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Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
‘Have to find a way:' Black leaders in Miami weigh defunded Overtown park's future
A week after Miami officials were notified a $60 million federal grant to fund a planned urban park in Overtown was rescinded, community and business leaders are focused on next steps to bring the park to the historically Black neighborhood. Plans for the Underdeck park have been in the works for at least three years, with an expected completion of 2027. Still, Miami Commission Chairwoman Christine King said the lack of funding would delay the project, not suspend it indefinitely. King said commissioners are still trying to process everything, but said immediate next steps would be for them to identify additional funds for the $82 million project, adding that the city, the Omni CRA and the Southeast Overtown/Park West CRA have already invested in the project. Those conversations could happen as soon as September when commissioners return from recess. 'We just got notice last week so, it's a bit of a culture shock, but I'm not discouraged,' she said. 'I understand different administrations have different priorities. They don't always align with the previous administration's priorities. I am looking at this as an opportunity. It's not going to stop us from curating this space. It may slow the process a bit, but the intention remains. This space is important.' Last year, the Underdeck project was awarded $60 million for the 33-acre park through the federal 'Rebuilding Communities' program, which sought to reconnect communities that were divided by transportation infrastructure decades ago and have been overlooked in more than 40 states. Similar projects were planned in Atlanta, Birmingham, and Philadelphia. The cut of the $60 million was a part of the One Big Beautiful Bill passed by Congress last month. RELATED: Trump administration kills $60 million grant for Overtown Underdeck park in Miami The park would be created at street level under the elevated I-395 span being built above in a separate state effort. The park would be home to much needed green space in an area also experiencing gentrification. Plans would include bike paths, walking trails, playgrounds, an urban garden and dog parks stretching from the Overtown's eastern corridor near I-95 to the city's museum district. The Underdeck project's underlying goal was to connect the parts of Overtown that had been disenfranchised when the I-395 expressway was built. In the 1960s the construction of I-95 and I-395 right through the heart of Overtown fractured the community and displaced many of its Black residents. The recent film, 'Interstate,' examines the impact of building interstates in marginalized communities, such as Overtown. Historian Marvin Dunn, who moved to Overtown when he was 11, recalls a community without a single apartment that had a vibrant entertainment area where Black performers flocked. But Dunn said Black people were already slowly leaving Overtown as communities began to integrate, but the Interstate construction forced many Black people out of their homes. 'What happened with the expressway was all of a sudden — 'Wham! You got to go!' The space is gone,' said Dunn. The Trump Administration's U.S. Department of Transportation made it clear that the intention of the project doesn't align with their goals, calling it a Biden-era initiative that 'tied critical infrastructure funding to woke social justice and climate initiatives that diverted resources from the Department's core mission.' 'Congress was right to cancel this program, which prioritized DEI and Green priorities while ignoring the core infrastructure needs of the country,' a DOT spokesperson told the Miami Herald in an email. Congresswoman Frederica Wilson said the rescinding of the funds was 'caught up in a web of other projects' to try and balance the budget. Wilson said getting funding for the project will be her top priority when she speaks to the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sometime in September. 'I feel he will understand what this project is all about, and what will happen to Miami-Dade County, and especially the downtown area, if this project were not completed,' she said. But Wilson noted that getting back funding for the project would be an uphill battle given the targeted attacks from the Trump administration on projects and entities that even seemingly promote diversity, equity and inclusion. 'When you go as far as to not understand what DEI really is, this is what our country was built upon. This is who we are. You can't get rid of diversity. You can't run from equity. You can't destroy inclusion. We're here together,' she said. 'So we have to use whatever tools we have and that have been given to us to manage and to survive and to make our cities practical for the people that we serve, and in order to do that, we need help from the federal government.' Still, Wilson and commission chair King are not deterred from finding the funds to complete the project. 'While it is challenging to replace $60 million, throwing our hands up is not an option,' King said. 'We have to keep moving forward. We have to find a way, and we will.' Dunn said the canceling of the funding was a 'kick in the gut to the community' and that he envisioned a place where Overtown residents could get fresh food from gardens at the park, similar to his Dunn's Overtown Farm along Third Avenue. 'I saw in my vision lime trees, banana trees, mango trees, large swaths of callaloo, collard greens, cabbage…I thought it was going to be that garden multiplied by 1,000 times,' he said, noting how important green space is to a community. 'It helps you emotionally. It settles you down.' Tina Brown, chief executive officer of the Overtown Youth Center, said she knows of families that never recovered from the interstate being built in their community. The park would help highlight Overtown's rich cultural history and connect Overtown to the rest of Miami, said the Overtown native. 'The green space project would provide high visibility to a historically Black community that's been long disenfranchised, and really provide an opportunity for residents to feel proud about the place that they live, work and play in,' she said, adding the project likely would've provided job opportunities for Overtown residents and housing stability for people who live in the area. Metris Batts-Coley, executive director of the Overtown Business Association, said the park would also add much needed foot traffic in the area for businesses. Batts-Coley said the park's location near Brightline transit station would make it easier for residents in Palm Beach to get to the neighborhood, generating revenue for Overtown businesses and letting visitors learn the community's history. Still, she's optimistic that the city and community leaders will work together to get the project completed. 'I don't know of any other community that deserves this opportunity, other than the historic Overtown neighborhood,' she said. Miami Herald reporter Doug Hanks contributed to this report.
