Latest news with #MiamiBeachCityCommission
Miami Herald
24-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Miami Beach condemns ‘dehumanizing rhetoric' surrounding Alligator Alcatraz
City commissioners in Miami Beach are condemning the recent barrage of 'rhetoric that dehumanizes immigrants and promotes violence, cruelty and wrongful detention,' particularly surrounding the controversial Everglades detention site known as Alligator Alcatraz. An official statement unanimously approved by the commission on Wednesday said the city's elected leaders on the nonpartisan board felt compelled 'to speak out clearly and unequivocally against the growing use of violent and dehumanizing rhetoric directed at immigrants — rhetoric that threatens the safety, dignity and well-being of thousands of families who call Miami Beach home.' It also rejected 'statements by national leaders' and the promotion of 'hunting down, caging, wrongful detention, or celebrating harm against immigrants, including the use of deadly wildlife such as alligators in the Everglades.' The statement makes Miami Beach one of the first Florida cities to formally oppose Alligator Alcatraz and the national political discourse supporting the detention center. But it comes amid a loudening chorus of criticism from individual political and religious leaders in South Florida. Miami-Dade's top Catholic official, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, earlier this month condemned the rhetoric surrounding Alligator Alcatraz as 'intentionally provocative' and 'corrosive of the common good.' Wenski recently visited the detention facility to pray for detainees held there and has said that 'unbecoming' comments from public officials portraying migrants as prey or criminals are 'making America mean.' Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava has also expressed concerns about the facility. While the Miami Beach City Commission unanimously passed the statement of condemnation, what's officially called a 'resolution,' commissioners did not actually discuss the matter or comment further during the meeting. Sponsored by Commissioners Alex Fernandez and Tanya K. Bhatt, the resolution was endorsed by the city's Hispanic Affairs Committee and immigrant rights groups. Fernandez, the son of an immigrant family, told the Miami Herald on Thursday that the opening of Alligator Alcatraz earlier this month spurred him to draft the resolution. 'The rhetoric has escalated beyond a debate on border policy. There's a conscious effort to dehumanize immigrants. This resolution draws a moral line,' Fernandez said. 'We won't be silent in the face of cruelty. This is a normalization of hate and violent rhetoric.' The Herald has previously reported on the 'gator bait' trope in Florida's history, a Jim Crow-era joke that dehumanized Black people, depicting them as bait to lure and kill alligators. 'Basically, the same kind of anger, the same kind of resentment is now being transferred to immigrants,' historian Marvin Dunn told the Herald. The resolution details comments President Donald Trump made around Alligator Alcatraz as 'echoing historically dangerous language used to justify exclusion and violence' and notes 'the real-life consequences' for local residents. Specifically mentioned was the case of Josué Aguilar Valle, a Honduran immigrant and 2018 Miami Beach High School graduate with no criminal record who was arrested by authorities after an appointment at a Kendall immigration office and deported. Fernandez said it was the first time in recent memory his colleagues on the commission had stood together behind a social issue with 'no questions asked.' 'For months, I've carried the frustration of wanting to do more for those in our community who are afraid to call 911, go to the hospital or use basic city services,' Fernandez said. 'That has been one of the hardest parts of serving as a Hispanic elected official — knowing the limits of what I can legally do, even when in my heart I want to do more.' The Miami Beach resolution carries no legal power, but city officials said it affirmed Miami Beach's values, upholding the dignity of immigrants amid the current climate of fear. 'It opens up the conversation,' said Bhatt, the resolution's co-sponsor, who refuses to use the name Alligator Alcatraz. 'It's offensive to give it a catchy name. Call it what it is — an internment center. It's exactly what we saw in World War II, with the internment of Japanese citizens,' she told the Herald. 'We can't effect change at that facility, but we can exert pressure by empowering people to speak up about what they know is correct.'
Miami Herald
30-06-2025
- Business
- Miami Herald
It's time for Miami Beach commission to shoulder its responsibilities on homeless
On Friday, the Miami Beach City Commission will hold a second vote on a development agreement for a proposed luxury condo complex in South Beach. If approved, the plan would result in the shuttering of Bikini Hostel, a hostel across the street that currently houses more than 100 homeless people, a possibility that has revived the debate about the city's questionable treatment of homeless people. This is the bill's second reading, and if the previous 6-1 vote is any indication, the approval is all but certain. But the vote is more than a development deal in the works; it's an indication of how much responsibility the city will — or won't — shoulder for homelessness issues that face all of Miami-Dade County. Last November, the commission voted to rescind a question on the ballot that would have imposed a 1% food and beverage tax to fund homeless and domestic violence services. More than 20,000 residents had already cast ballots during early voting when the tax question was removed. Had the measure passed, the tax would've applied to businesses that sold alcohol for consumption on-site and whose annual revenue exceeded $400,000, with the money going to the Homeless Trust, a county agency that provides homelessness and domestic violence services countywide. Miami Beach has contributed lump sums totaling $10 million over the past two fiscal years to the Homeless Trust and has agreed to pay up to $5 million annually beginning in year 2026 through 2039. But all of Miami-Dade's municipalities already levy the food and beverage tax, with the exception of Surfside and Miami Beach. It's only fair that Miami Beach do the same to address a problem that doesn't stop at the city's borders. The Homeless Trust relocated homeless individuals to Bikini Hostel shortly after the commission removed the tax measure from the ballot. Was it retaliation? Ron Book, chairman of the Homeless Trust, told the Miami Herald Editorial Board that negotiations with Bikini Hostel had begun '90 days prior to the referendum being taken off the ballot' and that the timing was nothing more than a coincidence. Now the commission, under the guise of the development deal, will be able to evict about 100 homeless people from Miami Beach by tearing down the hostel. The Miami Herald previously reported that the Trust will have a plan to resettle the hostel's homeless. 'No city can be exempt from the work of ending homelessness,' said Victoria Mallette, executive director of the Homeless Trust. 'Especially a city that shoulders so many unsheltered homeless.' Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who voted to approve the deal in the first vote, acknowledged the fundamental issue: 'We don't have facilities in Miami Beach to help the homeless.' The city does have a Homeless Outreach program, he noted, saying it's a 'model to address homelessness that others have traditionally looked to replicate nationally.' The hostel, he added, 'isn't an appropriate site' in part because homeless people need 'access to services that provide a continuum of care.' The Homeless Trust says the hostel's residents do have access to care — at the hostel. 'There is a full complement of support at the hostel. We have multiple entities there on a daily basis, helping move people through the continuum,' Mallette said. One commissioner, Laura Dominguez, has another idea for the Bikini Hostel: to designate it as affordable housing. On Wednesday, commissioners referred that proposal to the Public Safety Committee to be heard on September 10. If the city won't allow homeless residents at the hostel, at least Dominguez's idea would preserve the property for sorely needed affordable housing. Friday's vote, when it's likely the development will be approved, won't end homelessness on Miami Beach. It will merely displace it. And sadly, that's exactly what some commissioners seem to want. Click here to send the letter.
CBS News
30-04-2025
- Business
- CBS News
Miami Beach leaders caution affordable housing bill threatens Art Deco heritage
MIAMI BEACH – The Miami Beach City Commission is vehemently opposing a bill in the Florida Legislature that would expand the Live Local Act, allowing developers to build affordable housing. They argue that this would put the city's historic architecture at risk. Senate Bill 1730 passed with only three lawmakers voting against it. The bill promises to bring more affordable housing around the state. Affordable housing crisis continues CBS News Miami Miami Beach city leaders say the Art Deco history is now in danger of being left in the past. "I think we all know in our communities we have an affordable housing crisis. It continues," state Rep. Vicki Lopez said. Lopez, who primarily represents Miami, spoke to the state Senate ahead of the vote on Senate Bill 1730. The bill requires counties to authorize housing in areas zoned for commercial, industrial, or mixed use. Historic architecture at risk? Miami Beach city leaders say that puts a target on 100 years of Art Deco history. "It's about the heart and the soul of Miami Beach. It's about preserving the neighborhoods, the character, the stories of our residents that have made Miami Beach a global icon," said Miami Beach Commissioner Alex Fernandez. The bill would effectively open up areas previously restricted for housing development. Counties may not restrict the density of proposed developments. They also will not be allowed to create restrictions on the height of buildings. Gentrification concerns raised Miami Beach city leaders warn that the bill endangers approximately 2,600 historic buildings across the city. "This is a bulldozing gentrification bill that would give developers the power to tear down two- and three-story apartment buildings, Art Deco and MiMo buildings," Fernandez said. Tourism and infrastructure worries expressed Mitch Novak, a hotel owner in the Art Deco District, expressed concerns about the impact on the city's infrastructure and tourism. "My clients for decades have come here for the beauty of the architecture, the sky, the ocean, the trees, and they don't come here to be in 50-story towers," said Novak. Lopez called this one of the most important pieces of legislation this session. CBS News Miami reached out to Lopez, Miami Beach's representative Fabian Basabe, and state Sen. Alexis Calatayud for comment but has yet to hear back.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'No Other Land' & a Raucous First Amendment Fight
A version of this story first appeared on The Ankler. A scrappy group of independent filmmakers and documentarians team up with an arthouse theater to take on government bigwigs . . . You might think you know how this story ends, especially in these bruising early months of 2025. But for once, this is a story where the good guys — and crucially, the First Amendment — actually Wednesday morning the mayor of Miami Beach, Steven Meiner, abandoned his proposal to evict the local independent theater O Cinema, which operates out of a building owned by the city. Meiner had accused the theater of programming an 'antisemitic' film in No Other Land, which you may remember is also this year's Oscar winner for the best documentary backed down during a 'raucous' hearing at the Miami Beach City Commission, where the Miami Herald reports 'the vast majority of attendees opposed Meiner's proposal.' He also faced outrage from more than 700 members of the film community, who signed an open letter this week that opposed the mayor's 'attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and violation of the First Amendment.' Signatories include Oscar-winning documentarians like Jimmy Chin, Michael Moore and Ezra Edelman, in addition to Miami native Barry Spellman, a Miami Beach native and film producer, was at the meeting, speaking alongside his business partner Billy Corben. The founders of the film production company Rakontur, Spellman and Corben consider O Cinema 'family' and have been rallying support and international press for the theater ever since Meiner first proposed shutting it down last week.'I told the mayor and the commission at the meeting that obviously the city would lose and the city would be an international laughingstock,' Spellman told me Wednesday afternoon, just hours after the meeting concluded. 'We were very focused on the simple issue at stake here, which is freedom of speech.' (Spellman and Corben spoke at length about the situation with friend of The Ankler Thom Powers over at Pure Nonfiction, if you're eager to hear more).No Other Land, directed by a team that includes Israeli investigative journalist Yuval Abraham and Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra, chronicles decades of struggle within the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta, located in the West Bank. After premiering to raves at the Berlin International Film Festival, it wasn't picked up by a U.S. distributor, becoming a cause celebre among critics and other filmmakers who had managed to see it. At the New York Film Critics Circle dinner in January, where No Other Land won one of its many critics prizes for best documentary, The Brutalist director Brady Corbet ended his speech for best picture by telling the starry crowd, 'It's time to distribute No Other Land.' Though I'm told there were some offers from smaller distributors including the indie outfit Kinema, the No Other Land team opted to self-distribute, partnering with Cinetic for publicity and international sales and working with independent film veteran Michael Tuckman to book theaters. As of last weekend No Other Land was playing on 138 screens in North America, including the O Cinema. Though its $165,000 gross last weekend may seem minor, it was ahead of best pic Oscar nominees like A Complete Unknown and The Brutalist and cracked the box office top 25. In his failed attempt to punish the non-profit theater that showed No Other Land, Meiner has put a much bigger spotlight on the film, something the filmmakers themselves seem well aware of. 'Banning a film only makes people more determined to see it,' co-director Abraham said in a statement when Meiner's efforts first began. 'When this mayor uses the word antisemitism to silence us, Palestinians and Israelis who proudly oppose occupation and apartheid together, fighting for justice and equality for all, he is dangerously emptying it out of meaning. Once you witness Israel's ethnic cleansing of Masafer Yatta it becomes impossible to justify it, and that's why the mayor is so afraid of our film. It won't work.'The swift rallying of hundreds of members of the film community feels like a promising sign, the first green shoots of Hollywood meeting some small portion of the precarious national moment we face. That group may want to stay ready for their next challenge; the documentary The Encampments, about the Columbia University Gaza protests last spring, has announced plans for a nationwide theatrical release later this month. One of its key figures is Mahmoud Khalil, a leader of the protests and legal U.S. citizen, who continues to be held in a Louisiana detention center and has yet to be charged with any rare for movies to run into free speech challenges that actually hit the true definition of the First Amendment — speech that is threatened or curtailed by the government, not critics who decline to review your self-funded documentary. That made support of O Cinema a no-brainer even among film professionals who might disagree on the nuances of the situation between Israel and the Palestinians. Spellman emphasized to me that he has not seen No Other Land but suspects other films could face similar challenges going forward. 'It wouldn't surprise me to see these issues continue to come up here,' he says. 'We live in such a polarized, tribal society. Americans just need to be more on guard on a local level.'WIth Paramount still facing Donald Trump's lawsuit against CBS, which corporate lawyers called 'an affront to the First Amendment' in a recent filing, the challenges are clearly not past us. Will mainstream Hollywood be as willing to step up as O Cinema's coalition of filmmakers? If we want the First Amendment to apply to AMC and Regal as well as O Cinema, we should probably hope so. Before we go, check out a couple of trailers that caught my eye, and some pretty loony news about Looney Tunes. View the to see embedded media. There are few bigger trailer events than this teaser for Paul Thomas Anderson's next film, which is now officially titled One Battle After Another and has shifted from an Aug. 8 release to Sept. 26, right in the prime of fall festival season. This teaser trailer doesn't reveal much but tracks with the rumors that Anderson is adapting Thomas Pynchon's Vineland, set among former hippies now living in Reagan's America. And though the cast includes a long list of stars in addition to Leonardo DiCaprio, from Teyana Taylor to Sean Penn to Benicio del Toro, all we see here is DiCaprio with 25-year-old Chase Infiniti, a breakout star on last summer's Presumed Innocent. Keep an eye out for a longer trailer that may reveal a whole lot more, and then check in on your local film nerd, who is surely overwhelmed by all of this. I'm also digging the throwback '90s/2000s style of the first trailer and poster for Celine Song's Materialists, one of the major releases I highlighted in Prestige Junkie's way-too-early 2026 Oscar preview earlier this week. But I'm also hoping there's a bit more friction in store for this love triangle between Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal and Dakota Johnson as the matchmaker they're both pursuing. Song's Oscar-nomiated Past Lives had such a wistful, heartbreaking approach to a heart caught between two places, and though she could absolutely nail a more straightforward comedic tone, there's likely a bit more brewing below Materialists' glossy surface. It's out from A24 on June 13, almost two years to the day since Past Lives opened. Don't call it a comeback; call it a resurrection. After being abandoned as a tax write-off by Warner Bros. and shopped around to other studios to no avail, the Looney Tunes feature Coyote vs. Acme may find new life at the indie upstart Ketchup Entertainment, which just released The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie last weekend. Someone who understands tax law better than I do can explain how it makes sense for one of your marquee franchises, whose theme music is more or less synonymous with the Warner Bros. logo, to be shipped off to a studio named for a condiment.
Yahoo
19-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Miami Beach Mayor Caves, Drops Plan To Shutter Indie Theater For Showing Oscar Winner ‘No Other Land'
The mayor of Miami Beach has scuttled his proposal to shut down an indie cinema for showing the Oscar-winning Israeli-Palestinian documentary No Other Land. Mayor Steven Meiner withdrew his plan during a lively meeting of the Miami Beach City Commission today. He had issued a draft resolution last week calling for his city to terminate a lease agreement with O Cinema, located at Old City Hall, a property owned by the city. More from Deadline Doc Talk Podcast On Miami Beach Move To Punish Theater Showing 'No Other Land', Plus Field Report From Thessaloniki Doc Festival Oscar Winners & Hundreds Of Others Decry Threat To Close Miami Beach Theater For Showing 'No Other Land': 'Attack On Freedom Of Expression & First Amendment' Beethoven's 'Fidelio' Live From The Met Sings On A Quiet Weekend, With 'October 8', 'No Other Land' - Specialty Box Office The resolution would have eliminated about $40,000 in grants provided by Miami Beach to the nonprofit that runs the arthouse. O Cinema began screening No Other Land on March 7, five days after it won Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards. The move comes two days after more than 600 people including several Oscar winners signed an open letter to the city decrying the theater's potential shutdown as 'an attack on freedom of expression, the right of artists to tell their stories, and a violation of the First Amendment.' The film, directed by a collective of four Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, provides a ground-level view of life for Palestinian residents of the rural Masafer Yatta area of the occupied West Bank who live under an expulsion order by the Israel Defense Forces, which wants the land for a military training zone. The documentary shows IDF forces knocking down Palestinian homes and schools pursuant to the expulsion order, as well as violent attacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians. MORE TO COME… Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery
