I got a call this morning from David Smith, the Hallandale Beach Blogger, who asked me if I saw Channel 10’s This Week in South Florida this morning (which I did not, but it’s online now). David told me that Glenna Milberg’s guest was the newly retired Police Chief of Miami Gardens, Matthew Boyd, and he thought I might find the segment interesting.
Glenna Milberg interviewed the Chief on a variety of topics, including his recent retirement and the now infamous video that appears to show police harassment of an employee at a local market. The discussion that I found most interesting, however, was the Chief’s comments about why he believes the crime rate is so high in Miami Gardens. Here is the exchange as noted in the transcript of the show, which is linked below the video:
Milberg: WHAT DRAWS GUN VIOLENCE AND PEOPLE WITHOUT WANT TO COMMIT CRIMES AND ROBBERIES AND MURDERS TO THE BOUNDARIES OF MIAMI GARDEN.
Boyd: WELL, YOU GOT TO LOOK. AND I GUESS EVERYBODY IS USING THEIR CLOSURE OF THE SCOTT HOMES.
Milberg: SUBSIDIZED HOUSING.
Boyd: RIGHT, IT’S COMING OVER. THAT MAY BE THE BOUNDARIES AND EVERYTHING. I CAN’T COME OUT AND SAY THAT. I CAN’T AGREE WITH THAT. BUT I TELL YOU THIS, WE DID A FEW YEARS AGO WE DID AN OVERVIEW OF WHERE, AND I WENT WITH THE CITY OF MIAMI OVER THIS AS WELL, OVER WHAT ALL OUR SUBSIDIZED HOUSING WAS IN THE CITY. AND WE PLOTTED THAT OUT. THEN WE PLOTTED WHERE OUR VIOLENT CRIME WAS OCCURRING. AND WE PUT IT ON TOP OF IT AND IT WAS ALMOST IN THE SAME EXACT AREA WHERE WE WERE GETTING THAT AND WHERE THIS WAS OCCURRING AT.
I urge you to watch the entire interview for yourself, which is the first segment of the show and less than ten minutes long.
As David suggested, this is an issue about which I am extremely interested. Last March, the South Florida Business Journal published an article about an eight million dollar renovation of a subsidized housing project in North Miami Beach called Harvard House. Other publications also spotlighted the ribbon cutting at the completion of the non-profit Carrfour Supportive Housing developer’s project. The president of Carrfour, Stephanie Berman, was quoted as saying, “Beyond providing much-needed housing for families and individuals in need, we rescued an asset from distress, thus injecting new life into a deteriorating neighborhood.”
I disagreed then, and I disagree now. A crime rate map published by Neighborhood Scout shows that the area in which Harvard House is located, which is known as Government Center, is the third least safe neighborhood in North Miami Beach.
The only two other neighborhoods with higher crime rates are south of 163rd Street, including West Dixie Highway and surrounding areas (where the latest shooting homicide occurred), and the least safest area includes the large expanse of commercial properties south of 163rd and east of Biscayne Boulevard. The residential neighborhood of Highland Village is also located in this section.
In terms of responsible urban planning, a Government Center, or “downtown” if you will, should present as the showcase of progress of any given city. A downtown area should be a booming, highly desirable place to live and work. Witness the amazing transformation of downtown Miami, where less than a decade ago the entire area literally shut down at the close of business each day, and had few attractions to bring visitors in at night. As recently as 2008, Planetizen reported,
“A year ago, a top Macy’s executive ripped the condition of downtown Miami in front of a shocked Chamber of Commerce audience, describing the city’s urban core as a place of ‘broken curbs, collapsed sidewalks and garbage-strewn empty lots.’
The stinging speech served as something of a wake-up call to community leaders. In the year since, many sidewalks have been repaired. Six uniformed downtown ”ambassadors” have been hired to deter crime and guide visitors. And new residents have steadily trickled in, attracted by shiny high-rises and short commutes.”
While the article stated that downtown Miami “still has a ways to go,” six years later the progress that’s been made is clearly visible. The Metro Jacksonville just published an article on January 6, 2014, stating,
“While South Beach came to life as an international nightlife and tourist destination, 1990s Downtown Miami was known for its high homeless population, wide pedestrian hostile streets and being a vertical office park that closed up at night.
However, much has been achieved over the last decade. For example, Downtown’s homeless population has been reduced by 90%. Downtown’s Flagler Avenue is one of the few historic walkable retail streets in the South still lined with department stores and hundreds of smaller retailers. In 2007, the Miami 21 zoning code was implemented, banning most autocentric building designs throughout the entire city. In 2012, Metrorail was extended to Miami International Airport, providing a direct connection to downtown and leading to an increase of nearly 10,000 daily riders on the heavy rail system since its opening.”
One of the most notable things in downtown Miami is the development of luxury high rise buildings, which replaced old buildings and empty lots. I know. I used to work there from 1978 to 1994, and believe me, the change is startling! Because of the new Code and increased high end development, as the Metro Jacksonville reported,
“Downtown’s residents now make up 40% of the city’s tax base and 50% of its workforce. As of 2010, the population of downtown Miami was 71,000 with a density of 27,487 per square mile. Growing from 40,000 in 2000 and adding 550 new residents each month, downtown Miami is currently one of the fastest growing neighborhoods in the state. Add in nearly 200,000 office employees and 4.33 million cruise passengers annually and it’s not difficult to understand that Florida’s largest downtown has a pretty bright future.”
The goal of successful urban renovation, according to the Metro Jacksonville, is “to make the city’s core a safe, comfortable and inviting place for the pedestrian experience, which are all critical components of great cities that many downtown revitalization advocates across the country overlook.”
All of which brings me to my point. As former Miami Gardens Police Chief Matthew Boyd stated in shocking politically incorrect terms, crimes are higher in areas of subsidized housing. Because of where it is located, the “revitalization” of Harvard House was, in my opinion, a waste of eight million dollars. (And, yes, I did tell the Mayor and several Council members just that.) Maintaining low income housing in the area will never attract the higher tax based residential and commercial properties necessary to sustain and grow North Miami Beach. It would have been much better for our entire city for the Carrfour Supportive Housing to spend that money building or renovating existing low income housing in an outlying area and relocating the Harvard House tenants.
If there is any chance of “re-branding” NMB, as the City Council insists is being done, renovation and revitalization should begin in the area that by all accounts is our “downtown.” I’ve stated before that the entire Government Center, which also happens to be located within the CRA boundaries, should have been razed years ago, and developed into a true city center, with aesthetically pleasing mixed use properties. As it is, Northeast 19th Avenue is severely underutilized, and its potential has been squandered. With downtown Miami in mind, I can only imagine the possibilities. Am I the only one?
It’s still not too late to reverse the damage already done. Harvard House looks very nice now, and it’s still only one building. I believe the City Council should seriously consider tearing down the remaining buildings in the area while they have a chance, adopt a new urban planning initiative and follow through with strict Code enforcement. (Yes, folks. It IS all about Code enforcement!)
Obviously, naming Hanford Boulevard as the “City Center” was a complete bust. City Hall, the Police Department, Victory Pool and the surrounding areas should be dubbed as “downtown” North Miami Beach, and revitalized to achieve its maximum potential in order to attract new businesses and residential developers. From there, the rest of NMB will practically build itself. And…
“If you build it, they will come.”
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
not being that familar with your city can you say more about how the commercial area below 163 is the most crime ridden? do you mean all the shops on biscayne? Thanks as usual for keeping us informed.
I was basing my observations on the crime statistic map. I was also surprised that this is the highest crime area in NMB.
Alas, the truth is usually “politically incorrect”. Those apartment buildings were a mistake when they were built. Here’s a vision: City Hall and the surrounding area should be recreational. Tear down the crime infested buildings and invest in a small stadium that provides a rent generating venue for local and traveling sports teams. Change zoning on 19th avenue and on NE 171st street. Imagine the big Fulford homes as restaurants, boutiques and galleries. In the median there could be a stone walkway and vintage “gas” lights. Of course you need to dead-end the 15th street bridge entrance to vehicles in order to wall off Walmart and the rest of the unincorporated area. We can’t control their “vision”, but they shouldn’t encroach on ours. Hey, it’s just an idea.
I really, really 43 like that idea! I wonder if the city would agree. Perhaps you should submit it to the City Manager for her consideration. You never know unless you try.
is wal-mart and 163rd mall not part of NMB?
No, it belongs to the county. As do the middle and high schools directly to the north of the mall.
I agree with much of your sentiment, though any notion of relocating “unwanteds” is certainly politically unpopular, and perhaps rightly so.
The entire monstrosity which is the 163rd Mall/Wal-Mart shopping complex is a perfect example of not only poor, but destructive design.
It’s car centric, not community or pedestrian centric, despite it also being one of Miami-Dade Transit’s main Hubs.
Some other cities have understood the vital role such hubs can play in a community. Other than a great Jamaican Take-Out restaurant there is little I would want to spend money on in that area, despite it being a prime location for people in-between buses to make small purchases. And the problem is certainly not that the people around there are poor because the poor spend money just like everyone else, just not as much.
Rather than wanting to ignore or dismiss this area as a waste, we should recognize the opportunity it presents.
The age of 163rd mall is over, and likewise it’s horribly disruptive position in the community should be rethought. The city should work with the county to revise this as soon as possible and put the interests of community at the forefront.
There should be commercial and social space on 15th from 163rd until the bridge. And likewise for 164th from W Dixie up to 15th. I don’t imagine much can or will be done with 163rd due to the malaise of FDOT to ever put communities and pedestrians above cars and speed.
A lot of this, even without any grandiose vision for 163rd mall space, will require a new zoning methodology for NMB.
While it can be fun to re-envision areas for a “NEW DREAM” future, it’s much easier and more organic to focus on those spaces and areas where people already go and to try and correct whatever institutional barriers exist to there being actual progress.
In any case that’s enough rambling for now 🙂
Prem, you have some really good ideas, too. Unfortunately, 163rd Street Mall is not ours and the County doesn’t seem to want to cooperate with us about anything. Councilwoman Kramer has been trying to work with the county for years to fix up the main street (163) and she has been getting absolutely nowhere. I doubt the county would be inclined to mess with the mall since most of it is new construction, regardless of how ugly and pedestrian unfriendly the entire property is. I also love your suggestion to revitalize 15th Avenue, but again, as I responded to NMB Lady, the city doesn’t seem to be focused on renovating any one area, other than West Dixie Highway right now. Perhaps they will consider these other areas next.
aside from the schools and mall complex, does the city control the zoning for the properties that are on 163rd? or is that also county controlled?
Yes, the city owns most of the properties on the north side of 163 Street. The mall and schools are located in what is called the “doughnut hole,” which is county property. You can see a map of the city on the city’s website.
If you might remember Richard Reil, the new city Community Development Director, made a presentation of a plan for an overlay of certain areas that include City Center, Hanford Blvd., West Dixie (both North and South of 163rd), 163rd Street, and Biscayne Blvd. This would allow development of many mixed use projects that would have apt/condo housing above parking above retail like in Downtown Coral Gables and Miami.
You can see this presentation at the following link:
http://www.citynmb.com/vertical/Sites/%7B7D026603-3FD1-47D7-B72B-A998702CDBDA%7D/uploads/NMB_Opportunities_Presentation.pdf
Some of this came from the 2008 Urban study. I know it was presented before, but former planner Chris Hyde has many problems implementing this push for redevelopment as property owners did not want to invest in changing their properties. A lot also had to do with the state of the economy at the time. As it seems we are starting to recover, maybe this is the time the CRA can use the money to push this instead of the patchwork fascia upgrades that we have seen on 163rd street.
Finally, the city needs to look into annexing the holes in the area as well as other un-incorporated areas around us to increase the tax base as well as have better control of code enforcement. This way the 163rd street mall can have better enforcement to clean up their property as well as some pressure to redevelop the older west section into more pedestrian friendly buildings.