Here is a column submitted by a Guest Columnist by the name of “Patrick Henry.”
So the hotly fought elections are over. Thank G-d! You would think that some people would just sit back now and let city government function. That just doesn’t seem to be the case. While civic involvement and the invitation to be heard by your city leaders gives residents the opportunity to have a voice, some seem to just take it too far. Just watch a few of the city’s council meetings and you’ll see the same half dozen or so residents get up and try to run the city. Some, we are convinced, need a hobby. They appear to love to hear themselves talk…and talk…and talk. They’ve become redundant, boring, predictable and sometimes even resort to personal attacks.
One resident gets up there at practically each meeting, rambles for his 3 minutes and just leaves people scratching their heads. I thought of a great idea to increase some much needed revenue for the city. Let’s set up a popcorn stand right next to the metal detector? If some people insist on turning the meetings into what has become a circus atmosphere, we might as well profit from it! We could take it a step further and sell cotton candy, but that, like our flip-flopping city deficit, can be sticky.
Oooh, the metal detector!!! That seems to be a sore subject for two or three individuals. Well, make that four. I have a problem with it too! It is not restrictive enough. In this day and age of nut cases coming into public buildings, screenings are necessary. But, they should be comprehensive and all-inclusive. If we’re going to implement security, then we should do it right. A police officer should be in the lobby of City Hall, one outside the Council Chambers, and one inside to help maintain order if needed. Problem is, if we can’t find enough Reserve Police Officers to work the meetings, then we would either have to post an “On Duty” officer (taking them off the street for what could be an eternity given some past meetings) or bring them in on (ugghhhh taboo…. “overtime”). That’s a dirty word nowadays, and no one wants to hear that. If we only conduct screenings outside the council chambers, then there’s the potential security risk outside the room. Somebody has to make up their minds as to what kind of security they would like. Council meetings can be dangerous, just watch the news.
To touch on the comments from Kazan’s email about the increase in the Police budget….maybe he should have asked some questions before trying to stir the pot with the residents and turn them against their police department. The PD’s budget went up last year because we were forced to absorb the Code Compliance section into the police department’s umbrella. Previously, Code Compliance was under separate budgeting. Thus, an increase to our numbers. You see, numbers and statistics can be skewed to look like whatever you want them to look like. Ergo, the interim City Manager is playing with his cute little charts that Kazan made it a point to take pictures of. He also made it a point to attack the Chief and the department’s desire to purchase an armored vehicle, calling it a “toy.” Sorry MK, it is not a toy. It is a protective vehicle for our Special Response Team and/or on duty personnel for the inevitable active shooter situation which can occur at any moment. We have dirtbags in our city firing AK-47’s and other deadly weapons at random and at each other. We’ve had dangerous criminals barricade themselves in residences with hostages. Our SRT team is one of the busiest in the County. This is not Mayberry, RFD. When we purchase specialized tools for our safety, it comes out of LETF. This is money confiscated from drug dealers and their money laundering operations. NOT TAX DOLLARS!
The bridge is now coming down folks. It’s time to let traffic start flowing smoothly again.
~ Patrick Henry
“Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!”
There are three kinds of men:
The ones that learn by reading.
The few who learn by observation.
The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence
and find out for themselves.
Kazan is nothing but an attention-starved child-clown who in recent years has discovered that the more outrageous he sounds, the more attention he gets. This is the result of a loss of respect for our elected officials which has given credence to these types of idiots. But as you say in your piece, those days are behind us and we need to think positively about our future. Everyone should be heard out, but the moment they start sounding iffy, elected officials should have the balls to tell them to get serious or shut up. I no longer go to Council meetings because of this man and others like him who make a mockery of the system. It is embarrassing and time-wasting. If you were to profile this “same half dozen or so residents” you will find that they all share the same lonely, underachieved, self-hating characteristics and they are using these meetings as therapy session.
It’s refreshing to hear from others who share this belief. As UFO fans like to say… “we are not alone.” Let’s see if we can start the wave! Kazan, needs to be a more productive activist, and not a detriment to civility. He loves to take pictures of police cars when he happens to see them meeting up and accuse them of “Liming.” Excuse me MK, if you’re going to use verbs, please use one we can comprehend.
limed – lim·ing
Definition of LIME
transitive verb
1
: to smear with a sticky substance (as birdlime)
2
: to entangle with or as if with birdlime
3
: to treat or cover with lime
Maybe it’s got another meaning in Guyana, but this is the U.S. Constructive criticism is always good, but you should walk a mile in someone’s shoes before you do.
PH
Give me Liberty, or Give me Death!!!
But why is he the only idiot named? I can think of a few more.
PH, Where did you get the idea that our SRT team was the busiest in the Country? They sure aren’t busy with the one exception in NMB. In fact what are they doing roaming all over this and other countries? We need officers on our streets patrolling and they do not need tanks. A tank in the case of the Washington Park incident if they could have even gotten it there on time would have taken down the entire building. Worried about AK47’s have you seen the long range rifles that our Police Department bought, the huge vehicle displayed during the holidays that the Chief just had to have ,and don’t we already have one tank? No toys are exactly the correct term. We all found it odd that the past council needed security for the meetings yet went door to door campaigning. If you wanted to harm or get rid of them why not on the street instead of City Hall? Let’s take a look at the non citizens who get up and speak Charles Loeb and Gail the broad that doesn’t live here that speaks for Washington Park for example. Why should I have to listen to them telling me a taxpayer how to spend my tax dollars? The Code Compliance Department is under the police budget but in 2011 the Code Budget was $615,246 the police budget minus Code $19,811,930 for 2012 Bonner has code at $763,063 police at $22,036,751. Example in 2005 the police budget was $16,249,477 which is a little higher than I would like to see it at this year in this economy.
Mary, put your glasses on and read the comments on the SRT team better. I stated that they were one of the busiest in the County, not the country. Our SRT team is utilized in all cases where a search or arrest warrant needs to be served. This is because, if a warrant is issued, it is usually because there are narcotics involved or a a wanted felon. This is done to protect our officers’ safety. Since you don’t understand police procedures, why don’t you attend a Citizens Police Academy to learn the intricacies of who we are and what we do, instead of resorting to rhetoric? Ask to see the statistics of how many SRT callouts our team has had compared to other agencies in Dade and Broward County? Unfortunately, we do not live in Kansas, and there are dangerous people on our streets that we risk our safety to bring to justice every day.
As for the “tank” as some of you are referring to, the vehicle we’ve proposed to purchase is an armored vehicle, capable of safely transporting officers into hostile situation with maximum safety, and be available in the event of an officer down extraction. Again, some things many people do not understand. We don’t expect you to understand everything or the tactics we use, this is why we train hard. Harder than you know. As for the tank “we already have”, this was donated to us by the US Military as a surplus piece of equipment. It is not armored as it would appear and not an overly street or driver friendly piece of the equipment for our streets.
As for non-citizens getting up to speak at your meetings, that’s something you and other residents need to look into with the Council. Personally, I cringe when some of our own residents get up to speak.
As to our budget, well, the cost of doing business generally goes up from time to time. You paid $889.78 in property taxes last year, $175.00 of which goes to NMB operating expenses. You poor thing! With what many of us pay in taxes, you would think we could live in E. Shores! But we don’t. We couldn’t afford a home in E. Shores. And there’s nothing appealing about any of the other neighborhoods in our city. We wish there were, it would be much nicer to live closer to where we work…depending on our neighbors of course.
Stay safe and please, be better informed.
Stay safe!
I feel compelled to point out that the $2+ million stolen by Martin King were not tax dollars either. They were enterprise fund dollars, many millions of which are donated to the general fund each year to make up for shortage of tax revenue. I’m just sayin’…:)
Good to hear folks and members of the NMBPD can comment on the NMBPD until today. After all it was schedule to close a couple years ago. So far it has been open. Let me count how many people openly supported it,….one, two, three. Yes. That right or there about.
“thequestionis” and “Titanic Captain” were not among the few who openly got up and fought for this to remain open. Those who did can pat themselves on the back and say, yep, we surely fought a battle to save our NMBPD. Yours truly was among the few. May be a critic, but I would not cut my nose to spite my face.
Balancing a budget should not be considered a bad thing. You pay with what you have. Borrowing to pay for what you want is something else.
I choose to take a balanced position. Yes, we do need to keep our PD. Not only the PD, but other services as well. Some NMBPD personnel and others truly believe we do not have a recession and we can continue to pay and spend as the “good” times afforded. Name calling would not change that fact. My stand is, if we share the pie, everyone would get some of it. If we choose to be selfish, some would be left without while others get the hog’s share.
Yours truly do not utilize many of the services the city now provides, but think of the mother who utilize our after care school program to keep their kids before she gets home from work or the pools open for our kids or the senior who relies on our shuttle service, or our play parks everyone relies on. Even our water services can come under the hammer. Not hiring the right people we can end up with non portable water coming through our taps. These services WILL be closed along with many others if we do not have reforms.
If we go about with our heads buried in the sand, then we are no better than Greece.
When last did we have need for a $500,000.00 war tank the PD is asking to buy? Last year the Chief claimed according to the City Manager, Mr. Bonner, they had two emergencies. No justification for a war tank. The Jack’s shooting was isolated. It lasted 3 minutes and the tank would still be in the garage after it was over.
We already have one of these tank,…. rusting probably.
The NMBPD is not telling us they also want to buy a $4 million radio system and this can be used from the LETF (Law Enforcement Trust Fund).
Also, most of this money we capture for this fund comes from OUTSIDE of our city. That is why we loan a few cops to other cities, counties and sometimes states, so when the proceeds are shared, the CITY gets its share.
AK47? Oh, please. I drive around every corner of this city at the darkest hours of the night or day and never came across anyone with an AK47 brandishing them. What I come across are cops just “liming”.
Warmest,
Mubarak
MK, yes…AK-47’s are on our streets. We’ve responded to many calls of “shots fired” in our neighborhoods (generally gang related and retaliatory “messages”) and found the casings on the ground for these and other weapons. They are very dangerous guns, with the capability to cut through cinderblock walls. We are not here to play. We will train and equip ourselves to handle the threats to the citizens and our safety. Period.
I’ve said enough on the Armored vehicle. As for the 4 million dollar radio system. This is not some “toy” or just something we want to spend the money on. My understanding is that is has something to do with a change in radio operability enhancements that are being implemented either statewide or nationwide. I’m not very clear on this picture and will try to get more specifics. I believe that the current system has been rendered rather obsolete and will be difficult to maintain. Believe me, we don’t take the expenditure for this lightly.
