for the month at 488 hits, it’s managed to climb to #3 on the All Time Top Posts with 916 views. That means most of the growth came in the past month for reasons that totally elude me. I’m grateful, because it’s one of the posts I’m most proud of.

The next 3 posts are all interrelated. I’ve been researching Coconut Grove, more specifically E.W.F. Stirrup, for several years now. The #2 post contains the latest research and celebrates Coconut Grove’s birthday. During my research into West Grove, someone in the neighbourhood alerted me to a controversy that was already being called Trolleygate. An Introduction to Trolleygate and The Trolleygate Dog and Pony Show are my first two investigative pieces on Trolleygate, a scandal that’s sure to keep on giving.

The rest of the Top Ten is filled with Fox News Snark, but sneaking into the pack at #7 is my post on Josephine Baker, another one I’m proud of. It also seems to be a favourite of my readers because it clocks in as #2 on the All Time Top Posts list with, 1,235 clicks.

So, there you have it. If you got this far, you owe me. Click on an advert or you’ll never be able to look at yourself in the mirror without feeling a pang of guilt. Seriously.

The Trolleygate Dog And Pony Show

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Miami once loved Coconut Grove enough to place its City Hall
there. Now it puts Coral Gables’ diesel bus garage there.

Trolleygate was the topic of a heated Town Hall meeting at Miami City Hall last night, pitting David against several Goliaths. In this corner the citizens of West Coconut Grove. And in that corner, the cities of
Miami and Coral Gables and Astor Development. It’s a grudge match with a lot of history. 

Representing the City of Miami was District 2 Commissioner Marc D. Sarnoff, whose district covers Coconut Grove. “Some people say” Sarnoff only represents developers and the rich White folk, while the concerns of Black West Grove residents come last. Mr. Sarnoff was buttressed last night by a phalanx of City of Miami government lackeys, a fancy slide presentation, and, at least, one hired gun.

Coral Gables sent a lawyer. Astor Development went unrepresented. West Grove residents came out in force, filling the chamber with standing room only in the back. This blog was represented by me.

“Ready for my close up.”
Before the meeting starts, Marc D. Sarnoff poses for a reporter.

Marc Sarnoff — who once falsely claimed a heritage with General David Sarnoff (who is actually a relative of mine) before he was forced to admit he made it all up — took the wind out of most sails as he started the meeting. He advised the residents that because a law suit had been filed that afternoon by West Grove residents to stop the diesel bus maintenance garage, there were two subjects the city (himself) could not address on the advice of city lawyers: the issues of zoning and that of notification.

On this, Sarnoff was as good as his word. However, while he never discussed zoning and notification, the assembled residents and lawyers couldn’t get enough of those two topics when it came their turn. But first, it was time for the Dog and Pony Show.

Sarnoff introduced Tim Ogle (SP?) an environmental engineer with Stantec, a company hired by Miami to put on a yadda, yadda, yadda slide presentation that said, essentially, having diesel buses running through the neighbourhood was no worse than licking ice cream, or something. Quite frankly the MEGO factor [My Eyes Glaze Over] set in pretty quickly. I looked around the room and, while people were polite, they appeared skeptical, especially after it was determined that Stantec had been hired by the City of Miami for this very presentation.

I couldn’t help but think that I was watching a presentation normally
given to residents when a project is still on the drawing board, not
when it is already a fait accompli and residents are trying to get it
stopped. However, to be fair, Miami got its money worth. It was a very good presentation and throwing good money after bad to save a developer’s project isn’t a crime, is it? Who knows this better than Commissioner Marc Sarnoff?

Pierre Sand making his points.

After the environmental presentation, Sarnoff opened the floor to questions and statements. First up was Pierre Sands, president of Village West Homeowners and Tenants Association. Despite Sarnoff saying people would be limited to 2 minutes, Sands was given much more than that and even allowed to rebut Sarnoff at one point.

This allowed Sarnoff to cut him off twice later, once when he tried to call bullshit on Sarnoff’s rebuttal and later when Sands wanted to address comments made about him from one of the residents who spoke. Sands made the points [paraphrasing] that the local residents get nothing out of the diesel bus maintenance garage and the City of Miami gets nothing out of it, but it’s clear what the city of Coral Gables gets out of it: It gets rid of a diesel bus maintenance garage and gets a multimillion dollar development. The unasked question hanging in the air was, “What does Marc D. Sarnoff get out of it?” but Sands didn’t go there. Sands closed by expressing extreme disappointment in how Sarnoff has ignored the West Grove since taking office, insisting that Coral Gables’ diesel bus maintenance garage be located “in the City Beautiful,” another name for Coral Gables. He ended on a round of applause.

Sarnoff is a clever man. He anticipated every single one of Sand’s points and was able to rebut them with his own Dog and Pony Show slide show presentation, which had already been prepared. First Sarnoff claimed there was no way he could have stopped the project. Astor Development bought the land fair and square and the building met all city requirements. Once Sarnoff realized the developer had the right to go ahead, he was able to get $200,000 to fix up a football field at Armbrister Park. Sarnoff claimed the developer did this out of the goodness of his heart because he didn’t have to do anything for the community. Sarnoff’s slide show included facts and figures about the football field. As for Sand’s contention that Sarnoff has done nothing for the community, he showed slides of happy builders and residents saying they have, or will be, building up to 80 homes in the area.

Sarnoff’s unspoken message seemed to be, “Screw with this bus garage and not only do you lose these improvements to the football field, but also your biggest champion at city hall to improve the neighbourhood.”  This seemed to be a shot across the bow of the Coconut Grove Collaborative Development Corporation, which has several projects on the drawing board that will need to get City Hall approval.

Some of the back-and-forth between Pierre Sands and Marc D. Sarnoff, discussing the football field at Armbrister Park: 

None of this mollified the residents, who had a litany of objections that hardly touched on diesel fumes and football fields. For West Grove residents it was all about the subjects Sarnoff wasn’t allowed to address: zoning and notification of residents. Two members of the Coconut Grove Village Council said they felt blindsided when the heard the garage was already being built and neighbourhood residents said Sarnoff just did an end run around them after they stated their objections. According to Jenny Staletovich of the Miami Herald, Sarnoff claimed: 

“This particular developer, his wife is very charitable. He’s very charitable,” Sarnoff said. “They agreed to approximately a quarter million (dollars) to improve the football field.”

But residents say when he encountered opposition, Sarnoff simply moved on to another group. In April, he attended a meeting of the Coconut Grove Ministerial Alliance and, in October, a gathering of football coaches at Armbrister Park, according to those in attendance.

“He wanted us to say it was a good project and we were behind it, considering they were going to renovate the playing facility,” said Rondy Powell, a coach at the park for 20 years. “I kind of figured when they came, it was kind of like a back-room deal.”

A spokesman for the Ministerial Alliance said the group neither approved nor objected, but did vote to have UM look at environmental hazards.

Sarnoff said he never brought it to the Grove’s elected body, the Coconut Grove Village Council, which was created in 1991 to give residents a voice at City Hall. “I would rather go directly to the community,” he said. “I don’t think the Village Council is very good at dealing with that type of issue.”

However, one of the contentions of most everyone who spoke last night said Sarnoff never went directly to the community with this project, merely factions within the community.

Several residents making their points about the diesel bus garage:

However, the biggest surprise, was Coral Gables’ lawyer Craig Leen [not captured], who spoke the most sense all evening. He first said that he too had to be careful of what he said because Coral Gables, which is not currently party to any of the court actions, could be dragged into the lawsuit at any time. However, in a nutshell, he said Coral Gables was blindsided by the controversy. Its contract with Astor Development is for the company to locate a diesel bus garage somewhere, anywhere, provided it complies with all local laws. Coral Gables thought it was all a done deal and everyone had signed off on this diesel bus garage. Unless Astor complies with all local laws the City of Coral Gables will not take possession of the diesel bus garage, therefore it would not be able to redevelop the current diesel bus garage for its multimillion dollar development.

West Grove’s Lawyer: “Who would like a bus depot next to their house?”

The current state of the diesel bus garage as of January 31, 2013

Nothing was decided last night, but the West Grove’s lawyers are asking for an emergency injunction that all work on the diesel bus cease. Furthermore, they are asking the court to rule on 3 issues:

• Did Miami give proper notice to West Grove residents under all City of Miami ordinances?

• Does the Miami 21 code of ordinances truly allow for a lack of notification to the community, as Commissioner Sarnoff contends and, if so, is that even constitutional?

• Does the use of a diesel bus maintenance facility at that corner contravene the the Miami 21 city plan? 

Coconut Grove Village Councillor Renata Samuels-Dixon sure thinks so. She found language in the Miami 21 plan that would specifically rule out a “government vehicle maintenance facility” as proper for the corner of S. Douglas Road and Frow Avenue. Since Coral Gables is a “government” under the law, and a diesel bus is defined as a “vehicle,” and the structure was defined at that very meeting as a “maintenance facility,” the case for West Grove residents looks pretty strong. However, you can never tell what will happen in court.

The only thing last night made clear is that the citizens of the West Grove, the City of Miami, the City of Coral Gables, and Astor Development are embroiled in a conflict that is going to cost money, no matter what is decided. West Grove’s lawyers are working pro bono. Miami taxpayer money is being spent to help Marc Sarnoff support another developer, this time in Coral Gables, the next town over.

Is this money well spent?