tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post1713299116202785917..comments2024-03-08T05:08:55.233-05:00Comments on EYE ON MIAMI: Must Read: Herald made a few mistakes on this one...by GeniusofdespairGeniusofdespairhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-64917047463913201242007-03-13T21:22:00.000-04:002007-03-13T21:22:00.000-04:00"We, the residents of North Miami, are on the hook..."We, the residents of North Miami, are on the hook, not the developers? Haven't we spent enough on Munisport (without any return)?" More like the residents of all of Dade County. How has the City spent the millions of dollars the County has given it for Munisport over the past several years?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-72198080152442830392007-03-13T12:22:00.000-04:002007-03-13T12:22:00.000-04:00The consent agreement is between the city of North...The consent agreement is between the city of North Miami and Derm. They are the ones that will be left holding the bag in the end-- the ones that will get sued. The developers never signed the consent agreement. They are just trying to do the cheapest cleanup possible and will be long gone...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-63781412124489947902007-03-12T17:31:00.000-04:002007-03-12T17:31:00.000-04:00The letter dated Aug. 13, 2004 went to:J. I. Palme...The letter dated Aug. 13, 2004 went to:<BR/><BR/>J. I. Palmer, Jr.<BR/>Regional Administrator <BR/>US EPA, Region 4<BR/>Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Center<BR/>61 Forsyth Street, SW<BR/>Atlanta, GA 30303<BR/>(404) 562-8174 (fax)<BR/><BR/>Timothy Rach<BR/>Program Administrator<BR/>Submerged Lands and Environmental Resources Program <BR/>400 North Congress, Suite 200<BR/>West Palm Beach, FL 33401<BR/>(Geniusofdespairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-19733029970494408902007-03-12T17:29:00.000-04:002007-03-12T17:29:00.000-04:00I found the letter written by environmental groups...I found the letter written by environmental groups in August 2004:<BR/><BR/>Dear Sirs and Madam:<BR/><BR/>As you are surely aware, the city of North Miami has partnered with a development company to construct up to 6,000 residential units on the former Munisport Landfill, a previously-designated Superfund site in Northeast Miami-Dade County. In our estimation, that could mean that up to 15,000 Geniusofdespairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-15977686206616849172007-03-12T10:13:00.000-04:002007-03-12T10:13:00.000-04:00People are getting ready to move in. Children are...People are getting ready to move in. Children are at school down the road. What is happening with the County? Why is DERM permitting this to move forward? Aren't they liable if they sign off on the clean-up and the job doesn't get done? Are our Commissioners pressuring DERM to move forward? We, the residents of North Miami, are on the hook, not the developers? Haven't we spent enough on Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-70049509859007104702007-03-11T20:36:00.000-04:002007-03-11T20:36:00.000-04:00Make sure you all read my new post:Sunday, March 1...Make sure you all read my new post:<BR/>Sunday, March 11, 2007<BR/>North Miami: Now it is getting creepy! By geniusofdespairGeniusofdespairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-54008885443800803352007-03-11T19:30:00.000-04:002007-03-11T19:30:00.000-04:00Swerdlow made many personal promises throughout th...Swerdlow made many personal promises throughout the negotiations of the agreement. Many of those promises were not specifically written into the agreement, being in essence a call to trust in his business acumen and commitment to building a successful($)project. He was a big strong developer who would bring salvation to North Miami and cure all our ills. Oh, and by the way here are my developmentAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-40659589750355921002007-03-11T12:29:00.000-04:002007-03-11T12:29:00.000-04:00jus got turnd onto this blog. BL is ncessary for ...jus got turnd onto this blog. BL is ncessary for NMs future. nothings prefect. this dvlpmt isnt riddld w/as mch corrption as many others. safe to live thre? if derm signs off & its not...sue the county. who i sue for all the othr pollunts in the envrnment? Exxon, Ford??? cant wrry abt evrthg...wuld nver sleepAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-58751695549139556092007-03-11T11:59:00.000-04:002007-03-11T11:59:00.000-04:00G.O.D (sorry, I couldn't resist) wrote: Affordabl...G.O.D (sorry, I couldn't resist) wrote: Affordable Housing was part of the deal -- within Biscayne Landing proper at the beginning. Don't know when it changed,<BR/><BR/>I was there, too. And yes, it was. It changed during all the deal making under Celestin's watch. The blame lies with that administration. Untangling this mess is extremely difficult. It would require the current (and future)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-41946517819173134562007-03-11T11:48:00.000-04:002007-03-11T11:48:00.000-04:00i wend to the bidding meetings. Affordable Housin...i wend to the bidding meetings. Affordable Housing was part of the deal -- within Biscayne Landing proper at the beginning. Don't know when it changed, but it was a part of what the developers bid on.<BR/><BR/> I remember because I thought it was a good idea.Geniusofdespairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-41086672716671436142007-03-11T11:30:00.000-04:002007-03-11T11:30:00.000-04:00The deal w/BL in regard to the affordable housing ...The deal w/BL in regard to the affordable housing element (unit-for-unit) was forged under Celestin Regime. The size of BL increased from 2400 units to 4800 units with the passing of a Referendum to allow "two 25-story hi-rise condos" on the BL site. Little did we naive voters know that the vagueness of the referendum language would allow for MULTIPLE hi-rise bldgs. Blynn loved that! The Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-53021941848902612042007-03-10T22:03:00.000-05:002007-03-10T22:03:00.000-05:00Re: taxes and the growing budget...Of course, the ...Re: taxes and the growing budget...<BR/><BR/>Of course, the budget grew, it costs $$$$ to support the tax base that gave the county; city; state all the money.<BR/><BR/>New residents + new home ownership = more money for government + greater needs for services provided to new residents in previously unserved area. Opps...that is the problem with spawl... You make more as a government and it costsAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-49590344755973061552007-03-10T17:39:00.000-05:002007-03-10T17:39:00.000-05:00to glass half full:My only complaint about the aff...to glass half full:<BR/><BR/>My only complaint about the affordable housing is: when the project was developed it was suppose to be inclusive of people from different income brackets -- affordable housing WITHIN Biscayne Landing. Isn't that what every cities' master (comp) plan calls for???? The developer bid on that concept. I think the developer then changed his mind, harder to market high Geniusofdespairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-75186221068465023292007-03-10T16:04:00.000-05:002007-03-10T16:04:00.000-05:00one anonymous said:And yes, there have been develo...one anonymous said:<BR/><BR/>And yes, there have been developments built elsewhere in the country on former landfills.<BR/>-------------<BR/>My question: weren't the sites you mentioned cleaned up BEFORE the building was started? This site, as far as I know, has finished/amost finished buildings on it -- without the cleanup FIRST. That is where the problem is. The city is opening itself up to Geniusofdespairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01105559930040615945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-37601358280784219502007-03-10T15:36:00.000-05:002007-03-10T15:36:00.000-05:00re: Rucks Park (aka Pioneer Gardens), an alternat...re: Rucks Park (aka Pioneer Gardens), an alternative to traditional construction (brick and mortar) is currently being looked at. Anyone with half a brain knows the numbers don't work for affordable housing at PG. They never did. (Probably why the NM Housing shareholders with their 15% kick back like it so much!). So, it's time again to think outside the box and examine all the different Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-23831538999737554392007-03-10T14:58:00.000-05:002007-03-10T14:58:00.000-05:00Interesting comments, all...but where were all you...Interesting comments, all...but where were all you people when the deals were coming down under the Celestin regime? We're now stepping through the mine fields laid out by the mismanagement (perhaps corruption) of the former administration. Let's get real people...the politics of race and class have and are still playing out here. Which makes the "dance" all that more difficult. Swerdlow Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-46605095350117777192007-03-10T13:14:00.000-05:002007-03-10T13:14:00.000-05:00There should be a criminal statute attached to dev...There should be a criminal statute attached to development permits, in the name of the original permittee, that are granted as "public benefits" to mitigate toxic sites or wetlands: all the holier-than-thou's from lobbyist lawyers on mitigation "banking" and clean-ups like Munisport is revolting, when it turns out to be just another real estate flipping scam that makes millions for a few people Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-52517002182389490172007-03-10T11:56:00.000-05:002007-03-10T11:56:00.000-05:00and....took this off Swerdlow Group website:Biscay...and....took this off Swerdlow Group website:<BR/>Biscayne Landing<BR/>North Miami, FL <BR/>190 Acres Commenced in 2004 Residential <BR/>Over $2 BillionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-69402428983521242192007-03-10T11:44:00.000-05:002007-03-10T11:44:00.000-05:00swerdlow is no longer part of the deal...he sold h...swerdlow is no longer part of the deal...he sold his share out to his partner boca developersAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-19548978746125240752007-03-10T11:11:00.000-05:002007-03-10T11:11:00.000-05:00As Bruce Gibson said in the Keystone Point Newslet...As Bruce Gibson said in the Keystone Point Newsletter on North Miami CRA:<BR/>In the first 7 months, the CRA Board has put forward only one substantive project – Affordable Housing at Ruck’s Park.<BR/>On the face of it, this seems worthwhile. However, the details reveal many problems in what has become a how-to clinic in “what<BR/>not to do” in real estate development.<BR/><BR/>Members of the CRAAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-91012740089957154522007-03-10T10:25:00.000-05:002007-03-10T10:25:00.000-05:00The conversion to townhomes also concerns me. Can...The conversion to townhomes also concerns me. <BR/><BR/>Can they do that? <BR/><BR/>Also, is the site clean now or isn't it? What happened to all the stuff in the dirt that was solid and all the chemicals they found years ago? Did it all just disappear? I have followed Munisport for years and it looks like it was swept under the rug by everyone. Did they ever cap the site with plastic or Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37248244.post-12404133467711507852007-03-10T09:36:00.000-05:002007-03-10T09:36:00.000-05:00The original developer, Swerdlow, after making pro...The original developer, Swerdlow, after making promise after promise to North Miami, decided last year to try to sell the development, even though the contract required otherwise.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com