The few detectives we have bringing in LETF money do a remarkable job in doing so. It’s not just about the money they bring in folks. They take on dangerous assignments designed to dismantle large organized drug smuggling operations. These organizations put dangerous drugs, guns and other contraband on our streets which have a trickle down effect to everyone’s safety.
You all need to learn to think outside of the box for a change. Things are not black and white.
Stay safe!
I don’t thing anybody has a problem with your intentions, I know I certainly do not. It is your presentation and delivery style that totally turns people off and makes you lose credibility. Just like Titanic said, you have the potential to be a more productive activist, yet you seem to enjoy wasting your potential.
I walked the length and breath of NMB during the last elections campaign. Saw some candidates and elected officials walking by themselves or small groups. They hand out their fliers to everyone identifying themselves. If someone wanted to harm them, they could have at that moment. None complained.
I meet elected officials at budget workshops when the mood could not get anymore contentious. No metal detectors. No guards. No security personnel or security detail. Why now the dog and pony show at Council Meetings?
Yep, we had grave shootings of elected officials in the past: Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, shooting at an upstate council meeting, the state rep lately. Previously it was JFK and Lincoln.
I have my doubts our newly elected Mayor will go for this charade. Our women running in the parks can better appreciate our police presence.
Warmest,
Mubarak
MK, I’m of the belief that government buildings need security. But only if it is true security, with no free passes. What’s good for one, is good for all. It only takes one unfortunate incident to occur, then people will complain about the lack of security. Disgruntled citizens are unpredictable.
Enough said on this.
Wasn’t Detective James Walker of the Miami Police Department killed at NE 164th street and 18th avenue on January 8, 2008? He was 30years old and his murderer used an AK47 rifle.
That is about one mile from my house. That’s pretty messed up!
My heart goes out to the James Walker family.
UglyTruth, that was 3 years ago and was it an AK47 or was it our police officer? No and no. That was the only emergency except for the Jack’s family the NMBPD chief use to get his “toys”. Now he wants a war tank.
For the last ten years we probably had two or three major emergencies to warrant news coverage except for the three gentlemen being killed by our police officers. I asked before the last two got killed for our police officers be equipped with button size video cameras pinned on their body. This was rejected and two other gentlemen got killed.
Look at Police POV (Point of View). They wear these cameras and take us as to what they really do. What does the NMBPD afraid of?
The other travesty is the take home cars used to do private business. I see our off duty cops using our cars to guard private business and pay our tax payers $5.00 for its use. Socialism or taking advantage of a broken system? Same thing.
Also the cars being driven out of our city and getting into accidents, at times very fatal. Who pay for this? Of course, us. But we must not have a voice how our money is spent?
Last budget hearing one hierarchy officer stood up for ten minutes and told us why she will not live in our city. Our new City Manager Mr. Bonner could not think of a better city to reside in.
Mubarak
Police POV is a new TV show. It consists of police officers wearing an eye glass looking like device and it videos where they go into their “action”.
I heard now that the hotel on 19th avenue came up at the CRA meeting tonight. A Comfort Inn? Why are they going to destroy 19th avenue? It will become part of the 163rd street corridor. It will become a flop house and the flop house will be in our neighborhood. What hotel chain would evaluate that 19th avenue would be a good place to do business? The city will pay 850,000 for the land and then give it to them? Please don’t let that item pass.
Choice Hotels International, Comfort Inn’s parent company, will hold the franchise for the agreed period and run for the hills the moment their contract is up. This will most certainly then become a problem property right in the middle of our city. The folks behind this project will make their money on the construction phase and really don’t care what happens to the property afterwards. Their sole purpose is to suck free money out of the CRA and even more money out of their distressed country. If there was ever a place in need of investment and a hotel is their country, but then again they are looking to funnel money out not put money in.
What utter nonsense… lunacy at its fullest.. this is Patrick Henry ?!?
I want liberty, give me open carry!
I want liberty, I will take on the gangs if you wish…
Please folks… the founders had a lot more common sense than what ive seen here… or is this re-election of outrageous clowns year after year a sure sign of elected democracy gone mad ?
Im starting to lean towards choosing that death option…The nation was founded by the people for the people… not the sheeple and not the police department..
Hey I never voiced my complaints with the police dept.. G-d knows I have friends there….
Well the city council meeting leans more toward a politico meeting in the red square of Russia than this United States..
Sure all your hear is garbage.. why the heck should I waste my time at the circus ?!? I actually have valid bills to pay…
Oh corruption overwhelming…. Ye old corruption… hath we no man or woman honest that will fight the great battle ?!?
Ahh yes democracy… Whether it was Adams, Jefferson, Henry, Franklin, Paine, Rush, Gerry… Hamilton, Jay, Monroe, Madison..
Good ‘old democracy turns 235…We the people… Freedom of speech no matter how stupid you find the other’s speech… freedom to bear arms.. yes my guns dammit…45 acp, .12 gauge, .223… even if you dont like em!
Democracy.. freedom… hmm its a tough call… But by G-d lets not make a sham of true democracy… If you need help call me i’m fine with patrolling the town on horseback with a 12 gauge…. no problem ‘mo….
The PD is like the standing army… first we had a militia… big bunch of rabble but they did the job.. then we get an army.. which was disbanded…
Im undecided if the police department should be involved in policy… honestly I dont give a damn.
Oh people of unincorporated, how long will you sit on the fence ? either vote to be incorporated or get the hell out of NMB city hall.. dont waste my oxygen..
Im not part of the solution, but at least I dont add any problems….
I fully support the right to bear arms, but I also don’t want to see an increase in vigilantism. It can run amok. The PD is not interested in setting city policy. We just want to do our jobs, professionally, efficiently and as well equipped as possible. We are facing an ever increasing wave of bolder, more violent youth than ever before. Where is the parenting? We can blame tv, video games, the schools, society at large….but at the end of the day, it’s the lack of basic, good ole fashioned parenting that is lacking in the lives of today’s youth.
And yes, Elchonon, the unincorporated areas around us should be absorbed. Why do we have donut holes in the middle of our city? Why is “North Miami Beach Senior High” not in North Miami Beach? For that matter, why is there a “Beach” in our City name? We don’t have a beach…haven’t had one in decades. We should square off as much as possible. Extend out to 441 right up to County Line Road and East to US 1. Or at least absorb the donut holes and even Highland Oaks.
We need growth and better planning. Growth will bring in much needed revenue. And yes, some reforms are needed. The city is a bit fat at the top.
Oh, and MK, please stop grandstanding…you did not singlehandedly save the police department from going to the County. You may believe that in your mind, but that was just Julien and some cronies talking out loud. Trust me, you would be turning blue holding your breath waiting for the County to respond to most calls for service.
As for Miami’s new mayor setting an example, let’s see how that goes. People wanted change and got Obama. We see how well that’s worked out. Politicians promise the world, but never deliver.
TAKE A RIDE THROUGH THE CITY AT ANYTIME DAY OR NIGHT AND SEE HOW MANY UNITS ARE ON PATROL OR NOT. PREVENTING CRIMES BEFORE THEY HAPPEN. WHERE IS THE MILEAGE BEING PUT ON THE CARS. HOW MANY TIMES HAVE OFFICERS ON THEIR WAY TO WORK RESPONDED TO A CALL? RECORDS WOULD SHOW THAT. AND HOW MUCH HAS THE CITIZENS GAINED FROM THAT. CITIZEN OF NORTH MIAMI BEACH,FLORIDA
It is now 12:10 pm. I am off the clock so to speak. I am not utilizing company time to do blogs. Somehow, the time recordings shown when posted, are not correct.
However, I am seeing Titanic and others using taxpayers time to do blogs. Irrespective, our reforms should take care of that.
Why don’t you people use your real names? Be accountable. Hiding behind these false names reminds me we may be in Iran or Syria. What are you afraid of?
Taking pot shots at a senior, hiding behind a false name, is a cowardly move. Ms. Hilton is living within her means. Someone commented on how much she pays for her taxes. Maybe if we all live within our means like her, we would not be having underfunded pensions and pay over bloated salaries we cannot afford.
Warmest.
you all need to get a life!!!! all I hear is blah, blah, blah…..
TC,
441 is biscayne right ? its had its ups and downs… but yes it should be more cosmopolitan like aventura and city of miami..go to like 70th street see all the clean trendy stores and all its great..
But the white elephant is the “mall” as you stated, we have this huge doughnut hole its like a free for all no mans land…
The chief himself told me this isnt the root of the crime.. sure thats possible but its a huge factor… when there was a shooting on 175th and 12th a year ago, I saw 6+ NMB cars respond and were there for 1 hour or so till the county took over..
So a solution would be to build condo’s, hotels and offices on biscayne blvd…
W
MK, I admire your courage to criticize the pd, when most residents will not, and they will not do so out of FEAR, plain and simple. As the posts on leoaffairs make clear, residents who criticize will not be served. At least not by some.
The time the comments are posted reflects the time they are approved by the moderator, not the time they are written.
Finally, clearly many of these posters are NMB employees, and no, they do not have freedom of speech. Ask Marlen…I understand she was axed by Baker because she was communicating with elected officials…HER elected officials, as she lives in NMB. The ability to post anonymously is a valuable way for folks to exchange information without endangering their jobs. I suppose it might appear cowardly for those with nothing to lose (nothing but police protection anyway 🙂 I for one appreciate the insider insights gained from these posts.
Thanks for your comments. I also respect those who wish to remain anonymous, whether they are residents, employees or both. This is mainly the reason that I was able to uncover so much “dirt” in helping to bring Myron to justice, because I promised my “sources” that I would never divulge their identities, and I have kept my word. The message is what’s important regardless of the messenger.
Also, something is wrong with the time clock on this website because it appears to be exactly four hours off! I’ll let the webmaster know so he can fix it.
Thanks to everyone for their comments and opinions.
Steph
Thank you Stephanie for providing this forum for those who must remain nameless. We do realize you’ve garnered priceless information from those who must of necessity remain anonymous.
Elchonon, if you think Biscayne is 441, clearly you don’t live here. Oletta (sic) is a state park, and Greynolds is a county park. And the senseless backwards bus system is operated by MDC. Get a fucking clue.
Guys, Gals, whatever you be, can’t we have a civil discussion? Using expletives would only take away from the substance and lower this site. Please.
That is why I suggested we use our real names, and we would be more accountable what we say and counteract on misinformation.
You are right, MK. My apologies for my lack of civility (as much as it pains me to use that phrase LOL). We should all be grateful for this forum to exchange positive ideas.
TC,
441 is biscayne right ? its had its ups and downs… but yes it should be more cosmopolitan like aventura and city of miami..go to like 70th street see all the clean trendy stores and all its great..
But the white elephant is the “mall” as you stated, we have this huge doughnut hole its like a free for all no mans land…
The chief himself told me this isnt the root of the crime.. sure thats possible but its a huge factor… when there was a shooting on 175th and 12th a year ago, I saw 6+ NMB cars respond and were there for 1 hour or so till the county took over..
So a solution would be to build condo’s, hotels and offices on biscayne blvd…
Who has the visitor numbers for oletta and grenolyds ? I am sure there is an ability to bring in normal tourists here… then you have tge ancient monastery… its all nice but no tourism proper… just a lousy days inn by i95
Besides, the jewish community would use a hotel….
You need people with a strong business sense weighing in.. this isnt happening because we dont care enough about the city.. to get involved in this sewage department.
I just used a law firm in aventura for arbitration at 425$ an hour.. this guy has clients fly in from all over the world.. they rent hotel space in aventura, they eat out in aventura.. this guy’s paying a pretty penny in rent and taxes to aventura..
We arent catering either to the community or outside residents… the wallmart isnt bringing in shoppers.. they go to wallmart and they leave…
Once we had sara’s kosher pizza, that brought in people to NMB… I have watched stores after stores after restaurants flop….
We have a great shopping strip if you go down 163rd between biscayne and the inter-coastal… I think that area should be home to a 4-5 star hotel too if not on biscayne… Im no fan of the strip clubs but wtf do i care how wealthy tourists waste their $ ?
NMB needs to utilize the critical artery and not fall prey to it… we have the main juncture between i95, palmetto, turnpike, biscayne, collins and so on and so forth… we are situated between miami international and ft lauderdale airports… and instead of being a world wide business and tourist center we are a slum…
If we couold shore up the city as TC says and establish normal boundaries… we could actually route traffic off residential roads and reduce crime… we could provide a priceless boost to businesses in particular restaurants…
Oh and the senseless backwards 163rd street bus system needs to end ASAP… all these buses going round and round its like a Disney horror flick.
Personally, I don’t know if Biscayne is right for a hotel within NMB. Maybe the vacant area east of Dean’s Gold or even where Dean’s Gold stands would be good. Strip clubs are a seedy environment and while not all the patrons are trouble, they do bring in a troublemaking clientele. Some clubs worse than others. This is where residents should put pressure on the Council to not renew licenses and disband these clubs when possible. Where there is a strip club, there is usually organized crime involved. There’s alot of cash flowing and that breeds lack of proper control. Not to mention there’s always drugs somewhere not to far.
Kazan has been complaining about this for years, and he’s right on. These clubs are not good for the city.
The Mall at 163…I don’t think I’ve set foot inside in years. When Macy’s pulled out, they lost a critical anchor. Many people I know refuse to go there and prefer Aventura mall. I cannot really tell how well the mall is doing so I can’t honestly say whether the land there could be put to better use. It’s not ours anyway, unfortunately. That’s alot of revenue we are missing out on. It’s right, smack in the middle of NMB!!! Makes no sense.
Elchonon, 441 is not Biscayne. It is State Rd. 7 or NW 7th Ave. Full of car dealerships and auto repair places among other establishments. Definitely not the better of roadways, but businesses need to survive as do the many employees working them.
NMB has great potential and great people. I may not live here, but I love this city and want to see it thrive. Crime is addressed both proactively and reactively by the PD. Just yesterday, the Street Crimes Unit made a big bust of the new leader of the Money Ave gang. This gang has been responsible for income tax fraud utilizing the information of over a thousand victims in and out of our city. Vehicles and property were seized along with fraudulent refunds and credit cards. We’ve been having great success against groups like this, but “it takes a village…” to use a popular phrase.
All rhetoric aside, the Police department personnel work very hard for this community and appreciate all the support from the residents.
I am happy to try and address questions and concerns regarding the PD here to the best of my ability. However, if you have a serious problem that requires immediate attention from the PD, please do not post it here, rather call the PD directly so it can be addressed.
TC, your helpful information and positive comments are much appreciated. I can’t help but observe that Elchonon has a “serious problem” that the PD probably cannot address.
TC, finally we can agree with something in common. Much of this column made allot of sense as well.
Usually, if we residents do not press the police, they just take a back seat and throw back. I am glad to hear now what I used to hear of years ago. In the summer of 2009, the NMBPD busted about 85 people, most of which were gang members. That was when a council person suggested we close the department down.
Not long after, the NMBPD received more than $1 million for the LETF (Law Enforcement Trust Fund). Had we disbanded the NMBPD, that money would have gone to another jurisdiction and probably none of it coming to NMB to help circumvent crime.
We residents do not dislike our PD. What we dislike are the loafers that come to work and give others a bad name.
No one can take away some of the good things the NMBPD has done over the years. And no one is about to either.
No one can take away the good job our city did in providing us clean water we have flowing through our pipes. Or the garbage collection, or the child care services, or the parks.
But, what we do have, is a poor economy. Plain and simple. The current President was handed a nightmare for an economy and that is what we have. It could have been worse. The banks could have been folded and we all line up at soup kitchens provided by China. However, we are at this juncture, where we all have to do cut backs. Not some, and others go scotch free. ALL, including every police personnel.
A few years ago Keven Klopp, former City Manager asked for the NMBPD to pay 11 (eleven) cents per mile for “their” take home cars. The union huffed and puffed and panted and refused to even budge. In the meanwhile, taxpayers loose their homes to foreclosure, they loose their jobs and health insurances, we pay more taxes even though our home values went down and we simply had enough. Time to put up now.
As per strip club, we have another one coming before council on Tuesday to allow them to open until 6 am. The ROGUE.
I expect it to pass with flying colors. Our police officers will get jobs to guard this trap. DUI’s will come and go freely as has been in the past. That is my other grouse with the NMBPD. You are not the first officer telling us they disagree with these strip clubs. But it boils down to a conflict of interest. The officers who get over time would not want to discourage patrons from coming to the business, hence no DUI’s are made, no drug busts are done by the department.
Warmest,
Mubarak
MK, I actually agree with you on many fronts, it’s your delivery I often have a problem with. I also don’t necessarily agree with salary cuts across the board. There are some senior people making too much money, that I can agree on. But the rank and file officers have worked hard over the years with gradual salary increases to keep up with the cost of living. Everyone looks forward to raises in their careers, even in the private sector. Private sector has potential for all kinds of salaries, however, in the public sector, we have to negotiate for it at the whim of the City and their budgets at the time. Most of us cannot afford the salary cuts you propose. If we could, we wouldn’t be working off duty jobs to supplement our income. We do make a decent salary for being public servants. This is what helps keep corruption in law enforcement to an absolute minimum, compared to other countries where LEO’s are underpaid (if paid at all at times). Too long a topic to get into, but I understand your position, just don’t agree on it.
We don’t need additional strip clubs, that’s for sure. A couple of the ones in our city, have just been playing games with ownership. As for the officers working these clubs, let me correct something you stated and are misinformed about. Off duty is not ‘Overtime’. The off duty rate is a flat rate that all private businesses (Target, the Guard Gate, Wachovia, etc.) pay for security via a uniformed police officer rather than private security. The off duty rate earned by the officers (minus the administrative fee kept by the City) is taxed on the officer’s paycheck and NOT PENSIONABLE. So in effect, working off duty is no different than the officer looking for outside employment outside the city. Having them in the City, in uniform, subjects them to immediate call out for any nearby emergency when needed. In addition, off duty officers are required to handle reports for incidents occurring at the off duty locations, saving an “on duty” officer from having to respond and keeping them available for proactive patroling or handling calls elsewhere in the city.
The officers at the clubs are required to stay outside of the strip clubs and not enter unless there is an incident to handle. If you feel there is a conflict of interest, please discuss it with the Chief. The officers would much prefer to work other off duty jobs than the strip clubs. Unfortunately, off duty jobs for certain shifts are few and far between. As for DUI arrests, a patron would have to attract the officer’s attention in order to be stopped and questioned. It is often the case where someone comes stumbling out, and an officer will prevent them from getting in their vehicle to drive. If they insist, then they usually get arrested upon entering their car. The officers do not follow people from the clubs waiting to see if they start driving poorly.
Enough of that. Wishing everyone a very safe and enjoyable 4th of July. Let’s remember to reflect on the sacrifices of our service men & women and those before them, for the bountiful opportunities we have come to enjoy in this great nation.
Stay safe!!
As I’m reading these comments, I’m glad to see that there are some things people can agree on. Just because people have a difference of opinion about certain issues doesn’t mean they can’t discuss things honestly and even agree to disagree. I’m glad that Patrick Henry explained about the off duty aspect of police work. When my husband worked for the fire department, I remember him telling me they had off duty jobs at various businesses for what they called “fire watch.” I think it had to do with guarding buildings that were under construction or nearly completed, but that hadn’t passed fire inspection yet. So they hired off duty firefighters at night when the building was empty in case there was a fire. He told me that the pay was actually a lot less than what the firefighters made on duty, but these jobs were filled by the people who wanted to make some extra money. Also, these off duty jobs were paid by the businesses who hired them and not the county. The off duty jobs were not the same as overtime when the county needed extra hands.
As for the strip clubs, while I do believe that legal businesses have a right to operate (even if we find them distasteful), I also know that these types of businesses do tarnish the image of a city. Why do you think they don’t have strip clubs in cities like Aventura or Coral Gables, for example? Because those cities don’t allow those types of business to operate within their city limits. This is the difference between what I call “upscale” municipalities and what I won’t repeat here what I think of NMB. Sorry, but I just speak the truth. No matter how fancy a “gentlemen’s club” tries to make itself, let’s face it – a t*tty bar is a t*tty bar now matter how you dress it up. They’re not even as reputable as the old Playboy Clubs used to be, where the women may have dressed sexy, but they were clothed and didn’t give lap dances. Now I do not judge what someone has to do for a living. For many of these women, this is the only way they can earn a decent living and support their families. I’m just saying that if North Miami Beach ever wants to regain its image as a “city beautiful” it really needs to not renew the licenses of these establishments when they expire. If we can get rid of places like that (and personally I’d get rid of pawn shops and tattoo parlors) I think we could start to clean up this dive. I’m just saying.
Thanks for all the comments, everyone. Have a safe and happy Independence Day!
Pleasant and Happy Fourth everyone!
Stef, you made some good points, including echoing TC to get rid of the garbage dumps in NMB.
First let me remind TC and all, the US economy is in shambles. We would love to continue the same old same old, where we pay everyone their worth and a little more. However, we are broke. You can clearly see it with our underfunded pensions, year after year. We now borrow money to pay for raises and pay pensions. Does it ring a bell?
As per payment for guarding privately, I would ask, does our police officers get $14.00 per hour for their guard services? NO. Several years ago they were making $35.00 per hour or thereabout and pay the city $5 for the use of the cars.
A little less than $14.00 is what we currently pay the guards at the Western Eastern Shores guard gate. They had a salary freeze for five years and Roz Weisblum raised their pay from $11 something to $13 something, last December.
It is true Off Duty over time(OT) is not pensionable, but this enables the cop to channel more of his/her salary towards his/her pension. This the taxpayers now have to fund, even if the market is bad.
For every one dollar you put in, we back that with two dollars. How can that be sustainable?
We do not have a problem with you even taking 100% of your salary and put it towards your pension, but do it with a 401K.
We depend on the private market to fund your pensions. When the market crashes, who must absorb that loss? I know whenever the market crashes, our 401K’s take a hit, yet we still have to pay our property taxes and other bills.
As per DUI’s, no officer has to be following anyone to see if they are whobbly or not. A Breath Analyzer would do exactly what it was made to do. The threshold for our state does not allow the person to be so intoxicated he can hardly drive before he is pulled over.
For having four cops each “on stand by” at these clubs, for “nearby emergencies” is a bit far fetched. How many of these “emergencies” occurred for the last five years? These are the excuses the Chief keeps putting out, to justify what he does. He keeps referring to the Det. Walker shooting, and now he has the Jack’s family to add to his “excuses of emergencies”.
When our City Manager was looking for a house to live, he choose NMB. Where did our chief choose? Far from NMB. Hence, it is not a problem for some to have our city tainted.
TC, you said, “We do make a decent salary for being public servants. This is what helps keep corruption in law enforcement to an absolute minimum…” end of quote. Why must any LEO use their position of maintaining Law and Order, to be corrupt if their salary is not “decent”?
Many in the private sector currently are not decently paid, and some government paid employees in other cities have had cuts in their salaries and pension. Yet we are not hearing of corruption. What we are hearing of, is, they are grateful they still have a job and can yet pay some of their bills and promise to work even harder to make the economy and the country a better place.
Some PD personnel are willing to do their sacrifices, but they are “watched” by others not to break that line.
Look at the many jobs exported overseas and the many unions can pat themselves of their own backs, they helped to contribute significantly towards this.
Something has to give, and it surely would not be our taxpayers. Those who think we are underpaying them, and we do have the money but is hiding it from them, more power to them on their next job.
Warmest and again, Pleasant Fourth.
Yep I don’t drive so I don’t know the nuances of street names, but I know my way around and have a flawless memory.
Taking pot shots at me while hiding belies you immaturity, your right I don’t need the pd’s help, I intend to exercise the castle doctrine on any would be burglars.
I have common sense, which you seem to lack. I know that oletta is a state park, people come to visit, visitors eat out, they buy gas, they shop. Learn some basic economics.
The make up of nmb commercial is medical offices catering locally.
The religious jewish community is growing. We have a slum like feeling if you ask me, too much retail space that should be re-organized.
Sure the bus is mdc, and we tell the county to clean up its horse manure
Let me expound some more, I don’t know hard data but my eyes get the full story better at times.
Nmb is small some 40k + residents. We do have unincorporated maybe 1000-3000 residents? Plus some few thousand snow birds (marlin gardens is some 650 apartments I believe plus many on miami gardens) let’s see, we are effectively screwing thesre poor canadian old timers too by dumping the ‘hood and the condo prices are in the dumps (yes I know about the housing bust but this is different)
The jewish community is investing millions upon millions here in area that’s unincorporated but still reflects the neighborhood.
Meanwhile area public schools are swelling from kids being bussed in! Ever drive near 163rd after school is out is a nightmare *honk*
The city pays 400k to rebuild the street with bank of america across the mall but should be addressing this gridlock nightmare
the entire biscayne area could be used and would have a trickle down effect, even 163rd should bulldoze our unlimited strip malls and replace with office towers = high rent = high class clients.
I see so much empty spaces, I remember the old pier 1 imports on hanford, we have nothing, we have laundry mats and chinese restaurans.
This is just how things work, my surgeon in new york pays thousands of extea rent monthly for his office so he can have the part avenue address.
We have some office space here and all seem to have vacancies, who wants to be based in a slum?
There ought to be a law limiting payless shoe store from opening more than 5 stores in nmb.
I really want to build a park off 10th and miami gardens, we need a park this side of town.
Let the city build normally and not renovate our messed up situation.
And plant more trees dammit!
Your surgeon in New York should do us all a favor and give you a lobotomy, perhaps followed up with some EST and confinement in a nice New York State institution.
Your cowardly attacks are laughable, I won’t stoop to your level
Please, no more personal attacks on this thread. I am committed to refraining from such and ask anyone else posting to do the same. I would like to see friendly, intelligent discourse here on a positive path toward improving our city and the quality of life for the residents, visitors, businesses and employees.
With that, touching on something Elchonon mentioned previously. Many years ago, while visiting Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, there was a stretch of main road lined with chain and non-chain restaurants. It was effectively called, “Restaurant Row.” With some good planning, I think the 163 St. corridor would be a great place for that given the main artery from the Golden Glades to Sunny Isles Beach. It would bring in more tourists and visitor dollars into our city, create jobs and help our local economy.
Just a thought….
Happy 4th to all!!!
I second that call for being civil and fruitful.
For years a few have been saying, including yours truly, the 167-163 corridor is our welcome mat to NMB. More than 120,000 vehicles pass through this corridor daily. How many stop by and patronize the stores or care to set up shop here? Almost zilch. Why?
The answer is simple. Because the corridor looks like a ruin. I have been talking this to sitting and past council members. Get with county commissioners Sally Hayman and the then Rolle, now Jean Monestime.
The impression this corridor creates is the entire NMB looks like this, hence the city is referred to by many as a dump. I disagree. We need to beautify this corridor. Look at other nearby cities and see what they are doing to uplift theirs.
Look at our Welcome Signs. Some plexi glass is being used. The selection of the trees, …..look at Sunny Isles. Some beautiful pineapple palms line their entrance. Simple but awesome. What do we have? Oh, I forgot….Hanford Blvd. See how many drive through and visit these businesses. Not even 120 for the entire week.
Warmest.
TC,
I was thinking this a few weeks ago, that we need to get the tourists over the bridge.. 163rd and collins was cleaned up nicely..
I know many folks that own condo’s here.. but they are all either aventura, baal harbour etc.. I think NMB could attract condo buyers and snow birds.
What is your thought of thinning 163rd from 3 lanes to 2 lanes ? or even biscayne more south is 2 lanes and so much nicer!
Generally speaking I cannot get a feel of NMB, we are small town with a metropolitan traffic…
6th ave, miami gardens, biscayne bblvd, 163rd street… we are just a crossroads and trust me the pollution isnt lovely either….
El- 163rd street is too heavily travelled to thin down to 2 lanes. It would create a nightmare during commute times not to mention holiday traffic. Wouldn’t work. Biscayne Blvd however, just maybe would survive. The problem is it is unpredictable what any changes along the blvd would do to the traffic flow. Look what happened in Aventura. Traffic there is just horrible.
Aside from the strip clubs…I agree that we have too many pawn shops, gold buying businesses, “Asian Massage Parlors”, etc. Again, makes our city look like US 441. There are too many vacant storefronts and offices. There is no overnight fix for this, but City planning needs to be reviewed.
MK…to address your earlier comments about off duty, pension, taxes, et al…. You cannot compare trained, sworn police officers with private security guards. Although the actual job requirements are similar for the most part, there is a reason one gate is manned by sworn police officers. The community in that part of E. Shores voted for it. They had the option of private, lower cost security guards or sworn police officers at a higher cost. They chose to go with having Police Officers. This created a special taxing district, for which they pay a special assessment for this. Again…this was the voter’s choice for that area. As for the issue of corruption, I was making an analogy and comparison to other countries. I am stating facts and opinion not twisting things around.
Again, off duty rate earned by the officers is not pensionable. The extra salary earned by working off duty is not pensionable and DOES NOT COUNT toward pension calculations. It is just extra money earned for working extra hours. Please get your facts straight before you give others the wrong information.
As for taxpayers…again, remember that the City employees are taxpayers as well. Where we choose to live is our own private business. If our City offered what we wanted, we would choose to live here. Again, it is personal as it is for anyone else. If the City Manager chooses to live in the City, good for him. He’s making enough money to live wherever he wants. City Mangers generally have a very short tenure, as do Police Chief’s and other contractual positions.
Have a great week everyone.
Las Olas Boulevard and Hollywood Boulevard were narrowed down to two lanes and it worked out just fine. This should be done between NE 15 avenue and NE 19 avenue. Just like in Las Olas and Hollywood boulevards, narrowing down a few blocks will create a “pause” in this otherwise highway and generate a much needed business district. I understand DOT offered this to us many years ago and we rejected it. Their offer was made based on the premise that SR 826 is no longer safe to operate at its present capacity and it will either have to be widened, by removing the medians, or narrowed. This time around all they did was increase the stacking lanes, but the day will come when the medians will be eliminated and we will look just like 441. NMB has historically been paralyzed by the fear of change, and rather than taking charge of our change, change is happening to us while we sit there unable (or unwilling) to do anything.
While an attractive area, both Las Olas and downtown Hollywood Blvd are horrible to drive through at certain times. I avoid those stretches like the plague, and take alternate roadways to get where I’m going. NE 163 St is a major throughway from the highways to the beaches and used my many to get there. Making any part of it narrower would be like creating a funnel and cause a logjam. I don’t see it as practical. Having worked traffic details for years, I’m speaking from experience.
I would love to see the median area lined with beautiful palm trees. They do, however, shed large palm fronds which if not regularly and properly maintained, can cause some hazard from falling onto the roadways.
And one more thing: When Biscayne Landing is fully occupied; combined with the University, the middle and high schools, the intersection of Biscayne and 151 street will be total gridlock. While we were all arguing about Marina Grande, the Biscayne Landing monster was slipped in without anybody noticing. This will be the source of many problems in the middle of our City, yet we will not get a single property tax penny to help out solving them.
MK,
So in other words, instead of all the $ wasted on hanford it should have been invested in 163/167th ? As steph wrote, we have too many mechanics, pawn shops and so on and so forth.
We lack trees which is vital for foot traffic, and use despite accusations to my mental stability, as long as the 163rd street bus fiasco isnt fixed, we will not attract normal buyers to the area, bus traffic and so many people just flooding the streets is not a fun relaxing time.
Think about it, too much retail space, owners desperate to fill, rents are rock bottom = shady clientele (I go to jiffy’s to get mugged) and we arent attracting new businesses or clients… walgreens and grocery stores dont count.
I do not understand city planing, or stuff like this.. but I can tell you that people want to ship where its nice… whether its lohmans plaza or any nice outdoor promenade / streets (look at 41st street / artuthr godfrey road)