Friday, June 03, 2011

The Legacy of Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina. Guest Blog By Milly Herrera


I drove around the city of Hialeah this past weekend and took some photos, the one at the top was taken 3 blocks from Historic Hialeah Park. Julio Robaina has been the Mayor for the past 5 years but he has done nothing to beautify our city! In fact, in my own neighborhood, projects were approved for road repairs to prevent severe flooding and now there are no funds.

Is this what we would want for the whole county? Absolutely not but he makes a promise in his literature to bring his style of leadership to the entire County.

Mayor Robaina has been unsuccessful at correcting many problems in our city and leaves behind a mess. I have lived here for 44 years and it is worse now than ever. There have been severe cuts, but there was always money found for the mayor's select projects!

I am angry. I do not want this man to be elected Mayor of Miami Dade County. I just want the people of this county to "see" for themselves the way we live. I drive in other neighborhoods in the County and I am jealous of the clean streets. Here is a photo of a street not far from my home...


They don't allow pick-up trucks to park on swales in the City of Coral Gables overnight. I wonder what the mayor of Coral Gables would say if he saw this 18-wheeler that Hialeah allows to park overnight on a swale in a neighborhood.

18 comments:

miaexile said...

I have to agree with you on seeing projects just stop in Hialeah. Whether you like him or not, Raul Martinez was improving Hialeah, city block by city block by installing curbs and planting trees. Those projects have stopped under Robaina. Code enforcement in Hialeah seems to be on par with code enforcement in North Miami, OpaLocka, Wynwood, Allapattah, Brownsville, Liberty City...the list goes on. Weasel leadership often flourishes among the poor/lower middle class for one reason-it's easy to be a weasel when your constituents spend most of their time trying to figure out how to live another day.

Anonymous said...

Hialeah Julio's friends and campaign associates have gained financially from his largesse in Hialeah, imagine that on a county wide scale. It is truly scary.

TerreG said...

Unless the code has been changed in Hialeah, no commercial trucks are allowed to park anywhere on residential streets.

Anonymous said...

Hialeah Julio is VNS in drag! What a disgrace to "public service". The only people "winning" in Hialeah are Julio and his cronies!

Geniusofdespair said...

On swales too Terre? It looks like this bus driver made a great effort to get it off the street. Also having codes means you have to enforce them, do they look the other way in Hiaeleah?

Anonymous said...

The truck has no advertising on it. It is not commercial so it can be parked there. Looks like a family vehicle to me.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the update Millie. Good God I suppose we will have roosters and chickens running loose in the lobby at county hall if Robaina is elected. What a slum lord ex-Mayor of Hialeah.

Anonymous said...

How many "families" do you know who drive around in an 18-wheeler??!! Pleeeeeez!

Robaina made a big deal about "the other side" (without proof that it was his opponent, but I guess that's irrelevant to him) was dissing Hialeah. Saying the truth is not insulting anyone nor is it "racist against Cubans" as he claims. He has done a horrible job in Hialeah and now he wants access to the Big Bucks in the county.

PEOPLE we just need to GO VOTE, and Vote for Gimenez.

Anonymous said...

Obviously this is a one sided blog. How can I send your local readers of actual (reality)pictures of Hialeah rather than alley shots on private property.

Also on any given day, you will find in just about every area in Miami-Dade County where the streets and alley ways are not kept or temporarily dirty. I'll send some photos in the Gables that are in rough shape as well, will you post it?

Fair is Fair at the end of the day!

Anonymous said...

I was born and raised in Hialeah and lived there through the 60s, 70s, and eearly 80s. Most of my friends growing up were born in Cuba or the kids of Cuban-born parents. My neighborhood was one of the nicer areas, lots of trees and well-kept yards and streets, although there were some not so nice areas in Hialeah even then. I recently took a tour of the old ‘hood and surrounding area and it was almost unrecognizable - in a bad way. Not sure who to blame. Hialeah has always had its crooked politicians (anyone remember Henry Milander?) and planning never seemed to be something that Hialeah governemnt concerned itself with. Neither Robaina or any of his predecessors bucked that trend. No disrepect to my Cuban friends, but today’s Hialeah gives me no reason to want to vote for its most recent Mayor, and there are plenty more reasons not to vote for him.

Geniusofdespair said...

yes send me a picture of an 18 wheeler parked on a residential Coral Gables street. I have been to Hialeah a bunch of times and I have yet to see a street with decent foliage. The streets are a mishmash of cars in swales that are devoid of trees. It is hard to find shade trees in neighborhoods in Hialeah. Reminds me of Little Havana.

samuel said...

The anonymous commentator up above that says fair is fair is probably speaking about nicer areas in west Hialeah where I live, but Ms. Herrera is trying to point out the truth about other areas of the city. I have more respect for someone thats gives her name and not an anonymous person. Even myself will only give his first name. We all need to contribute to make our city better, but the truth is hard to hide. Ms. Herrera has done a good job to share the pictures and demonstrate what we do not want for the whole county. Everybody has to vote.

Marisel Garcia said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Geniusofdespair said...

Marisel Garcia. Look at where it says leave your comment. It says "don't attack the blogger." If you disagree with her, attack what she says not her. I am happy when people in the community have a voice and somewhere to be heard so I don't want to attack them.

youbetcha' said...

When I think of Hialeah I think of traffic and concrete. I grew up near there and it has gotten sore over the years.

What happened to Hialeah Park?

Anonymous said...

My concern with all the jabs to Hialeah is that the good people there will feel disenfranchised and insulted. Therefore, to all the great Hialeah people, take back your community and know that we separate you from the terrible stuff that goes on there.

Anonymous said...

Julio didn't create the blight and decay you see in Hialeah. In fact, it has taken years for that city to get in the condition it is. But one thing for sure, he has managed a very difficult situation and Hialeah has many great attributes. Stop knocking it, municiaplities throughout Miami-Dade have their issues. Murder in Coral Gables, shootings in Miami Beach, real estate melt down in the entire county, I for one want someone that doesn't have a pension from the government already from years as a public employee. We need someone with balls to do the job. If Carlos is elected, you will get exactly what you just voted out of office. God bless you Allen and all your jaded readers.

Anonymous said...

Miami Dade County has a neighborhood ordinance against Category 3 vehicles (dump truck, 18-wheelers etc.) in a residential neighborhood.

I live in the Redland and now have a renter next door from Hialeah and I now have to look at a dump truck parked in his yard when I come down my nice tree-lined road (that I put in).

The neighborhood compliance department is going to hear from me. I'm taking back my neighborhood and if they don't like it, they can go back to Hialeah.