Posts Tagged: ‘Philip Levine’

Gongora questions the new Miami Beach Trolley

February 1, 2014 Posted by Frank M

Via Gongora on Facebook

As NewsHole[DOT]Info reported in early December, a new Trolley system is coming to Alton Road in Miami Beach.

The new commission explained the $750,000 a year expense as helping Alton businesses who are experiencing a dramatic loss in traffic as their store-front streets are being torn up, as part of a lengthy improvement project.

Well one former commissioner has come out criticizing the new plan. Former Commissioner Michael Gongora has questioned on social media why anyone would praise this plan as progress in mass transit when it really doesn’t address the island’s real issues.

“It would have been better to focus on connecting us to the mainland or simply increasing frequency of the South Beach local bus, which already does this route,” he wrote in an open post.

The South Beach Local runs on West Avenue, perpendicular to Alton Road. The walk between the two streets is negligible, but the idea is to deliver foot traffic to the business’s front door.

“We hope to mitigate the financial loss that some of these businesses have felt since the construction started by getting customers back on Alton Road and West Avenue,” said Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine in a statement.

Gongora lost to Levine in the last mayor’s race.

It was the only race on the beach NOT to go to a run off, although it featured the nastiest campaign.

(more…)

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Categories: MIAMI BEACH, MIAMI-DADE

Philip Levine to speak at Miami Beach Breakfast Club this Tuesday

January 6, 2014 Posted by Frank M

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Newly elected Mayor Philip Levine will speak at this week’s Miami Beach Tuesday Morning Breakfast Club.

Guest usually spout off their agenda, then take questions from the crowd.

It can get quite contentious. Get there early if you plan to go- It’s hard to hear from the back.

Program starts at 8:30am at David’s Cafe One. 11 and Washington. 

For more info www.MBTMBC.com.

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SunPost: Millions at stake says MBCCAB

October 17, 2013 Posted by Frank M

From wikimedia commons

By Frank Maradiaga From Miami SunPost

Advisory Board Warns Miami Beach It Will Lose $390 Million if Miami Beach Convention Center Plan is Scrapped.

The Miami Beach Convention Center Advisory Board announced this week that Miami Beach stands to lose $390 million dollars if the current renovation plans for the center are scrapped.

Chairman of the Board Stu Blumberg said the city has on the books tentative agreements that represent real tangible money, and warned it would go up in smoke if the city moved away from developing the 52-acre lot.

The meeting was called a day before the city’s October Commission Meeting, and in response to the commission asking the administration to look into ‘alternatives’ after the project hit a detour in the courts.

“We are a little bit frustrated about the lack of information regarding this center,” said Blumberg, “and more so the misinformation.”

With the ballot question struck from this November’s election because it did not include a finished agreement between the city and the developer, the project gets delayed and opponents get more time to poke at the aging center. None of the most vocal opponents to the project were present at the meeting.

“Our biggest critics are not in the room. That speaks volumes,” said Blumberg.

Commissioner Jonah Wolfson, backed with money from the Fontainebleau -themselves a failed bidder of the MBCC project-, has lead a campaign against the project. He even successfully put a question on this year’s ballot that would raise a potentially raise the passing of a referendum on public land from a simple majority to 60% of the vote.

If it passes it adds another difficult hurdle for the project. This lead the advisory board to rhetorically ask the commission, as none were present when the question was asked, does the city want to be in the convention center business?

“It’s not complicated, because if the city doesn’t wish to be in the business…then don’t talk about a renovation and don’t talk about a hotel,” said the chairman.

Read the rest at Miami SunPost

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Philip Levine won’t answer Andrew Mossberg on twitter.

September 2, 2013 Posted by Frank M

Came across an interesting interaction on Twitter thanks to a Billy Corben retweet: Andrew Mossberg asking Miami Beach Mayoral Candidates Philip Levine what he will do about bad cops.

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