Sunday, February 10, 2013

The Manny Diaz Record. Commissioners: stop spending money we cannot afford, for things we don't need! Invest in what we do need ... by Steve Hagen

NOTE: one of the most damning records of Manny Diaz' tenure as Mayor of Miami is his refusal to listen to citizen advocates like Steve Hagen on the issue of investing in parks instead of Ponzi schemes for developers like Jorge Perez. Diaz is now angling to be the Democratic candidate for governor: we will dedicate our blog to raising public awareness about Diaz' self serving attempts to re-write history so that voters will be informed. In the meantime ...

An open letter to Miami-Dade Mayor and Commissioners as well as Miami Mayor and Commissioners,

Frankly, I think you should reject the request from the Marlins Dolphins for taxpayers to cover half of the project cost. No need for a public vote as it cost at least 3 million we can't afford.
Remember, you have a half billion dollars being spent to cover nearly fifteen acres of Bicentennial Park with museums and that important project is under-funded.

Beside losing half the green space of the park, Miami is scraping around to find money for bare bones landscaping of what remains of the park. This is a real problem that can cause the entire area to fail.

You set priorities. Green parks which are wonderfully landscaped and maintained are part of the rich fabric of a great city, but our parks fail miserable. Bicentennial is headed toward failure if it is not properly landscaped. Do it right this time as it has the lack of landscaping caused it to fail once already. Great parks need to be interesting!

Great parks keep visitors longer in an area be they visitors from around the County or from around the world, the same as culture lovers. Great parks attract great employers with better paying jobs.

The city of Miami Beach and now the city of Miami and County are learning that yes, culture lovers drop off a lot of money in our community. And guess what, it is happening 365 days a year. More would happen with great parks to attend.

Bicentennial Park deserves to be a park that takes at least three hours to see, longer to enjoy. The Cooper Robertson design might take 30 minutes to walk around and if it is reduced because of the budget, Bicentennial will become a fifteen minute park. That will cause locals to be boarded and not return on a daily basis. It will not be much different than our other parks.

PLEASE make certain Bicentennial Park gets the varied lush landscaping it needs. Do not make the mistake of leaving the two museums be the victims of a slashed landscape plan.

In my opinion, both the museums will have a hard enough time attracting locals to return on a regular basis, but the problem will be compounded if leadership does not do a first class job on landscaping the park. Trees and grass and cement walkways will not do the job.

For that entire "attraction, (museums, park, Parcel B and bay walk) to be successful,, it needs locals to populate it 24/7/365. The park and bay walk will be the major players in this attraction as the museums will be mostly day time attractions.

PLEASE, while you ponder if we need to support a billionaires dream, support Bicentennial Park and the millions of Miami-Dade residents who expect and need a great green destination gem on the bay. Yes, it is a need as all Miami-Dade residents especially need to experience the fact that nature is just as important in the well being of an individual and a community as are man made facilities or cultural or athletic activities.

And PLEASE do something green with Parcel B!!!!! It has been over twenty years since Miami residents saw the photo on the front page of the Herald showing it as a green space surrounded with trees. In my opinion, it was that photo that caused Miami voters to approve its sale to the County. Please make it green NOW and protect it forever for residents and tourists to enjoy. No more talk of another museum on that location!!!

Please, get involved in saving Bicentennial from failure. It is a treasure for County residents, not just Miami residents. If it needs private funding, then get behind that. Somebody lead.......Please.

Have you signed the petition: More Parks for Miami NOW


6 comments:

Anonymous said...

proofread please.

Anonymous said...

Manny Diaz hated parks. He considered parks as free land to house concrete buildings. Manny Diaz was the biggest cheerleader, with the recalled Carlos Alvarez, for the Marlins scam. That will cost taxpayers well over $3 Billion. Remember, all the bonds sold to pay for construction will be refinanced, meaning the actual cost will well exceed $3 BILLION.

Geniusofdespair said...

Gimleteye posted this...he is not around to proofread it and I am too lazy.

Anonymous said...

Manny Diaz took over the City of Miami when it had a $140 Mil in reserves and when he left the City has facing a $100 Mil deficit.

Anonymous said...

Manny Diaz had a revolving door of corrupt political appointees.

Anonymous said...

Manny Diaz was a partner in Monty's Restaurant when Monty's owed the City of Miami and various other government entities over $1 Mil. "Crime does pay."