CBS News
01-08-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
Appeals court upholds ruling blocking Miami's election date change, other cities may also be bound by ruling
A Florida appeals court has upheld a ruling that blocks the City of Miami from changing its election dates without voter approval, reaffirming a lower court's decision that found such a move unconstitutional. The case began when Miami mayoral candidate Emilio Gonzalez sued to stop the city from postponing its next election from 2025 to 2026. He succeeded at the trial court level and on Thursday, an appellate court agreed with the decision. "We appreciate the court's swift review of this matter and its acknowledgment of the valid reasons for aligning City of Miami elections with state and county elections. However, we are exploring further appellate options," said Dwayne Robinson, the city's outside counsel. City Commission Chairwoman Christine King, who supported the change, responded to the ruling in a separate statement. "Although I voted in favor of revising our election schedule to increase voter participation based on my understanding that our proposed process was legally sound, I understand and respect the Appellate Court's decision," King said. The implications may extend beyond Miami. In May, the Coral Gables City Commission voted to move its municipal elections from April in odd-numbered years to November in even-numbered years. Coral Gables Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson said she believes the Miami case could set a precedent: "It applies the same to every city, as I see it." Mayor Vince Lago, who previously supported the change, cited both civic and fiscal motivations. "The legislation that I proffered shaves five months from my term. I'm willing to give up those five months because I believe, as the son of immigrants who came from Cuba from a dictatorship, there is nothing more important than protecting our democracy," Lago told CBS News Miami last week. Coral Gables Commissioner Melissa Castro said she has drafted an ordinance to undo the change and called for direct voter input. "At this point it doesn't matter if it's April or November—just let the people vote," Castro said. While Miami considers further appeals, Lago told CBS News off camera that Coral Gables is watching the outcome closely. He said the issue will be discussed at the next Coral Gables City Commission meeting on August 26.
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Miami's lifetime term limits proposal advances. Carollo mayoral run still possible
A proposal to create stricter term limits for elected officials that became entangled in a separate, controversial measure to postpone the November 2025 election will now go before Miami voters in a special election this fall. On Thursday, the Miami City Commission green-lighted a proposal to limit elected officials to two four-year terms as mayor and two four-year terms as a commissioner during their lifetime. It passed 3-2, with Commissioners Damian Pardo, Miguel Angel Gabela and Ralph Rosado voting in favor. Commissioners Christine King and Joe Carollo voted against. The proposed change will now go to Miami voters as a ballot question in a special election in November. Pardo, the item's sponsor, said at Thursday's meeting that the proposed term limit change 'creates more focus' for elected officials to accomplish their goals in office during a fixed time frame. 'It also opens the door for other people, more innovation, other ideas, to come into those seats,' Pardo said. But King, the commission chairwoman, said restricting term limits takes away choice from voters who may want to reelect someone who's already served eight years in a particular seat. She noted that as it stands now, after serving two terms, an elected official must sit out of office for one term before returning. 'Four years out of office is a lifetime in politics,' King said Thursday. The special election will cost the city several hundred thousand dollars, according to the city clerk, but the exact amount won't be known until a later date. When Pardo first announced the item in the spring, the reform measure promised to block career politicians who've spent years, if not decades, in City Hall, from returning to office. But a recent change to the proposal included a loophole that could pave the way for certain legacy politicians to return. The proposal still limits elected officials to two terms in each role, but it now comes with a carve-out that excludes 'any time served as a result of having been elected to fill a vacancy' — meaning that candidates who win a special election could still serve two additional four-year terms. Under the earlier version, Carollo, a former mayor, could have been blocked from seeking elected office in Miami again, since he has served two terms as mayor and multiple stints as city commissioner, dating back to 1979. However, Carollo won his first term as mayor in a special election to fill the vacancy created by the death of Mayor Stephen Clark in 1996. That means that under the new version of the term limits proposal, Carollo would be eligible to run for mayor again — an idea he has been teasing for months. READ MORE: Dynasty city: How three Miami families may extend their decades of political power The odds of Pardo intentionally creating any sort of benefit for Carollo are slim, seeing as the pair are political adversaries who've consistently sparred over city issues for the better part of a year. Pardo said the change was made in effort to be fair to candidates who are elected in a special election, filling in for the remainder of a term. 'The concept was all about equity, fairness and democracy,' Pardo said Thursday. He added that the city attorney advised him that counting a shortened term that was won through a special election as a full term 'leaves us open to legal challenges.' 'In the drafting process, these legal issues came up about what is a term and what is fair,' Pardo said. The first version of Pardo's proposal also didn't define the length of a term, meaning that, in theory, even serving one day in office could count as a term. But the legislation now restricts elected officials to two four-year terms specifically. That might seem like a minor change, but it could open the door for former Mayor Xavier Suarez to return to City Hall — something he also has been considering and has yet to rule out. Suarez has served three terms as mayor — seemingly disqualifying him under the earlier version of Pardo's term limits proposal — but only one of those terms was a four-year term. In a text message last week, Suarez said he was still 'considering' running for mayor and that he doesn't think the proposed term limits change will affect him. The change also benefits Rosado, a newly elected commissioner who won a special election last month to replace the late Commissioner Manolo Reyes. Rosado's term was supposed to run through November 2027, but a City Commission vote last month extended his term to 2028. If voters pass the new version of the term limits proposal, Rosado will be allowed to run for two more four-year terms after he finishes his current one, allowing him, in theory, to be a Miami city commissioner for 11 years. Under other circumstances, the term limits proposal would have gone on the ballot in the November 2025 general election, where residents were slated to vote on a new mayor and two city commissioners. But in a 3-2 vote last month, the City Commission postponed the upcoming November election to 2026. That measure, also sponsored by Pardo, achieved the goal of moving the city from odd- to even-year elections, when voter turnout is higher. But it came with the side effect of giving the city's elected officials an extra year an office, including Carollo and Mayor Francis Suarez, who are both termed out in November. The change has spurred outrage among residents, as well as criticism from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier, who has threatened legal action against the city but has yet to take formal action. Pardo has argued that the decision to move the election back to 2026 'cures' a flaw in his term limits proposal. If the general election had taken place in November 2025 and the term limits question was included on the same ballot as candidates who could be affected by the term restrictions, that could set up the city for a legal challenge. So in a roundabout way, moving the election date back gave the city a safer legal avenue for putting the term limits proposal to voters. But it's still up in the air whether Miami's next general election will take place this November or next. Following last month's City Commission vote to postpone the election, mayoral candidate and former City Manager Emilio González filed a lawsuit against the city. He's asking the court to determine that the ordinance the city passed is 'unlawful and invalid,' effectively reverting the election date back to 2025. The parties are scheduled to have a hearing on the matter in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on Wednesday.
Miami Herald
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Florida city that immigrants built just turned its back on them with 287(g) vote
One of Miami's most unique features is that it was proudly and undeniably built by waves of immigrants and refugees. The process, begun with Cuban exiles in the early 1960s, is now part of our DNA. Nearly 60% of Miami residents are foreign-born. Cubans were joined by Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelan refugees. Mexicans, Argentines, Colombians and even Guyanese have all sought out Miami as their new beginning. They came fleeing tyranny and political strife or simply searching for a better life for themselves and their children. The idea was simple: just make it to Miami — where so many like you already lived — and you'd be okay. The city wasn't just a destination. It was a promise. We've always taken pride in being a melting pot, the gateway to Latin America, a place where you could hear several languages on any street corner. Miami sheltered entire generations of immigrants. The city just didn't tolerate immigration — it became synonymous with the word. But that ended Tuesday, with the Miami City Commission's controversial vote to enter into an agreement to help ICE arrest undocumented immigrants within the city limits. The 287(g) agreement allows local officers to act in immigration enforcement roles — a move critics say fuels fear and distrust in immigrant communities and places city police in roles better suited to federal agents. All 67 counties in Florida have signed agreements with ICE. But Miami? This one hits differently. Voting 'no' on the measure where Commissioners Christine King and Damian Pardo; Commissioners Joe Carollo, Miguel Gabela and the newly elected Ralph Rosado voted 'yes.' King and Pardo deserve praise for standing up for their constituents. The irony is, all of the commissioners are immigrants or the children of immigrants. They are living proof of what Miami represents — which makes their vote all the more disappointing. And they did it over the objections of more than 75 residents who lined up outside City Hall early Tuesday, many pleading with the commission not to sign on with ICE, even though other immigrant-heavy cities like Doral and Hialeah have already done so. We understand the commission is under pressure. Earlier this year, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier and Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened to punish the Fort Myers city council if they declined to join the program. Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales clearly laid out those concerns at the meeting: the department fears political fallout, he said. 'There's a very strong inference that if we do not enter into this agreement, there would certainly be some sort of repercussion,' Morales told commissioners. It would've been nice if the commission had shown some independent spunk. But they didn't. And they also ignored King's moving words: 'We are all immigrants,' said King, the daughter of Guyanese parents. She said she felt the fear some Miami's residents are experiencing. 'I don't want to be a part of that.' And she wasn't with her 'no' vote. Mayor Francis Suarez — the son of Cuban immigrants — could veto the vote, but there is no hint that will happen. Under the agreement, Miami police officers will be trained to act as immigration agents, turning traffic stops and routine policing into potential deportation triggers. It's well-known that partnerships like these have sparked fear and distrust in cities across the country. Victims stop reporting crimes. Parents pull their kids from school. People avoid hospitals. As one protester put it, this vote is a 'cultural betrayal.' It turns the city's back on our neighbors, the workers who clean our buildings, serve our food, work our fields and care for our kids and grandparents. Outsiders may have complained that the city was full of foreigners, but we who live here know how that enriches our city. We knew what it meant to flee. To rebuild. And for a long time, we believed our leaders remembered that, too. But on Tuesday, they looked away. Immigrants will still shape Miami's future. But its government no longer reflects, respects or represents the refugee spirit that helped define Miami. What a shame. Click here to send the letter.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Miami Marlins join efforts to restore defaced Jackie Robinson and Minnie Miñoso mural
MIAMI (AP) — The Miami Marlins are joining efforts to restore the defaced mural of baseball legends Jackie Robinson and Minnie Miñoso in Miami's Overtown neighborhood, which was marked with racist graffiti last week. City of Miami Chairwoman Christine King announced Wednesday that she along with the Marlins, Urgent, Inc., Omni Community Redevelopment Agency, Southeast Overtown/Park West Community Redevelopment Agency and other community activists will lead the restoration at Dorsey Park, where community leaders said a 7-year-old boy first discovered the vandalism last Sunday and asked his mother what the words and the Nazi symbols meant. 'This vile assault was an attack on our values, history, and community,' King said in a statement. 'We are actively working with law enforcement and the public to identify the individual(s) responsible for this intolerable act. However, even in the darkest hours, light finds its way to shine. This is a reminder and testament to the strength of our community, coming together to restore peace, beauty, and pride to this neighborhood.' Police were investigating the incident but have not made any arrests. City workers have since partially covered the murals of Robinson and Miñoso, an Afro-Cuban player, with wooden boards. The murals are along a fence at Dorsey Park, where Negro League teams once played baseball. The Marlins' home ballpark loanDepot park is just a few miles from the park. 'In light of the deeply troubling acts of vandalism at Dorsey Park, the Miami Marlins today proudly stand in solidarity with the City of Miami Chairwoman Christine King, and our local leaders in unequivocally condemning this hateful and racist act,' said Marlins owner Bruce Sherman. 'Dorsey Park is not only a landmark of historical and cultural significance in South Florida — it is a powerful symbol of resilience, pride, and the enduring contributions of trailblazers to the game of baseball." Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball when he signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947 to become the first Black player. Miñoso became the league's first Afro-Latino player and the first Black player for the Chicago White Sox. The murals have been displayed in the park since 2011 and are a collaboration between artists Kyle Holbrook and Kadir Nelson and various community groups. ___ AP MLB:
