LTC 272-2004
,.H
WHERE DREA"S.E
By MICHAEL KRANlSH
lkrold ~wn Wrikr
It was 1919 when \1sionar-
Its took . sand.!pit called
Miami Deac.:h and turned It
Into Hllh Society's pllly.
ground. Grelono Medina. a
yoons CUban polo pla)'pr, arrived on a
trolley to entertain the millionaires. Ft\'e
years lat/!.( Allen G. Smith opt'nt'd Amer1-
ca's leading Roll, Royce dealership.
Today Allen G. Smith, 93. repairs 511.
ver Chalts on FlUh Slr~t in a long con.
creole-Ind-plne prage, a time ClptoUIe
fIlltd with luxury cars. 50-year-old roob
and I thousand unmarktd jars 01 nuts and
bolts. Outride, Marlel refugeu fix bat-
teredChevles.
GrPI<lrio Medina, 85. fean the dark.
Each nllM he lock. hlmseU Inside his
,mall apartment near the old polo
grounds.
"Othetv.itM! they would kill you," Me-
dina explains In Spanish.
ThE' two pioneel'5 are &Imply on. the
wrong side of MlanLi Beach, the side that
few Quts!4ers uaoclate with the neon
gliU and glamour of Hotel Row. It I. the
$Outh sIde. an unlikely collection of old
buikllnes IDd older people. a land.scotpc
the hotelmen .od politicians w.nttd to
change -torenr,
Upitt that the lut 30 yeai'll hllve
turned the 80IJth side inla a ml'Cal fl'lr
thou.sands of elderly poor New York Jew-
!$h garment worken. city fathers in 1974
dCCidHl to tear down South Beach's dr_
caylne southern quarter, rdocale the
6,000 resldmts, .nd rWore the laded rt-
IOrt',I08tIl15tl'r,
It was to ha...e tw-e-n the biggest urban
ren~wa1 pro!<<t In America.
Todsy, reality mock. the dream.
A lethal combination of pollUcal In-
t1gbtlnl. ,rovernmental ind<<l5lon and 20
per Cf'ot Interest rates stopped fhe pro~ct
tbr<< times 10 dx y,,&u. A much I~ drat
matlc plan proposf'd this month, which
ellmlnatell 4 network of Venetian canals
and doubles the number of DeW condo-
mlolunll. would take another dl!Ude to
complete. It wUl be debited Wednesday ,.
by the City Commission. 0 stop "unplanned de...el~
But niDI.' years of planning and delays ment" In the redevelop-
h....e elimin.tf'd one dehlte: The onC('osta- ment arf!' soutb or SIxth
blf' though poor neighborhood has been Street, Ibe city impc:nN .t
devutaled, a ...Ictlm of Its own govern- bWl4ing moratorium in
ment. 1973. Major rf'Jlllir 01 old botels snd
Cotlectlnly, South Bncb todsy Is the apartments wu bannfd. Bulldlnjs illd
a1clut. poortlt .nd oIdut population in Into decay, fordng out tht' e-Idt>rly l"enter.,
America. brlngine In an undrrdass - criminals,
It Is a 1.7"'lquare-mile-worlel tb.t runs dope u.ser5, the poor, unemployfd Markl
beach to bay, 21st Strffi to Governmrnt . re{ugte.. Property valun .lalnattd. In-
Cut, 232 blocks and 103 alle)'s, densely ereuin& by only one-third the Dade ant-
pGd:ed with 50,000 Jlf:Ople. flfl~n tbnu- ace. Elderly condo ownefll couldn't !\I!'JI.
sane. of them .rt tlderly Jews, InclUding The crime rate doubled.
la,OOO Turin-era Eutem EurolWan retu- The clt)' In erreet pulled out,
Sets, the grealest such concentration In Miami Bf'.lIeb clOSf'd most of the parks.
the world. They mix toeflY, Wlusily, with The dty stopped Ule Pier Park dances
A MIAM. HERALD SPECIAL REPaR'!'
Ihat drew 1.000 nightly revelerf'. It rf'-
rused to disbul'lll' Jederlll low-iDterest
propeny improVt'ment Joan.'L It denied
fret' federal rnediutklO to milD)' residents.
Now, like a miracle cure that Induct.5
only a wonlf'nln& sickness. tbe go..."rn-
menHostert4 de<:.lY has Infected the
other three-Qulrters of South Beach.
"It'. a tul'ible thing, a tragic thln& for
tbe6e pt'Ople:' lilY' Miami Buch Clly
M.ll\l1ger Robert Parkins, who assumed
his post four months ago. ",t's the klod of
tbiDS th.t you look back on after nl~
)lealrs and uy. 'How could INt h....e bl,en
aJlowHl: to bappen?' ..
Rosine Smith, who bas ownHl: the
Oce.n Breone Hotel on Fint Street lor 20
years, dramed of retiring there. RHlrvel-
opmt'nt ctanaHl her 'Vlanl. $ht' wanted
out. But she couldn't gt't Qui. She couldn't
sell the ralnbow.colorN bOtel bee.use of
uncrrtalnty created by rNevelopment.
She covldn't m.ke major repairs on her
13,000 L.tin American and 6,000 Mariel
rdugees, with little more In common than
thrir 5hIrecl dfopendence' on . government
ctu~(k.
deterlonllng building because that was
prohibited und~r redevelopment. So it de.
terlorated rurthf'r.
She could only rent to the 10wetil.pay-
ing tenlints. la 1980 one 01 her guestS
triNf to rob ht'r. Arma1 wllh II hammer.
he \)eat her repe.1tf'dly, pummeled her,
tite! her up, toOk hfT me.ler cash On
h'Dd, almost killed hu. So she poItf'd a
sign 00 hr door Ihat lIe~ "No Rooms."
bought. (:t.nlrol florida mobile hOlDe and
has vowed never to return to South
Beach.
I ul<<! to say 'thank you God
lor letting me Uve In 5Uch a
beautllul place as South
Btaeh:" Smith 54).1l, sil-
ting In her new home In 8
sparsely populated town. "It breaks my
hurt what happened to tbe area. I blame
redevelopmeDt lor rulnina my retirement
PhotDllr.py by IW Frakes
Sunday, Aue. ZlI, 19l1.Z IT'" Miami lie-Rid 1M
'"
Yl'au."
Propert)' rtCOrda ahow she Is not lIone.
Tbe ule of hotel. and .partment build.
Ings bu virtually halted since 1976.
Not even the oUidally declared "histor-
Ic" buildings have bun spatfd.
,. hne of the four buildings
that were to be preserved
u.nder redevelopment have
iUlfued u a r!!Sult of the
1973 moratorium.
Thrifly's Supermarket, a veritable
Mae)". of kosher lood, whleh ustd to
h....e a queue of ZOO customers waiting
out4lde In the morulna. I, today out of
business.
Sam Pleclolo'. Italian restaurant,
which used to I~ 1,000 diners. Illght,
.....u forced to seU out .nd now serve.
ollly 50 a night.
Temple Beth-Jactlb. the lint synasogue
In Florida. had 500 wor!>hlpers. Now It
has 50, and Is In danger 01 losing It." mi.
nyan, the minimum JO worshlpetlllteded
lorlt'l'vicel.
"We'Ve alwlYs had a minyan Ilnce the
syn.sogUf' wu built in 1929," said R.bbl
Shmaryahu Swirsky, the fourth In a f.ml-
Iy ot rabbis from Uthu.nlll. "It was ai-
"".y. the aadle of Jewish life on South
Beach. Now we na...e feu, poverty. uobe-
lIe....hle coodJtionl here_"
Only Joe', Slone Crab Ru.
lsur.ol. maNlged by Rede-
vf'lopmf'nl AgM'cy Ch.lr-
mall Irwin Sawltz. has
prospered.. But thlt I. a
credit to Joe's n.tlon.1 reputation, not rt-
developmeot.
The dty chose the area south of Sixth
Street, where Miami Beach wu bo'fD, be-
cause it hael some tlf the oldut building'
In the city. and the poorm residents.
To c:ondf'mn the 372 bUlkllnas, thf' city
net'ded It.te appronl, which could only
come If the ue. were oflicWly declared
oobJlghWd." Over objN:tkm.t of many re&i.
dents and Slate Attorney JaDet Reno, the
commission declared the ares "bllpted."
That haPPenf'd In 1975 with the If'..ader_
ship of then.Mayor Harold Rosen. He
never thoupt re4evelopment would tab
longer than a few Yf'&rI.
Today R06en .dmlts. "11 wun' that
blighted. That was just . word we had to
use. Some parts of It Weft: bIid. but the
m.jorIt)' wu good. 1 think we just want-
ed to cbaale the Imaae, It wa becoming
. 101 of mall CGoOps lor the elderly and
we c11dn't waut . retlrtment community
for the elderly."
Now, R.,..11 say.. It II worse than he
could have Im.glntA. Now. he says, blight
is not Just. poIlUcal .ppellation. It Is real.
Ity, "Regrenably, there'a been a trtmen.
i
'~
~
.
PCe4.$(! turn 10 DRL\.'\tS 12M
2M
SOUlfB BEICB: Where Dreams Die
The ~iil':ald -
Sunday. AaCUlt n. 1982
IYIight makes blight
for 'renewal' area
!
~'
~
;,
DREAMS/from JM
dGu$ price," he Sllys.
Hardest hit by redevelopment are r<<t.
denu like Mlch."1 1Jf'btl, 88, .. Ruufan
enUlre whO!.C life paraUels , genen.tlou
OD South Beach.
AT; .. chUll, Zltbel flf'd T5IIf Nlcholu II
and movN to New York's Eul Side. In
his way he achlevfld .. IOn of fame, .. hat
C\Itw SO quick he W.lS known as Tht
Automobile. He workt'd. he murled, he
prombed hil wife be "''QuId reUre to
South atacb the day he WI. 65. HI' bpi
Ihe promW:.
HWe left New York becauM' the old
Jewish nel,hborhood had (hanled," said
Ziebel. a man of sallow com.plulon and
lhick white h&Ir.
Beat of both worlds
The Zlebtls lo\'oo South Beach. ..
Brooklyn by the Ra, .. walker', and shop..
~r'. pua4lie. " platt \Io1th no fasHood
restaurants or suburban-style shoppln,
<<nttr., It had Nl!w York', urban ambi-
ance and MlImI', palm urea, bt.achtronl
l.IId8UJUlh1ne.
Then Zlebel', rrti~mt'Ilt. UkII' thll of
6,000 othrrl In the redevelopment .rt.,
wu dl.uupted by the- clly'. ImblUOn to
compete once .alln as .n IDlernatiolally
famoutrt'lOrt.
His stCeft, Mrridi.. Avenur, once 11IIl'd
wllh e-Iderly Ealtll'm Europeanf Ind ne.l-
ly kept apartments. I. now home to pl'Ofl.
titutftS Ind dope peddlt1'8..
Zlebel, UkII' 1,300 other owneR of mod.
ut condominium.. cannot sell. Most of
the 1,400 renten In the redevelopment
"It's tbe kind of tbing that
you look back on after nine
years and say, 'How could
tbat bave been allowed to
bappen?' "
City MUllKer Robcort Parkio"
Now an eerie .trina 01. bu.l14iDS' rr<<m.
bill' darkened the.ter.. tbelr neao silOS
turned off. It .1Iaeema: like a Jltnt cloHd
.mUlII'mrDt park when the old people are
IWpt'Dded In fur at the top of a ferrll
\l,beel.
Maay Un In "pullmanettu" - Un)'
room. with ooly a bed and a hOtplate.
some of whlc:h are In old atrumllnwe-
lip Dtco hOlels th.t Itale Inpt'cton ull
"wartOOu!t'S,"
Doctor knows symptoms
Dr. Aaron Goldberg IW le'tn thousancU
of South Bracb elderly In hll WUhln,ton
Avenue ortl~ durlnl the Idtdecade:
Je~ ~;l~ :Jt'e :~A1~;: p~:~~~
placn, who art Iluelt. wbo Call'! lent
and thry're 10 friahtentel about the ele-
ment GUt there lhat they lock therruelvu
Inside thil'lii' tiny plaeu In fear," Goldber.
SlYI. "Thlt'a South Beach."
Sooth Brach I' the anomaly 01 Sooth
florld.t, an urban pl&et where few teat.
do!nts ha\'ll' cara: Althou,b South Iltadl
aecountl for .178 per cent of tbe Metro-
bus aervice arta,lt pm1do!I 20 per cent of
the I)'llem'l ridership, On South Bach
tho! ttr~U dlaplay the people raUltr than
CIlry them 11001 Ie . ruab, anc1 the people
lI<<m powerful and unlfltd because lhere
art 10 many .Uke. Whtn South Beacb ls
lane. and that lime ~a 10011. Its rest.
dents wlll'ealn be Invtllble.acattertd.
Taday'1 chanalna South Beacb II oftP11
an odd and frtaetle world or character..
Uke the old New Yorker who can &IowaYI
be seetl canylng his \1oIln but ae\'U play.
Ing It, the Cubatl womaa who IltePf on
the beaeb and drill hu belotl.C1nls
arooM In a bl, cardboard box. tbt dozen
cat ladlu wbo lpend their al.hta fHdlaa
the 1.000 fer.1 cats that baufltalltywlYa.
And there Is Ice C,..am Joe Savino,
who made a ,oad 1I\1n, HlUn, Nutty
Buddy conet In Lummus Park and dedded
10 buy the PlayhOUSf Bar right aut to the
MIami Brach Kennel Clllb', do, trick,
Now the dot: trick It aone. the beach
f':i:~~~ ~~e~r: :t~ :~~r~:anl~~~
arta have either rltel or been forcrd GUl
by Marlel ttfuatt.. who pool resourCt'S
anclll\"e 'O\lt to a room. Shawl. and bikini.
y~~~ ~~~~~~~~I:~yn~U~oh mJo~:~ The Itreetl Irt . parade 01 contrU1, A
Z1ebel SlfI, Cllban turuw.tlte nl,htelub aI.Dd. next
It b the lament h.ud clall)' on the cor. to a k05her cldl. The ahawl.wrapped
nen or South Beach: At Unroln Rood [altern Europe.n. atroll next to )'Olin,
wbere the oner-grand .hopl hne ~n reo .me;u~~;:'~: ::1~1::~otb~ITI:a, Nlcho-
~~ wh~~e ~;~:;~~t~:'15~~I~:~~ ....n. but or Hitler.
tpttllculat ocean view, bUl han' mOllly Max SlInlckl. who rlln. tbe WtshlnJlon
Imall, unkt'mrt rooms, 0rI WUhillglon t~,~eJ~~~ ~~i~'~~~~~r~Jo~e::~~
~.~~~~eit~h:tt~l:d~t~tll~ru~~~~~; before th", wt'n c"mated. Now h~ lrIll'11
... ~~~le~~Iv.,lf bf"Onl)'I'jpnn\.nilgOr _~r~:~;~: ~~Z:i~::::r~c~=~;:.r~
old Eastrrn European., E...~ry day anothf'r Menltle, HIHt'r', "Anael of Death."
one di~~ move. away Ot slipli Into (he In. "n 1.1 a terrible thin,," Slll1lCkl 1l1)'J. "I
onymlty of . nurllns home, wake up In the middle of tbe nlBht.
Few oulSlden rtalize the aeneration lICrumlng. tMnldna about bow Menaele
exls15 and aoon It wlll hav, qUlttl)' pauM used to aeleet JewI to die."
from ita unlikely lettinl tWO mile. from Inside his fOllr.chalr Shop, he ual'd to
Mlami's do","ntown .kyscrapeu. ~:;: ~S ~h~:I~ ~~~~: a.~t~~~\~~:
'Almost all goue' s~~~~; :~~::~. ~~~~ee~e~Ytot~~v~~~~
''Thr).'re almo5t III cone now," SA)'S shop: "I've .urvivtd too much. for 10
Ra~w:r~~~ ~lo~::~I~u~?~biel\'e Ion,,"
until aU of my people are ,one. (t.. ttally Latina come in lummer
~~te::O;ilo~~~~'wl~i~woO~~~i; In thr lummrr. the nortbero aru of
10 to Isra.land lOIfle old rabbi will take South Buch throba with Lallns, on vaea.
my place. I un't walt forever, and when lion from South Ameria. from Union
tbey Jta:1lul1nl the bulldllljs down, lbe City. NJ.. rVl!'ll from the WotkfD,.tla.u
t~';t~. e~~r~~r~tt:~:~i:tt olten con- ~~~~~:Sl~ ~t ~:~e~. J":r di~~{
fined by owaUtlnl d1ataace and monthly .ummer hu become The StaaoD.
aover:olMlll chtcka. find rlc.hntSll In TOC1I)'. the ethnic mill II ad,vl!rtJl'ed In
memoritt. The)' talk ot the Old Country, the window.. The alp. Ny. "We .peak
they read Ylddb.h newlPIPl!ra, the)' Yld.d.llh. We IPf'U Hebrew, Sf Habla f..I.
Witch the than,e In the ne1ihborbOOd J)f.nol."
and II.1k about the WIY thlDal ulfd to be. WUhlnlton Annuli' bU . row of
E\'eIl ehe bulldln,.. liWldlnalot UDe to open.alr rrull standa. dellcatel8enll and
lot Une. alley to Itrrel, tu, at ml!moritl. kOlher meat markftl, crowded with old
The whln\lieaJ Art Deco hotel. .re de. people who haule O\"l!r the price of
slped IlkII' neou-lIt clnemu, rockets and pllUlllO, plcklu .Dd p<raml. It I. a c1,M
~:.r;:,~~tl!r prnldenta, dukes. ~:t~~:::~ ~~~ e:r~r~l~ueeze and
The mrmor1es art herahelt In the I'fde. And wht'll the 25.000 Sodal Secur1ty
ve)opmetlt uu IOUth of Sllllb Street. 11 checb worth $3 mllUon are deUvtted
Wit once hoWl!. IS the "Jewish Rlvlen" l!.d month. pollce..y 80 p1ckpoc1r.e15 ar-
beeauM city founder J.N. L\lmfhuS aI. rive to ~ on the elderly, 10thII' winter,
Iowtel Jewl to live there In the 19201. The many plckpoc:krll take a profitable .......
=:s~po~:e;~~~ ~:~~ :;~~G~ ca~~~~: ~~~::~r~~h"l;ach
tiles Only." It wu a pt.ttern that eon. tbat the dt)' hat Inltltled 200 rectllllular
Unued unUI the 19-401, the aati.semltl.m t)Oxtlon atrtet1ampl wltb a blue lot:l&nia:
ctftp{n, to DOrthem Miami Beach. at. POLICE. The city'. 20 video ca.meru att
tracdn. tht old i&r1ltellt workers to shlhed from box to box to conhlll!' crimi.
Sollth Beach. the only ......Ide I'MOrt In 1UI111. MI.mI Beach Ia the only ell)' In the
Florlda. to aUow worklnl-clua JewI. country to Ute the cameras. All of them
.
~
~
Shaded portion or
map .boWl tbe
redevelopment area
or Soulb Beach -
from Sixth Street
lOulb - lbe
255-acre southern
quarter of a
1.74..quare..mile-
world that runl
beach to bay, 21st
Street to
Government Cut
Benci Mendelsohn, 71, atudies a picture or himself and his wife. They were sent
to Auschwitz together; .he and their two children were killed there.
Annelle Seldon, properly dreued \0 ride a f\ac-bedeekod tricycle down CollilUl A.onuo, e&lllli
an appraiaiAg Ilance at a repreaeDtative or. younger leDer.tion_
are on South Baach. But.one Irr JOUth or
nrUt Street. the lar.elt part of the redt.
velopm~ntt.tllll,
Everyone ueml to know ItlmMnr wltO
hu been mUlled, and the &toty I>> repu.t.
ed l!\Ifl'YWherr: An o}d womln Wtltj I
~~i~~~~~~:c::::~n ~e~~e~;~~~~~
chain ripped from her Me... The thief I~
not cauaht, Ind the .tory Is told on I
porch .toop to another WOmlll
South ~d. lawu.o his part'oll coul4 VI-
caUon on MIami 8qcb. walks Soutb
Beacb and can't believe lhls ..... tht pileII'
they dreamed of,
'"This place.should be UkII' Lake Tahoe,"
bt NYi, roundlnlttlt SIJ.a..nllbt Drake
Hotel. a blocky. ehalk-whilr bulldlnl
badly In need 01 palnL "In Lai.e Tahoe.
you colll4 walk around at nl.ht. 10 to .
dub, 10 to IImblt.8Q to I rtltaur.nt. 11'.
rulIY8h'lt."
SOuth St.ch wu like that 25 ytars alo.
he rllmtmbetl. "Maybe L.ke T.bot- will
be like !hll In 25 yrall. Can you believe a
pla<< Ull dJa.ngr thal quickly?"
"w. only take In telect people. proper
people." she says.
A block rrom Plt'r Park whlll'n once
1,000 old Jews hlppily dlnced III n1,bt,
Ole C&Ivert Is now . backdrop rOt . pUI~
In, parade of .hlttle", )'Ollna men with
radios. ~. .....elrlnB roller 5kaw. IOme
~dllnl dope. nearly alwlY' Ittrl(tlng
the whlmnl blue IIlhU of the police.
Tbl. year, for the first Ume Binet she
:'e~~;ee~~~ ::~~I~~~ ~~::
a NCUrity allard. .nd latches ber own
door wJtb a h..V)' metal ch.ln,
Francu Mltllldr.. 81, ao.wn.born,
fl,hts back with $300 worth of Illver .nd
aold llitter. puted on llIe ktbby wall&
from floortoeelllDJ, .
The reIot III painted pink, TbII CSOO", an:
pink. So are the wan.. brd5 and .hu(J,
Even the fans and rdrl,erltors. It makes
the botel come alive. Ihe explalnl.
"I'll never le.lve my botel" Ihf 1a)'L
puttlns . pink nOWtt In I pink flower
YaM, "When 1 firlt ..w this block. I
thoughl thl. .....as It: Th~ best plate In Ih..
world to live. How an 1 I...." Ihf' pl.~
CJtmydrt'lm,?"
Muggors know advantage
"South Beach lii tilled with arNt "ie.
Urns." Slid orflcer Cornelius O'RlI'ian,
walkln, the Washinaton Avpnue beat.
-rbII' olel people uP pettdifd 0(. beln,
burt ancl thr Soulh AmerlCltl (oul1stS
uea't loiD& to retllrn here 10 tutUy. Tbe
thieve. know IhIL"
SIt. Thomu Hunker hu been on tbe
South Be.aeb breal ror 10 ytan. lie SolY' a
.m.n lrouP ot Marlel rtfu8WS ha\', pil-
rered aaylhlnl ',hat'a not n&fled down,
The old people art scared 0\1.1 01 their
mind&. and jurtlfl.bly 10:'
Ofncer O'Rel&n. who u60td to mow
Roota put down
franuI M1tnlC'k 1I1o'.! It Ihr IOUlhf'm
ed,e of the redevelopment am. where
IIIII' hu owned the Ct.h:ert Hotel tinee
19~6. owntel It because this was the belt
place III Honda to hne a small family
hotel. Her part of Ocua Drive WIa ooee
III JiP:wlsh Ind II.Han, old J"II'OPle who
would retutn )'ear after year, She ,till
won't a.Uo... an unmarried couple In ber
"",,,..
Portrait 01 South Beach and Its people
Fnneel Mitnlck's face J"'en from beb.lnd . They came away witb a r1ehly human com.
chained door on tbe cover of thi. .pedallKlioa. mllnit)' portrait (hal dellCr1.beII rede~ek>pment',
She Is one of thou5lntb of people la South Beach Impact on all 01 SOutb Miami Beach.
wbo&t livel Inspired nporter Michael Krani&h Today South RMtch 1<1 a cauldron of lOCial
and photoarapher Bill Frllku ill tht'ir (hret!. chanae, lu massive eldtrty POPUlatiOl1 kraps for
month look "I the natlon's mo" ambitious urban Splice .....ith Mariti rrfulre.. pover1y.~1 laml.
renewII plan. lies. 'Utet people.
They roamed ittet!15. knockPd on door$. 1I1t'pt Kranl.h and fr.kei found that II WII .Iways
In ,m,ill holel$, prowlNl /ll1e)'s, Kunlsh dId ~ I pl3Cf' ot dteams,
InlfrVl('wl, Fr.ku shol 300 rolls of film, 10,600 It h.I b<<;:omel pl~ct where c1re.mldJr.
lt~mf'_,.
The Miami Herald
Bunda" Augult\ 2', 1,8Z
soun BEACB: Economic Outcast
$90 ' .. ~1, ,;.. J
'.t ttJ:<\,~ . )?!""'I f ~ '. ~
"'~Hhejpr.lc,~~f" i .. Vtf'i."
i~ ,f:t M,lamr.Beach 'Ilr; "" fl !
,~. l;J lea~ estate, 1973.81 "..1....:
, .' .- i l, - "
TO 1 (dOl!~rS, per square toot),.. ~
· ~I\'''f '. .': "
~60 -j I.~
'50
l
OJ
30 l
,20
~.
b
}O '73 i ~174 '/75' -r ....16
:1 f~ ~ l
'71
'7g'
1:',1
'80
'78
Graph shows how the increase in property values for all of
South Beach has lagged Car behind rhie Cor the reltl of city.
3M
All South Beach suffers
},~81
wtll itl a "wondl':rful, Incredibly nice
bargain,"
KimbQ.11 lltudl~d propeny valutl in two
SouIIl }k.ch nf'lghborhoods - the rtde-
'itlopmeot arn south 01 Slxlh Slreel and
thto bordtrlnl aN'a betw~on Sixth .and
1 ith 5trttU - and tht North Btach arn
betwef'n 70th and 85th strt'ets. In 1973 an
were shnllar ntlRllborhoods with identi-
cal oondominluml at vlnually Identical
prlC".
HIl fuu[)d thalllnce a bulldlng morato-
rium wu Imposed and rtdevtlopment
plans were itt 10 motion, lht two Soulb
&oaeh nt1sllborboods hQ\.e suffered equal
and ''UuuluaUy slow" apprecLallon, whll~
the oorthem neithborhOOd appreciated at
tWice tile rau.
Ont tump.lt' is provk1t>4 by Aaron
Goldman, who built Identical co-op ron-
dominiums In 1960 on North Beach Ind
Soulh Be~II;b that both InlU.lly liOld for
$8,500.
But today the unit on North Bell.cb aellJ
for $iO.OOO while one em SOuth Be-adl
sells for $20,000, "Ie ($20,000) II an idiot-
Ic pric.-," Mid l'IUildn C',nldmJn. "'Vh.-rf'
~~se. ~~~S:~:~mBe~~ ~~~d lo~Ut~~y pri~~
n'. )\at l.iot-uUloC Ihe are"., gtlllen It'f-
rible."
One typical comparison: A South Ilt'acb
unit III 221 Meridian A\'e. !!Old In 197~ for
12',000. Todlly, 14l\.en yurs later, the
Slime unit sold for $2:5,000 - . 10S5 when
inflation Ia taken Into account. Al tht
same time, a s1mllar North Beach unit at
8:33 Harding Ave, thnt sold for $35,500
In 1973)Umptd to $86.000 In 1981.
In other wordS, lht prlce pu iquan
foot for the South !W.cll unit rolle from
$35.60 to $37.06. wllllt the North 8f\ach
price Jumped from $31.83lO $7S.77,
redtvelopment falls through. Sawlu: de-
fend. tht' sllU-unflnlshN sale, notlnl that
he hu alned to 811";11 the boU4e at 3t
Washlncton Ave, to the agency for hls
purchast pr1ce or the eondlmnatfon price,
whkhtver blower.
A l)'ph...1 block In the n:devtloPmnlt
Irea Is divided Inlo 10 or more lots: oft..n
each lot il ~paratel)' owned. Sucb d1vlf-
"Uy hn mam- II virtually Impo'l'dhlfo 10 11.,.
.wmble lots for large devtlopment with-
out public rondlmnatlon. Some properly
OWDtU, ~peculallnl that d"~llJPm~Ol
will drive up value&, haVl collsl5tently re-
fullW lo kll.
MlRit of thol.e who have wId dur1ng the
lait nine yean; have madfl negllsible prof.
Its or Io5t money. the rteords show_
Offletals of the Miami Stach Redevel-
opment Ag!:"cy .nticlpated a stagrultion
01 property valut's In the rtdevetopment
.re. but &S5Umtd thaI property valut's 1m-
mt4i.ltly north oJ SIx1h S~ would ap-
precillte at . DOrm.1 ratt. Owner! of laod
In tilt rtdevelopmtnt art. \IIOUld hi: paJd
"fair marklt v.lut," defined u the price
of similar pro~rty hPtw~n Sillth and
J71hstreet5.
Price artificially deflated
rBut tbe valuMflUlting impact of !'@de-
velopment bu tqu,Uy hit the arus wulb
and IlOrth of Sixth SUMt.
Wbtn the ronSUuct.lon montonum
wu enacted In 1973. Identical condomini-
ums aJuld bt' Muaht for virtually the
same price llOutb and north of. Sixth
SUett In South S,ach.
fOday that Is sUII ltue: Property north
of Sixth Street cosll 2.3 per cent more
tlun r('(1tvelopml'nt.area pl"Clpf'rty, jUlt II
It did In 1973, That II beUlU!>C Soulh
Bd.ch prop"ny \/alul'S In bolh areas have
IncreaSl'd an Identical 43,9 ~ cent slOCt'
1973, generally becauSl of Inflation.
That 51l0wI that lhl' unctlrtainty creat-
ed b.y rede..elopmenl affected .11 of Soulh
a..ch, Klmbllll &aId,
Wblle proplny owners have luffertd '
bcaaUllC of rt<development, the tentatin
buyers, folnt Boston Inc. and Tile Rouse
Co., wukl make a windfan. Kimball saId.
The F'euon: Thf' rl'dnl'lopm/!'lIt land,
after improvement.s, would OOSI th~ de-
velopl'f'S $60 ptr iQuare root, compared to
"his" propc:rty thill tuMs $88 pcr SlIuart
toot in North Bfacb and $150 per square
foot In <IownlOwn Miami.
"Tbt' (demolishl'd Ilnd improv((l r<<ie-
velopment land prlu) l.. I wonderful, in-
credibly nice bargain for su.ch Dice wattt.
lronl propeny," Klmllall said. '-1t'1I tno
~r:\~~~ C;=;s ~il~~a~~ ~~~l~n~~
ment,"
By MICHAEL KRAN(SH
lH'llIdSIaf! ~'rl...
~, Property valuts throulllout South
Brach have auffered dnUJllltleaUy as a re-
I;IIlt nr Ihf' city" pl.n.. to rrdpvplnp Ih.-
southern quarter,_ Herald ItlIdy shows.
While property from 17th Street to
Govemmtnt CUt appreciatld -43.9 per
cent since 1973. Identical North Beach
I propert}' InCrlas&4 83,1 per cpnt and
propert)' countyW1de Increased an aver-
IGe 01116.5 per cent, the stud)' found.
"South Booc.h I. one of the worst an'as
for appreclatlOD tbat I've ever iludled."
Ir" said Herald real estate consultant Chorlct
!J Kimball, whn anal}'zN &lO rtpresentatlve
aa1u to compllt the study, "I tJunk rede-
~elopm'nt III to blame lor thp whol, arl"
r:~n~~~t~~c~re~~~-:n ":lIu:-S::h
Mlanli Bt>..th. cu.ting the fur of tile u.n-
known and the mill noduI of tbl middll'
class:.
Kimball said hl6 mQSI s1gnincant nnd-
Ing Is thai both the redllvelopmtnt arta
and tbe neighborhood Immedlatlly to tht
north of It ha\.t bten equally Ilff~ by
rede'.elopment.
.1I..WAUI:IOI....'_......'.,_ Asa result of the artlllclalJ}' low prop.
rny vliue In the redevelopment area.
KtmMII said. th.. ma~er dl'Vtlopt'r -
with hls power to coodtmn propert). -
South Beach is home to Dora Uiemer. 72;
Bruce Daily, 2.t, and his dog, Seymour:
and 12.year.old Rose Mary Soto, standing at Ninth
Street and Ocean Drive.
Bad deal for south
"Ev~ryl.lOdy whu tMiKhl In Nurlb
Belch made thtJe grta1 deals while
~\'eryone on Soulll Beach lot these bad
de.I....Kimball&aid.
PrOpl'My Il'fTIrds show Ihat redevelop.
ment-area properly Is mwUy controlled
by . highly fragmented group of condo
owners and fimaU Innstors. The larlut
property OWntr Is the city. Includlnc
!itr~, Ilileys and public DUlldlngs, the
city OWt15 5t per ant of the land.
Few landlords can be considerl'd
.'mlijor," One 15 the family 01 Agency
ChairmAn 1",,1n S."'1tz:. which owns
Jot's Stone Crib res:taurant and lots cov-
I'r1o& Ilmost two block&.
Sawin personally ntiQtlated Ole pur-
chase of an agtncy.condtmned $30,000
bomt earlier this summM', g)1ng Ihl'
family business O<<dll the propen,. In cue
The MacArthur Causeway, becominK" Filth Street 00 the Beach. slices off moat of the redevelopment area
at ~pper righL Thp. vip.w IR to the froutheast, with Biscaya Hotel in foreground.
By city order, nothing flows and nothing flowers
By MICHAEL KRANtSH
~"Stnl1w..t..
Since tht day 10 1976 whl'n Mlamt
Beach anDOunctd plans to rtde\...lop Ita
!JOulhtmm05t tip, many city JlIPrv;Cl!8 and
mo.t of the federal monl'Y that once
Oowf'd st.Padlly tnto the atf'a Ilave ,lop-
""",
Tb~ dty h.u llllowf'd II r"bllc hOOling
project to viollltebulldlnlcod.es.lt hurt-
fused lO fix a II'.kinS roof at the poIiCt
.natlon. Il hllli alvt'n ouly suvcrfidlll main.
tlnanCt!lolustrtdsandulllitits.
Il "wpptld "pendinx ledtrll povtny-
pnrve:ntion fundi In IUi mot.'t poverty-
stricken area. 1t denied ledtrally soppUtd
med[c.atlon to h.1f of the retidenu wllo
salel they neeoro IL
II hu problbited new construction and
mlJOr rtpaJrs In the arl'4. ptrmltling
.partm~nt bulldill&' .lId hotel" to detcrlo-
ratl.
Tbe pattern I. dllr: In plannlnB for
and ulIlIminl rHlE'v.lopml'nt'l IUCCf"S,
=:~~ ~:e~n ~: ~:::~ r~~Il~:,uf;;
turD, has drlveo away most ()f Ule resI.
dents and bu.inuu. able to leave,
Tht city baa even ilopptd planting
fJowers.
"Wt've beilo hotdiol oU on an).thlnl
wuth of Fifth Street Is.lnce 19761 until we
know whal Is 101nl on WIth rtclevplop.
ment," cxplahlll nurur)' foreman Frank
GUinn, In chari!' 01 plantlnl 500,000
flowers lor the dty eacb yt,.,.
It Ii th~ !lamp in mn~ plllt'": E\"'l'
bod:yisholdJngotf.
But the city ba~ no choice bUl to coo-
ttnue holding oft until rodntlopment Is
either declared I success: or dies. CIty
Mlnaler Robert Parkin says. To sptnd
monf'Y to ImptO"e al'l &n!a ell'5tintd for
condemnation would be wasteful.
Might made blight
It ,started in 1973 wbtn the cuy Com-
mWlOn. IP(I by then.mayor Harold Kosen,
declared a construction mor.toriom that
stili nists soutll of Sixth Streel, !allr dE'-
elarlng lhe Uta 10 .'bUalltl:d'. lbat only
redevelopment _ and the power to con-
demn all bulkUnp at once - COUld $lve
tt. Tod.y Roun admits thl area wasn't
that b1lxbttd thtn, but Is now !)(JCluse of
thl construction moratorium.
A 191' Unlvently of Miami study of
the 372 stnlclur€.'ll in the redev!:lopmcnt
area found that 80 per Ct'nt of the buIld-
ing. were in exceUent or load condition,
1-4 pl'r cent In fair condttlon, and nnly 6
per Cl'nt In poor condition. In fact, 20 new
coodomlnlum buildings wtrt con.wuctfd
between 1968 and 1974. All but Ibree
woold bfo lorn dOwn.
Rl.Deu btlit'vn lh~ lirell wQUld "probll.-
bly bav. come back on Its own," but
would ntver have dev..10~ Into tht
we.lthy pl.yground tbat city leaders en-
\151oned. Rosen said thf "awesome
power" oJ . moratorium baS extracttd a
"VemendOUll pnce" .rom tM area.s resi.
4~nts aM landlord$.
The IInlllual Impri<ct of rtdevelopmenl
fs tltst sern on Blscaynt' Strlel.
Before redevelopment WQa planned In
1976. the street bad I community center,
a II-million pirr fllltd: with lishermen,
an<! I bandshell lhat drew 1.000 nilbtly
dancers. It also bad a mov}e auditorium, a
children's park, a boys' camp, a handtlall
eoun and. basketball court.
In th,. lut twn yran. thl rily hll!
clo6ed all of tbose places.
Tht city administration, witll arproval
of the m'JOrlty or the CI1.y Commission,
made a tundameQtal deciSIon in 1976 00
withhold ma.oy krVIctS from lhe rtde\'eI-
opmcnt Ina.
Renewal area excluded
Miami Bfo~ch gets $2 million per yfar
from the fedt'ral covernmeot \0 ''prevent
or ellmloate blight,'" But the elt)' decided
la 1976 It would be a wasle to lpelld
mone:y In thl officll.lly declartd most-
bUgbted area, beealUC it was slattd for
I"e(1evelOpment. So the city enlUdt'd U\t
redevelopment &nil from a "str.telY
.rta" thai 1"1 tht Community Dt'vllop-
mlrnt Bloc Grant hllub. The city', Wate-
gy ar... is roughly bttwt'E'n Sixth and 211t
streell.
Under flderal rellulatlons, 90 plr cent
of the "ant lI10ney mlC:lt be for permll.
nant public Improvem.nts, ''Jch as parks.
communtt)' centen, streets. utilities lfl(I
police wrv~llI..n<< tameru" None o( that
money could be spent In tile reclevtlop-
mllnlartL Evtrl $700.000 [n ff(ltr.1 prop-
erty improvement loans cannot be mndB
In thema.
The remainins 10 per cent of the &rant
mont)' loeJ 10r sodaJ servlc.... Of that
money, only 25 per cent can be lpent In
Ihe redeveloprntnt area ror sucll Ullng. IS
jobs pro&:rlmll and m<<ih;ine.
For nampJt., IIkina a $:1_;'000 fNiPn.1
srant for medication. the dly un spend a
maximum of S8,750 In the rf'df'Vf'lopmf"nt
area. But tbt n<<d b for SI1,~, says
Franc" Kltz, thl city's coll1murllty itr-
vlcndlrecwr,
."Th.I'. true," said Assistant City )AID-
a~er Ed Gross. "Some residents who
askl:'d for meclication caUt<! mt and llOld
them we did not bave any mort fundlnl
for that area, that the funds had to be
llpl'nt In a d1l1tren\ area. and thatsevl'ral
agCl'ldes wtre askln&: UI why Wt had oj.
ready eXCeHN the 25 pt'r Cf'nt. I told
them lO try the county. This (redevelop.
mf'nt plln) halt ho>l>n gning on for nlnf!
~ ~~t~~f~~k;:~~ ~~~; :.n~
hAppln,"
Landlords heDlDled in
Tbe (nmbinl'd Imj)Kt of tile moratori-
um, tile thrtat of Gtmol.ltlon and tbe CUI.
off of strvlct6 h&s foretd out mo't or the
rent~fI and hemmed In m~t ot the Condo
own~n.
UntIlord~ art hlmmtd In U WfU. The
tnurawrlum IImlt.s repaln lu DO mutt
than half a building's: auened vllu6. F.ew
landlonU are y,1Hlng to Invest money In
bulldinl' that may soon be demolllhecl.
David Kleven.s is a formtr member of
the Rtdevclopmtnl Agency and a land.
lord. He owns the B1scayn~CoIlin$ Holel,
135 Dbc.yoe St., dted by the dty for cia%.-
ens of housina-cocle violations.
"I think tht commission should drop
thf! moratorium," Klevl'ns sa.ld. "Even if
this DtW redeveiopment plln Is success-
ful, tllly'r. talking .bout .nOlh,r two
year!! beror~ .nylhlllg r('aUy h.~pt'ns. The
moratorium haI destroye-d molt of whit-
ever lite Is down thn. and I cIon't think
the area has Out much time to Ii\'.."
At th.. Ind of South Beach, wbtre the
Bay. the Atlantic Ind Govemmtn\ Cut
mttl. SIts the SO.unlt Goodman Tlrrace
hou$ing project. By 1979 - mOfit city rt.
palfl in tht redevelopment area on bold
- the project ncedtd $170.000 wortb of
flxlnl. N()thing wu don. because the
buildlnl WLS to have betn replaced by re-
dnllopmf'Tlt.
TodAY Goodman Terrace hu 10 lI),Ioy
be.llh and uftty vlolaUonl tlltl tilE' dty
must take .tliou. The COlt of needed. re-
pairs hat IOUfll to $500,000. "W. canDot
walt any longer for redevelopn'lt'nl to
come," Hou5Ins Authority Extcutlvt DI-
rector Murray Glllm.n sald. "We had to
do IIOm.thin& about thl Iivlnl conditions.
WlIo know! wheo It will Df tom down
for r.o.ev.\()pme~T'
The Miami Herald
Sed.,.., AUIl'\Ut 29,1982
SOUTH BEACB:
t ",- ,.
, , 1 . ' 't\ \'\ '
,I,"" ",'~hJ\'"''
,>'~"-l.,\ '\" "',
:n,;" :. ',1'<. \(, ..~\..,
..', ~' ", <<tl'\aJ
,/1 ..~. \J~;\.-
H. "COME
TO SPEHO.lOTS OF
HAPP't;1'EARS WITH'
OUR NEW MANAGEMENT.
".i.\~\ ilW" OFfER
";",''', [: , ~,,\.~,
NICEROOMS'~\\C,'t\\., ,
PRIVATE FULL BATHS "
MAIO SERVICE
24 HOURS SECURITY )
24 HOURS TELEPHONE
24HRS FRIEIIOL't' CARE'
FROM6230 .[, UP : i
MOH'THLY.., YEA l~
ENGLISH '"ti
FRANGAIS ~~
YlOO\~H'
IlAlIAto'
. Cr,.;-i
Rose Abrams, Crom Brooklyn, is
promised 'lots of happy years' by hotel
sign on Ocean Drive,
Above, Joseph Feinberg, a blind man with a smile
Cor everybody, has a.kiss Cor bis Labrador
retriever, Opal. at the edge DC Flamingo Park. At
right, Bennie Mazor sits in the lO-by-7-Coot
apartment that hu been his home (or IS yean.
By MICHAEL KRANISH
Hm"" Stolt W1I,.....
Somtumt'ti, when neighbon ..1slt his
suburban Ktndall hQme at nIght Qr on
w~kend.s. Dr. Robt-n Goldbt;>re trln
to u.pWn lboul "my other life In my otht>r
world," the world of South Beach, He
neversuctft(ls.
The nelsbbofl would never understand
'that in this lush tropIcal !.sland Qf pastel-
colored buUd.logs, hardly any of South
Beach', )(1,000 resident! have mort than ..
honeycomb-s1z<<I one. bedroom lputmenl,
thllt 1.020 of tht!m don't e\'t'n IlII.ve I bath-
"",""
Tbe nellhbors would ntnr understand
tbU 200 people on South Beach can't find
their way hQme, The police know this be-
cause they keep a Un. E."ery day an t'lderly
Eutt't"Q EUfopean rdugn:, prQbably I
transplanted Nt!w Yorker. WIllden Illto
the police or fire station without Identlflca.
tlon and asks "Where am 11- or "!low dO' I
ilet back to the East Side?"
Jews. The EAstern EUropI!llns had come.
tbO\lSlUlds of them, with their dreams to
Soutb Beach, No....., in their world that II
forever cblilngec1, they IJ'e ituck bere, Am-
pty too poor .nd too QId to tit anywbere
elie.
AODli 8erldO&. born In HUDillty 10 1&88.
tJ typlul of that &roup.
In 1913. sbe left the s"ttd (JcWish vII-
Iale) that had been her Ute and boulht I
berth to AmerlCL
Anna Berklng tarN bett~r thllll mo:;t of
her shipm.lt'$, Sbt' nentually owntd and
oper.ted two delicatessens with her bu$'
band In New York aty, At the end of her
worklnlllfe she turned to South Be4tb,
TodaY, It 93, !i/'lt Is one of Dr, Goldberg's
patients.
The 11ft lOh.. kntw III New York be liI ,un-
washed pictura pastt-.d to tht' mlrrQr of htr
$lOG-per-month .partmmt on South
Beach. Herr. she I\U . hot plate, a bue
IIgbtbulb. a d~Sit'r, a rdrlgerator. NO'
bathroom, no telephone, DO air condltlQn.
ing or fan, She sleeps In a lingle bed that
tabs up I quarter of htr one-room lpart.
ment. whrre she has lIvt"d for 13 )'t'afS
"I dQn't goo outside t'X~pt to the doctor,l
don'lllke It but I blve to Uke It. Wbat CGn I
do?" "YI Anna Berklnl, a widow with TlO
chlldrt'o. She Is a small, fnIl woman WfIo
wurs . wtlte wool cap, thick stOCUnp
and a fadt'd bou.sedre;u. "The only thing I
<kIn'l like ii to bc 110M,"
Patients go through garbage
"No oat can appudatt SouU1 Beach
:~ ~ere..e:ern~r 0':: a~r~:~~~~~
tietlU COinl through garb<<se caos, I can't
bellne It. neSt' Ire people whO' emigrated
from Ruma, worktd tllelr whole Ufe, and
tblsis how It tlld....
They an: the I&st rf'mllinU of a turn-of.
the-cfl1tury uOdus of two rnJllkHl JtW5
from Easttrn Europt, Mo&t !iot'ttl~ In the
IndustriallUd NQrtheut and worked hi its
factories. After a lifetime Qf toil they
lOOked forw&n:l to tbe tranquillity of retire-
mt'Dt.
Soutb Brach seemed the Idyllic 1pOt: The
sun, tht tightly knit Jewish communit).,
the temple, the nearby shops. the old Art
Deco hotels cooverted into tiny but afford-
ablt apartmt1lts. But th.1 was before
MIami Beach stoJ>ped con.struction In the
southtrn quarter or South Beach in 1973.
btfort the !UlI.stalla1 rtdeveiopment plan$
sto.r=y~:~':~~ =~ a~~~tlc mix
of latin' Imtn1&fL'Its and rdUBtt'l <<lid a
d)1ne ItDeUUQn of Eastern Europun
Half live on Social Security
Of tht 50,000 pt'Ople 00 South Beach.
31,000 IJ'e Qver 65 years old and 25,000 dl:-
pend almGSt tnUrely Qn Soci.1 ~c:wity for
theiriDcome.
Mtny have tittle money and maD)' sick.
nesses; the average resident of the redevel.
opment area lives belQW the $8,OGO-per-
year POVtrt)' I~vel, tht' I"'erase residtnt 00
the re~t Qf Soulh Beach bves just above
that level.
W~~~:;~~4~ n2~~~k~:e~n:n~~~~
who need fun-time care, yet lhey 1I\'e with
nocatt at all.
At the South ShQre Hospital, Ole only
ont on Sollt~ Beach, 95 Qut of 100 patients
mUSl pay W1th Mt'dlcare, It Is th~ hlghe~t
'These are people who
their whole life an
Mazor, 79, coold ~a\ie lotten out of
Bncbvlew ApartmeDt!; a~ ""me or bls
ntl8hbor. blve, if he would uke !ub$ldlud
housing "nd food sumps. "r won't take any
Qf It." Mazor lSllyS,
The landlord, lIo.....le Bushlnslr.y, said he
hado't UXed up the 19210('(1 building be.
aaU5e of tht! r~e\.elopment moratorium Oil
new conslf\lt.1I(1n, "It.s btoen nllle y<,ars, 110
what am I 8UPpollf'd to do?" h. a.,ks.
DennIe: MAzor, who nt'\'er mlrrltd,
kno.....' none of tbls. He has four dirt)'
Ihlns. four c1Irty ptUtS of pilllts; a clothu..
Une that hangs acrou the room holds four
d.Irtypain o(underwear.
But there is ~metlUlle that no me
,know, abOUt Bt-nllie MaZQr. He Is pnctlcal-
Iy ricb,
He haa UO,OOO In the bank and Sodal
~wity coming mQnthly. lnve~ng prop-
erly, he could buy one of the nicer oont1oe
on Sooth Beach.
E...ery few month~, pvlice find &1'1' ojd~
Eulem Europt'.an Jf'W like lW-nnlt Mazor
- dead In a tiny f\lndQwn apartmetmellL
A Vw"Qman who ptstered stockbrokers on
Unooln Road hGd S8OO,OOO In slocks. bondS
and cash. A man whO' pestered !be .hud of
tbt local Sudal Security (,IWct!, AJu ~ot,
had $100.000. A .....Offililll numt'd Frif'da
ZImmer. who moved Into II hoi1t'r room to
live money. had $140,000.
Six wet'" ago. Dennie MUM mQved out
of bli t.:IqlUUd quarter, Qf I~ )'cars and into;
I Ninth 5trHt apartment, thus giving up
redevelopment'$ relocation benefits.. Afler
Mawr !elt, the uld ap.utmeol WLS c1t~ by.
the city for numerous housInl cock viola-
tion', LandlQrd Howard Bushinaky correct.
ed ~~~o~~: ~~Qt:~'~ N)1ng 60
Ion.,
"Th" Tl>ll.r tQlJk evvrythJng from us, alld
then came the (BolshtovikJ Rt'YOrution,~ ht
wu percentage In the natlQn,
Of Soutb Beach'l 31,000 hous.lna unlU,
95 per cent have ope bedroom Of leu. Sev.
mty.fiyt per (ent of the residents are reo.
leU. and welflre a&enciel Sol)' the majority
apcnd more Qf U1eir inrome 00 rent Uwt
they lihould. Each week, 100 of tbem com-
plain to Ibe dty .bout their IliIndlontJ;, Un.
Jlble to cut down on rtol, the elderly make
concnsiOll' e1sr.wbere: leM food., no nt'w
c1otbln"
few can .Jford to leave. II they do they
probably try . "(tUrtment Itotcl," which
offers the compan)' Of other old people and
thfPt meals . day, But should the old ptr.
9011 let 51ek, the hotel staff unnot ,Ive
help\loit.bQlltvloJaUDitbelaw.
'Perlect tiOlutlon' fails
The York Retirement Hotel, 321 Collins
Ave.. bollkd M.l&r1el retu&t'\'$ until &Ix
mouths a&o. Glt1ItIiI McKltterick thought
she had the perfect :tOlution to South
Beach'J prQblem: E:vtct the rduiees, ape.nd
thousands of dollars remodeling, take in el.
derly people, IlDd (\In a famil}'-stylc bOlel.
But &be w 8lnce met Dr.1rvlnS Vlo8er,
a itate otttdaJ cl\arged with entordni
bealth c:&re laws. He tetll McKltterlck belp
a.b elderly womart trom ber cbalr. aM that
Is IlQt allowed io . botel, So, to McKitter-
Iclt'. dismay, Vlnaer aays he will b.ve to
take actJon agaInat the York because It 15
Improperly operaUna like all "Adult Con-
grea.te Uvlog rldllIY," wbich II allQwed
to live ~ care IQd is thus strictly Ii-
<0....,
EveD If McKitterick wanted too apply for
~~':oa J~t~e ~uemc:~~Ftd:: ~~n::i~
log bomea. allows only ODe ACtF for every
two blocka.. The Htbrew Home for the
A&~ Is acron the strnl from McKltter.
Ick'IYQrk.
Other hotels botIse elderly tenat1U who
dt'Sperately need care, but the owners doo't
apply for a IIceMe. At the Gract Hotel, 411
Elpaoola Way, Vinler found a 91-year-old
woman locked In her room from the Qut-
side, an 80-year-old ~rlddtD man with
open a;or~. The building hid I natural ,n
leak. and expoM!d wln:f. II Will> no "hotd,"
All allogry V111ler declared. "People are
belna kept here like anlmaia without d.lJnl-
ty and stll.rtspeet,"
Ho bOpe' to takc similar action agallUt
25 other Soutb BeaCh botela ht says art vi-
olatloi tht law 10. ODe way or another.
N otblnl Is brilht. The door is peeled
and fOUln,. Roeclles swarm &round a
v1sltQr', ftct. A tall m.n must bend
over to enter Bennie Mazor's apartment at
121 Collins A."e.
Beonle Mazor left Ru~ III 1919, Ht
spetlt his \ift In New York City multll
furnltuft. FQr IS years he bas lived In this
ll)-foot by seven.foot room.
The rent Is (help It,8eoch\1ew Apart-
ments - only $475 per }'f(U, But Olt amtD-
Itles:anfew.
EverythlnS Is brown. The sheels an
brown. The il-Ink II ttched In brown. The
mrlgeraLOr is browQ. Thert II DO bath.
room. no stove, nO' mirrQr, nO' air c:ondIUon-
log. Newspapers urpet the floor.
10 U1t ceillog a four. foot by tw~foot
hQle Is cQvered with tar paper. Muar col.
lecu the raiQ io two Savulll coffee caOl,
On the dre.uer Ire three bous of Manit-
chewlu matzoh and two undlt'Sticks.. On
Friday niibL M&zor will Ught the candles,
nothing can put. out hl$ Sabbath candles,
and bave a Utile wine and say Kiddish, a
prayer that thank. God tQr lettlnl the
Jews out Qt Egypt.
. The Old World
4M/5M
Around sun~ct.
in the Ninth Street section
of Lummus l)ark,
elderly South Beach
residents sit and 8101( and
tell itori~. They go hume
wheD it gets dark.
Above, a Hassidic Jew with flowing beard takes bis customary stroll down
Watihington Avenue. At left. in the pink despite it all. Frances Mitnick has
made almost everything that color in her Calvert Hotel: tbe wall., beds,
refrigerators. It makes the place come alive.. she says.
emigrated
d this is how
it
ends. '
Paula Jacob60n, and tllc.h uks for a "Nice
Jewl$b Man. ..irile II )'00 have ane. at least
one who', heal~y." South Beach has three
women lor every man. Womcnllve kmatr.
..tinY of the IOlltly womm, and [be rei..
tively few survlvln.. lonely men. ~tt If
lhey're healthy. An old Ruasian.bora man
comes too the T1d~. HOld on South Beach
btcall5t hJa wile died; there, he m~t5 a
PoUsh.bom WGman who Ii widowed, They
talk .boUI the sllu.tloD, the troobh!. they
walk In the park,
Others. like Carl Col<lbard and Ooui~
Ullukrow, do their coordn, at the N'lular
<IaDcCl held at Lummu. Park, The t",'O met
I( a nightclub four yeara ~o, She Is teach-
Ing him to dance,
DoUlt and Carl art 69 yun old. . soU.
\'oiced clerk and a truck driVer,
Every nilht. Carl a:ld Dottie aad 600
otller old people dance at the 10th Str~t
AudllQrium. a simple. square building 10
Lummus Park.
The dance II &II opportunity to dtCi' up,
to lIlte out tbe white patenl leatll~r fllori.
the bell shirt. the oknt p.nts. Tbe dance b
wmpanlon~hlp. The cbr.ce u bf-ing alive.
The celebraau line up an hour before the
7:30 p.m. ItUn. m:1I1y 10 pay tbe 25-ceJIt
admls.slon fee that usn't challae<S ID JO
years. They file Into the au41torlum, lit In
On!' of the 205 black-cushioned meal
chain under I spinnina mirrored ball.
City are Insl4e.
"Tllis Is phenomenal for them:' say,
bandleader Max Sulton. ag. trim Ind flashl.
:ted~~~iuH~e:;a=nP~y~t ~I~~J~?;
lonl can you fit In a little room. follt wall"
TV? The only enjoyment Is TV. Hete. they
lice f'lch OtheT, they meet people. It., Ute
only place for them on Soutll Beach."
But outside, the other South Beach Ill-
trudu. FI"e women 10 scnsaly dnSSl!i
dan<< by themsel\'es. clutehitl.' the &Jr, ~.
~~~i~t~I:;:~~ ~~~ ~~h~:te:
public shower, tht1l IeIrd:l tbe !faab bins
lor rood.
IO~~e :::~ ~~ ho~ft:ei~'~r ~wOu~~
side.
.
.
.
say,. "I never had money. never had II nice
place to Uve, you understand, you under.
stand? So I save my money .od I save my
money. I w.nt to I1ve 10 a nice place before
Idle. YoulI.lldervtand?"
do for Sl2:l ptr month~ You (..lIO't com-
plaln."
It CON $600 a mo1lth. me,all IDcludtd,
for. llimilu-Jtud toonl at U1e Blackstone
Kosber Retirement Hotel, a 13'5tOry. 2.52-
room bwldina trequnted by the dl&-
monds-and'latter wt In the 19301:. Now it
houses I ~~ elderly peoplt, IncJudjns 140
tum-of-th~centwy reftlees.. For the put
two years, the llat' thruteoed to cJo6t It
down beCaUJe It .dvtrtlaecl servtces tnat
can only be pun by . licensed partial care
facility.
Samuet. a Ruuian-bonl retind garment
work,r wllo never murled, live. theN'. Hili
brother helpll him ply $345 Pff moath to
share a room with another reUree.
He thinks South Beadt is . "prden
lipot" IXlmpared to tilt New Yort East Side
he left In 1970. Sill!. hili wrlstJ e1w tntl-
many to two TM't'nt rnlclde attempU.
"It whO't a waden dPdsion. (CAD no
looler walk five mil" a day lIke I did ti&ht
monthl IIgo. And I'm f.cllIl disaster. 1 still
have no money, and now r un no longer
afford to Uve here. 1 WVlt LM litate to let
~:~I~or:k:U~~~f t~~;h~U~:~'~~~aw r:
tlonal lhlng to do."
Social worker Mih Weston. who works
In South Deacll be(au$C: he Is . sptclallst In
eeriatrlc problems. says then! ts UtUe
chance the .ute wlll take him. "He'. pral>-
abl)' Dot Ikk eDCJugh," Weston. Uplallll.
sa~~~~~f.ell~~~~ :.~~V::;y?fr~ ~~
you."
Op:ll, who understands Yiddi!'h. Russian.
En,li'h and Spanlsb. licks Ihe face of Ole
mu~tar Frinberg ~nd lu4s him across tt.e
street.
'"{OU can' be" ...'ttcher (CClmplainer)."
F~nberg UYI, "CIID you, Opel?"
In the flamingo Park c1ubhowt, Frien4-
Ihip Conwr No. 3. four old cardpla}'er. sort
outlheir tuture.
Benjamin Lt\"Y. 83, Is 1 TurkIsb.bOrn
man who. like mOll of thlt t-lderl}' on Suulb
Bc-acb. can recite hlsd&lly rool1ne In a mil.t.
ler ot &eCOndr.
" wake up .t 5;30 a.m. alld iO 10 the
Concord Caftlerla, where I pay $3.50 lor
cerea.!. tWo OnlOD roll, butur, JeUo 1100
coffer. r JO to flamJDIO Park until 1 p.m.
Th~ r take a walk to Ute Se\uth Strut
beach, Sit there for two bOUri Ind wllc:h
the ptople. I alwa)'1 Wf'ar my nne white
l\ilt. 1'm very particular, I come b8ck lrom
tb, bellch at 5 p.m. and I'll buy some ko-
ShH meats - I don't eat any trayf (nOli-
kosbtr).
"1 51'uolr.e a peck lad. hall 01 d&lItt'u .
day. I bave supper, I sit do....u to watch TV.
I don't go Ollt .t night anymore_ Before 1 go
10 slnp, I haW' ODe Ilus of ManIKII,wjU
wine."
Soon, Lny !lays. his routine will ctIa.nge
fOT the fir.! tinw In U ~UI. His lee. .n
hurtine:, his body Is hurtins:, al)d hf' knows
he will ~me one of those people who
40n't BO to l1aminlo Park .nymcn, who
SlaY Iwdl!betr .mall roomJ.
An illusion still shine!>>
At enry dan(e, . city employe Cl.med
CI}'lle sprinkles yellOW powdered dilOce
W/llll Oil the lerrazzo lloor so tile old JWOple
un dance mOr? eracefully. lie gy. lie UH.S
15 poundt of wu. every !Donth.
Actually. Cl}'ile Is just ptttendlnl. He
reache$lnto a CIa, rolls his h.nd Into. fln.
and pltche, hi. empty p111m. ,t Iht "oor.
The old Pf'Ople WOUld complaltl if there
were DO wax on the "oor. but would trip If
theN' were. So Clyce pr~tends.
When lht first chords of New York, .\ew
1"0'* be:in to pia}', Cnrl and Dottie. New
Yorkers. fairly run to the floor.
The room comel alh'e with the shuffiiol
sweep of shoe!. th~ map of flllltn:, the
~mll~ on every face. South Beach II out.
aide. The dIIn~ .nd the memories of The
Meals provided
In. the morlllnl, the dt)' ttDlXoytS brlnl
10111 ta.blu Into 'he conctrt hall. At e:30
a.m., about 100 old people st&J1 Unlni up
ror a frf't meal that isn't 5trved until 11:30
a.m., when the JewLth Vocational Service
wlll servt 400 elderly. At Wee centers oa
Sout.h Beach, the service pTO\1des me.l. fot
1.200 ekletly who tan't aflor4 them. For
tnllDy.lt iI. m.Jor 80dal event.
ti:e,~~:~h~d:~~ oI:'~~~I\'~I~~n:
room, 8y noon, tbe haUls lUted With bu..
drr4s of dinen talkin, abo\lt the Old COuc~
~7kn~ ~~~::,et::~~::~.~:
IOe't good Ufe 00 MIami Beach, Tile Trouble.
Then they eat a modest mut from .
wbltf' lItyrofOl.m tray and .lowly walk
aw.y, he.adilll dowtl Ocun DrIve, ItI tile
diffl:1.loll, of the three-story apartmeDt
house when ADaa Bertllll moat stay Ill'
:lide,
"WhAt worries lIle Is the", an the U1./'Oo
vert., the ODes who can let 0\It," say. Lou.
Ise Morlane. Ute dty's 1'.YW supervisor
of recreatloll aervleu.
"I don't Jte ally DeW taces anymore, I
think this is the eod of the generation from
the rwlat.lihops from New York. I hawn',
SH'n a new taee In . lona time. And 1 WOD'
der .boul old fa"s who cau't let outside
their little rooms:'
Survivor becomes scavenger
Bend Mendelsohn, 71, a Hungarian Illr.
vlVor of Auschwitz:, tarries. remlDder of
thit horror on his arm: Number 90376. H.
:f~'~~':O ~?:~;~ wb~ ~~%o~~hll:
a cremlltory. Now Mendelsohn searchel
the alleyway dumpstera for dlllC.aJ'dtd. ba.
gels. which he feeclJ to the pigeons III Lum-
mus Park every d.y.
"Whltn 1 was 111 camp. ( kMW people
who ga...e ....ould give their gold '''8th lor
this," the handsome whll~haired mall
8I)'S. holding h~lf a Inlel. M I know what
'1t'lIl1ke to be hunlry,"
At the wk. paltlt'peeUnB thTec-II01'Y
Jf'tfer5QD Apartments, the blUlKry sit In
chairs lined up on the sidewalk. Tbe Jeffer-
son Is a pl&in bulldlDi that fihare, a block
with IWO gas flations.
Sam Drucker Is one 01 its lenants. In bis:
Poli,b village 01 12,000 Jew.. he was one
of only five to escape death. HI' wife aDd
two chJl4ren were Indner.ted In a eol'lce~
. tratlon camp. H_ came \0 Soutb Beach on a
GreyhOUad bus 23 year. ago, Ih.u In a
SI25-a-mollth apartment that hIlS been rob-
bed fO\lr times. .nd I)wns only .orne old
c100iu, a S260 Sears ttl.vlslon, .n4 two
SabbllthCIIlldlu.
."Thls town Wll.ll tbe be.lit," Drucker say"
silting next to two old woman who both
ban bandage.a on their faces from rKent
optfltions. "I don'l go out anymore since
the (Mariell Cubans (..lIme, f don', like
....hat., going 00. But l4'h.t ar. you eolll' to
A love or life
Joseph Feinberg has wu bUnd for 26
yean. Yet be Is a rartly on South Beadl, be
is openly h.ppy.
Felnberl, 10, is hNlthy enough to Joe 10
mllti a day. HI' love 01 life is obvious. He
.miles. He lauCII.. He dlaces. He proudly
taluor hisprowlCSl ua bowler.
'Virile if you have one'
Every wuil. 20 riclerly South Bndl
women vent\lre 'rom Ihelr rooms to vitlt
.11 old.fashloned Jewbb matchmaker,
,6M
SOU;'I BEACI: Claah of Cultures
I
,I
Raul Montes, 15, and Pedro Vega. 14, recent arrivab (rom Cuba, take a break trom
their daily game at a park at the tip or the Beach. At rilht. mirror reflects Juan
Antonio Pinel-Carrero. Below, 84-year-old Steve Sompol ShOWfl rdx-year-old MaDDY
Rodriguez how to blow cigar smoke on Washington Avenue. I
,:4,i:;~~l~~:pI?,HI W' J~ '\ 'r , J
'i 1 -', 0' '; I " .I
~ ~' ((>>. ~ -ills 'j .~t' i @ ~ f,
/i,',.;' - ".~, f -. .~' i
" t~J ~r~"'p..:
. ,t7' ',i
~r'"''
.'h--.
->,~,
~.,..
.:--:-~'~ r..ff.:;.,-:;_';;~:..~ '~~'i
The domino; effect
As elderly Jews
move out or die,
Latin refugees
take their place
By MICHAEL KRANISH
And JAY DUCASSI
IIt...u~Wrlw..
At the OOct-swank Pr1mrou- Botti,
RUlI>>l.lll1. rduKn:-. ~lIne on the porch.
playing pinochle. watchlnc the night traf-
fic o( Collin' Avenue rumble down South
Bt.ch. In thf' lobby, Cuban rdugru
slT.lddle dlalts b)' . window scene of
etched,slus flamingoes. playing dOmI.
'noet.
Outside, Loub Sadt It 'ree of Tur
Nichol.. II. Inside, Arturo ("rlJf"vara lit frf'f'
01 F1del Cutto. They ume to America for
Ule same rrAllOllI.
But the PrIml'Olt Is more a cauldron of
prejudice Ind misunc1erlt.lftdtn& th.n a
mrltlnl pot. Tbe Jew. are lenwi' The
LatJns art moving In_
"This u5ed to be . nice Jewish piau
ulltll we JOt the element In here," uye
Sadt, smoothlnl his worn blue pants and
dotted-blue JOblrt. "Now It', b.lf latin.
It', very bad."
The Group of 1"60& i\nd 19801 Cuban
exiles Inside ~y they let .10nl well with
the old Jews. But . IB-year-old Mariel
refulee, Damien Rublolo. II luvinl fnr
CaUfomla b<<auu things are "too weird,
Ulere Is too much h.trfld on Soutb Beacb."
The tension is apt to crow, for c\iny
elduly Eastern European resident wbo
dies or moves uUl.. latin likes his place.
In the CambridGe Ho\el, an old. throe-
storY Spanlsh.ltyle buJldln, In Ole mlclat
of . residential .rea. lives. rdusee who
escape<l Cuba to the U.s. Navy bot on
Guantanamo.
t
Squwor beats a eell
JU.D.Aotonlo P\nel-<:arrero, 48, It
thankful to be In a am.lll roacMnfl"Sted
room with his eI&ht churcb-donated
shim. lour pain of panti, GoY' rfld
beans. all applt. a fUlten lemon .nd an
op-n can of .ardlnes.
"I am UvlDl well here," he say. in
Spanish, fhllmng . 5Ck.ent San Alustln
c1lar, maldn& some conrrl (rice and red
beaM) on I hot plate. "I ha,'e DOthiD, else
~~:: ;?mw,:~I~ ~,o:, I~ ~~~t lam
Down the third-floor hallway, another
Mariel rtlusee hu .prayed .way the odor
01 urin!' With Sf'l f'COnomy.5:lz~ bottlf (If
LYIOI. 00 the roof, . three-yea.r-old boy
from Chile plays with . toy submachlne
8110. pointing 1\ at anyooe who comes
within rang.. On the ncond floor, .D old
manllvet III . tiny room with only I tell'.
vbion Nt. The man, tb. ODI)' elderly Jew
In the Cambrtd,e. won't lee: .nyone ill .
cause "I'm 99 per CUE dud, 10 80 away!."
Across Merldlan Avenue is the mortly
Jewl5h Beacb Manor Aputmcllu. wheN:
most nstdeotJ have Uved lor 10 yar..
and the co-op prealdelll ..ys. '''T'tIb u.ed
tft M grf'at Now It's a JlIlllle out there, .
wflderne&S. ..
This clal5h of imm1arant cultures it
pl.yell out dally 011 Dn:Jld Avtmul!. The
H.aban. Hotel wu .11 Jewish. Now II bM
poor CUbl.nJ" AmerlullslJld Pueno RJ.
caD'. It 'Iauate. coottnt police ulll.
and when the police an1ve enD for a
minor d.i.&turbance, they CO~ Jlx can at
a tlme., A "POUCE" televlsloD camera
posted. on . st.reetLtmp conttantJy l1lt'Wyt
the tbbana'. porth.
Nut door Is the onte.Jewlsb Ind now
H<laD. and CUtwl.lllled Wlndtor Plat.&.
Jewish enclavc remain.
And next to th.t,.t 1330 Ornel Ave..
II the elbro Apartments. where ail U kn.
anti ~n Ire Jl'wilh. five 01 th..m I goo.
era emIsrea from Hungit)'
'" wnn't w.lk III front of them." "ys
Anna Korn of her n~w neighbors. "Every.
thinK hll ch.nged. The:;> used to havt all
Jewish people."
It Is not rwn the e1l1erly Jews who want
to leave Dru.1 A"enll'.
A rKently an1vtd aues\ .t the Habana
la AUredo V.lentlne, 24. .ka. SUck, .
tougMooklna PuUto Rican with brown
balr, mustache .nd tattoos. He \\'15 "\iu
prtsldent" of . New York City gang, and
had c1reamed of comlllS to MIami Belc.b
allhl,lJfe, .
Now, he says. alternating his words
with dragl on a marijuan. elearet while
the five Hun,.rtan women watcb, he Is
le.vinl .fter a two-week stay bec,u-'Ie
"this p~'e b nulblnl Uke I Imagined It,
It.. too weird, too danilrOUJ."
Hialeah ortJ~,~Clti.
''Thls i. like my Mi8hborhood in
CUb..... he 5lY'l1."Bll.t the Je"'s don't even
talk to u.. Tho police tre,u u. bodly. very
bac1ly, They humiliate UI,"
Jose Rklf i. proud that he h.s never
been stop~d by pollee. While the so.
year.old Mariti rdul<< Ih'u In the decay.
Inl Clmbndle Hotel. h~ keeps his room
,poUe&$; he dresses In the gymwear &lIb
of the F1amin~o Park lock. .
~Rl08 spent 20 months In th FL Cb.ffee
del.orton clnter, ~d wa. relNSed aftlr
gr.duatlng from a l5-hour "Cross Cultur.
al Orientation" clasl, where he "'II
tau&bl m&nn~rli .nd "not throwing gar.
b.se In \hertr..t."
The fear Iinddena him
Uke m~t refulees, Rlos, who re<:ently
\o&t his job tt a cCW)k whell the rC$\aurant
In which he worked dosed, Si)'S the el.
Exile buys restaurant
In July 1,981. O.valdo Bayon... Cubln
exile who Uve<! In New Jerity for 17
ynn, boIJlht l smen restaunnl in tbe
mlddk of Espanola W.y, built in tbe
19~ ~t ::-:~~e':~~~~~I}~rg$~,.
GOO, l'r. uys fo per Clnt of the cll.nt,le
carry weapont, and be bu to call police
Ivery day to .top flehU, For thl 1&1\ two
monthl he has been trylnl to sell the
bu.slDHI for $"3,000,
., prefer to Jose part of Ole money .nd
kave here." he said. purnaS . lonl diAl',
"You Ull't live In. place where you have
to ca.ny. nvolver,"
Snuth Bf'-ach hf'gn 1tJ; transfonNItlon
la I1l7!) wben tbe Latl.n. started comlnl
and the Jew.ltayfd Iway. The redevel-
opment mora\orium brousht \be ndgh-
bOrhood to I standstUl in 1973, leavllll
"mall apartments empty and ulldlordll
kiokiol for ten.nu. Thtl 1980 Marlel
boelUft \)("ought a new CD of renten
and a doubled triml rate.
'Gangs, It's the pulSe
of this area. This I
should be a tourist
resort, and in five
seconds we've selm
two gangs.'
Juan Favolf"
dtrly Jew. .hy a.ay from him. clutchlnl
their purses when he PJ&:Sol!s. "It make.
me sad," he say.. klokinc' out bis third.
floor whu10w at &Il all.Jew(.tl .putmen\
"nulif'
For RIOI, bill monthly $119govtrnmeol
ChKk huBlOpl'f"d. H~tln't IInd work. He
makes $3 a day wuhlng cars,
Rlos is not \Inusu.al: jobs are hard to le\
eYen for longtime resldenu. nearly tm.
possibll for mOlt rtlugets.
10 the last six months. 1.300 Mariel reI.
USft" all South Beach residents. hIve
walked Into the "'lnorley Outreacb em.
plo)'meDt oUlte at the Sixth Street Com.
munlty Centu, which II beAded by
Cub4ll-born Hector Gardl.
Garela. who .mvl'd In ~ H.rly 196Ot,
c:ould plate only 122 of the nfuaet's In
jobs; only 40 hf'ld thnn for more than I
month. He dotm't know wha\ hap~ned
to the othrr 1,260.
'They expect paradise'
Cultural contraats abound
To the tradltlon.mlnded elderly, the
CODtn.sts ahout 'rom every corner.
On WashJn,toa Av~ue, Ihl'! H &- M
Stein Dell Ind K05ber Rut.uran\ II nut
to the T1juan. Cat. a Cuban c1l1h fnr tnn""
vestlte. and 'IYI that feAtures a dral
queen conlm .t mldnl,ht.
Further touth on \\'J4h1ncum A\enuI
II thr R ... R rPStaurant. wbich Idv,rtiw.
"FrIed PI.ntalA., Bonbt PI.tr, MaUCb
Ball Soup ... S~lal, EtPKial." Nearby,
tbe Paramount bakery sellt Kosher CUban
Bread and wp KlniJbl!!$. Richard's Fruit
Center wu boUabt from a Jewish m.n by
a Pucno Rican man six month. .SO. Now
marlqtdw (pl.ntaln thljn) shan! aben
.pt.ce witb m8UOh,
th:v~et;:~:it~:~kl:nZO:~,p."saC;ln~~:
1IINaUy lIpbcll.t Garcia. "The)"re different
lrom when ( came here. They expect p.r.
adlse. I wonder bow Uley at and pay
WUfredo ROIlbal I' . M.riel refulet. rent."
~1~:lj;;k~~:~r:::t~IO~~~~ ~~tr~l; re~~:e:':t ~~e:.t ~S~~~:dyH~~e'
llI.y..aod police avee, many of the Marie\ and wonder just that.
cr1mJnaIJ hl\'e been put I. jail. or hIVe Albf'rtt) Alvarez II uyin,: "Thert b
ieft. and the crime rate bu dropped. But work but)'O\l have to look lor It." .
alllt takes I. one pu......lna1C'hlna. tnd lhf' Rene Rodriguez .r,u": "Go 10 the Ufto
fear ntll t.beccndos Alld retlrement bo- employment oflice and try to Ke\ a )ob, JO
tell, ahead."
RosabU maku a mealer Il\IlnS by The men return to their $l>>..monrll
working foor "ourt .I day at a Kentuclr:y rooml, which baroly have 5pl.ce for dn-
Fried CblckeR. but he II &a\istied .nd gle-slze beds and dressen.
WAllt, to It.y. Ukt many reruI"" b.... A block away Is the Corsair. the: lOuth"
finds SouUl Beach more attractive than ernmOlt botel on the Gold Coas\.
Police .till check
-j
.. """
The Itll'f'k green..nd.whlte hotel next
10 Pier Park 0Jed to be owned by Juan
i......ole. a 1\1605 Cuban nUe, He has Ile~n
the. fe.r .nd prejudice of South neach
frnm hnlh ~dr...
v.-llen the Mll'ltl rduleetl wanted to
~k Into his hotel in May 1980, hI' d....
dded to .hut doWtl and sell out.
"I IOld It becaUIif' the nfuc~ CAme."
~l~e~:;o~~' ::I~d~~th~h:~tlbn;t ~~:~~
endtd up .l the Col'&lllr. "The M.nell, the
'felt m.)ority werethllves and murder.
ers. I said, I'm cklldnR."
New bUilneu flzzles
Dtit Fuole ctldD't lose f.ith in Soutb
!Wach. With lIOme part""n, hf' bought
'The Famous Restaurant. where for years
elderly Jew, had gone to Unger over c.b-
bage soup and. botUe or &eltur Wa\er.
The original OWDer, Mom. Lerller, $Old
out last year because he was III .nd his
bualneu wu dyiDS. Favolc thou,h1 he
could l'6urrect It.
At 8nt. the old customen returned.
But lOOn they stop~ romlnl.
The F.mous dOled .saln In June.
"Lt.t's face It," Favole said, "the Jewish
people with money have moved oortb .nd
tbe re5f of Soutb Beach II on a fixed In.
come. Tbey didn't take to w. I jUes5 a
Chinese rt.Staurant h.. to be run b)' a Chi.
um.n."
Outside, two groupa of young CUban
IfIetI walk by. "G.ngs." Favole saya. .Jit.
tlng out the word. '1t'a the pubc of thI.
area. 111.15 sllould be . tounst J'tSOlt. And
In five teCOllds we've teen two ganp. I'm
. 5O-year.old man .nd I won't WMr a
w.~bhere." .
T\\l.s Ilrttet\ 01 Ocean Ut1ve,lrom FUth
Street lOuth to Bitcayne: Street, wu once
fillf:d with f'1!Urt'd ltsll.ln._
th;~~ra mL~:~ ~:v~t.I::e":' ~~)~::
M,ne! refugftS, many of them Kays. Cu.
tro e:x1leod a largt homO$exual community
during the boatllft aD4 many bave eon.
teattated on thl. block,
Men dreill at women ,i
It III common to I~ JU1klnl )'ounl men
ttro.ll thelttH\ In women'. c\othcs. A
man wears a blmae and velvet tlihts. An.
oUler We&rS hot pants. and pink Uptdck,
They a:o to the TlJuana Car 011 Wuhlna:.
too Avenue or The Turf Pub 011 Ocean
Drive. a once-popular EncUsIl.style rn.
taurAllt thlt II DOW . te:Ilf-<ieKflbcd I.Y
dub. ,
Thlt II. nel&bborbood of tranalUon and
dIstnlrt, of bl.cltl Ind whlllll, Cubaas and
Ruularul, Jews Alld Cathollcs.
It II the tom worlcl Mi!en dally by Police
IlI5pKtor Ken Gl&.stman. who IrliW up on
Soutb Be.ch alld oow commandJ thl
nl&ht shlfL He I. dlsUhwon~ by the Ina,
bUlty of people:: - mo.t of whom hay,"
been throolb rn'oltjUon. and d1lcr1mID'.
tion then'lll!lVN-,lo set aiOflJ'
A babel or e~pl.iDta
"In 0Dt nIlbt at Fl&mtnlo Park," Glil"
=1 ~~'y~~~ftue~s ::~~e=P~~~~~
er. Th,"B I'll gf'" II call complalnlo, about
the yOWlg IU.mI.n cab<lnvera. Every-
body'a comlHalnlll& lbollt <<lmebocly.
Wh.t I've IflUnf!d Is that pl'()(Ill' hut .
The .Miami Herald
Suoday. AUl(Uat 29. 1982
, .
hard time ac&:eptlna: thaDle, People are
clannish, Th~y like tft be amons their
OWQ. 11 tl'1eyartll't. tl'ml they're threaten.
..,.. I
f'1aminlo'Park, a larlr .walh flf erN''''
ery and tennis rou", th.t ls typically
filled with ~nl I ltin Mcr.,.r 1"11)'1'" Ind
old Jewish pinochle player.. Is DOW sur.
mund('d by the Dew residents of South
Beach.
Thll)l are alrnod all lower. middle 111-
come, the remaining elderly Jewl, the
n.wly arrlv~ Latin famlllet;. And tberc,
are elderly Cubanl. Mo&l. of them left Ha.
,'ana In the early 1960&, went to work In
M1aml or New Jersey or New York, and
have reUred 10 Mlaml Ekach In I pattern
simlw to 014 prment.'.Ictory Jew..
III 1976,IIJ.spanlr..l accounted lor 17 per
cent of th~ city'lt public hnwdnt lor Ihe
eldl'.rIy. The trend Is clear: Today, the fl"
Urt hll jumped to 5S per cent, maldnS
Hispanics a ma)orl\y for the flnt tlme.
Familie. mo~e in
Thf' new Aamlngo Park neilhborhood
15 . mixture of old SpanIJJl,.tyle and
t93OJ.u. Art Otto building., It has about
20,000 nmt.al apartmenu Ind Is .ttracUve
to )'OlIn, Latin f.millN for 01. ""me rea.
iQDJ It was atU'actlve to old Jews: It hu
relatively low rent. lle4tby parks and
,hol>p{na.ndthe beacb..
Wltilt: many Jewish ,nd IOme IonIUme
Cul1an-ownf'd buslneS5es are moving out,
some new buslne>>n have taken their
plAC4'. Typically, Ihry are owned by
young Utin$. The mo3t IJucceulul ,,"ore'
CAter 10 the dIlly nf'l'dJ 01 ~aJ dtlun.,
who hne no can and no neartl)' ahopplol
tenten.
TIlle S\lDJshlne Vallt wu uwned 'or ZO
yU" by tranlplanttd Nlw Yorker Benia.
mln Glickman, now 69, HI. customers. eI.
derly JeWl. slowly dl&appeared. He sold
out to trlnsplanled Para'U.lyan FAI.r
TAuber, 32. T3Ubcr hlld looked .11 onr
Dade and Broward counties and bOUght
on South Bt-ach boecause: "tbe rrllt here la
60 per unt less."
Vlrtllall)' e:very .tore on thla \wo-bJock
nrMt:h nf Wuhlfl,tnn AYPflII~, bfofWN'n
Sixth Street .nd E1lhth Street. h., IImI,
larly tran..~erttd from old Jews to younl
L&U~
The PrImroae Hotel It virtllllly Invlli-
ble 10 the tbt~.>>tory. neolt'JJ.thed .no-
nymlty of Collin' AvenuI. On the JUMt,
there are some MarIti nlu,ets wbo live
at the edle o. So\Ith Belth, a dr.. queen
on his way to Ihe TIJUlIlI Cat, lour polke
~~'o~nJ~~?~I~~~ -::e: x:'e':fun
Rutaurant,
At the Ptlmtoef!, thl'M Ruf'ltian ....r"..
IUI sit on t~ porch. Witch the: traffk
and plan Ihf'lr movt. Joe KI.ln, 86, Ind
Loull Sadt. 81, have lot It all worked out,
AI lOOn II their leate: es:pIret, they will
move to another hote:l wtteR OIere are no
Latin..
lnsIde, Fdlz Martinez, 44. a chef. "Y$.
"Thl, ,. like a nlt41. bIg 'amily III lbla
hottl. We Uke Ole old Jewt, We get .Ion,
very well, very nice. We like liviaa to-
gether by tht beach,"
Tbe malllscr, Pujol Oevaldo. taku off
a Jew\lh tape, The Be,t of Mirlan Krn-
~:d: 8~~ ,;~ ;.n~~Il~~:;ri:' Trio
Tbe Miami lIerald
Sunday, AUlIu1t %9, 19~
/ '.,
I,
SOU,.B BEACH: Losers and iurvivors""'li:4"'liL;A'r.Il.r.u~~-.", 7!v1
Streets belong to strongest
Street crime is now common in South
Beach, Here, on Ocean Drive, two women
battle over a purse. It belongs to the
dark"haired woman. After being punched
and having her wallet taken, she kicked
her assailant in the stomach and took it
back. The incident over in an instant.
police were never called.
Renewal
By MICHAEL KRANISII
Ifw4Slot!II."IlU
Vlf'nrtlu-lIlyle lanlum and nfOO Illnl
announce Pi<<!olo'. lta1iao re.taurant.
lI,hUn, up (tOt of lh, drtarlHl aad dltad.
ltlt.t blocks on South Beach, Inside,
black-tiN! wa!teUlerve a few famlUt. In
ioot1ol.a-style bootha,
When South Beach r~e"flopmen~ wu
plannf4 In 1976, Sam P1cclolo thou~ht Il
W14 a dru.m come true: He was ~mDe
1.000 customer. a nlehl, buslneu wu
Ireat, and now hia 7M-.at landrn",k
would be pr~rvitd, canals built aroul\d It
to crlt.te I mln.lture Venl(1!. Cu.tomt'fI
would arrive In aondolu.
Today, Sicilian. born Plcclolo "Y" n-
devtlopnl~nt has tak~n away his bu8lnu~.
hil neiahborbood, and now want.s hi,
home.
"I ne\'er, 1 ,wear, I never wanted to
w:1I the bu.ln~" sald Plcclolo, "ttlng
behind the 3&'ytar,old rutaurant in hi,
Immacut.tll' whltl'-Ind.blue wood-Irame
hOIlN, "II II weren't lor redevelopment. I
would never have had to Joell."
Pkdolo'. block on Sooth &..IlJ;h, ~
tWN4 F1ral and Second Street OD CoIlinl
Avenue, hu IndUput.lbl)' died bK.au~ 01
redenlopml!'nt.
Here II the taU)': AD abandollfd bar and
rtsUurant. a vanc1aUz.<<I park, a d06l'd
fn:lt ltand, In apartmt'nt houl:t' lhat hu
the chtaptflt rent In Miami Beach, and a
botel that produced more police c.lllI than
allrflo:::r~~d~~l!'o~l~i thi. I. Pkdoto'. and
the Concord Co-op. a condominium wh('r~
26 Jew. and Italian. have lived COf' years,
Now IhOIit want to leave, but no onf will
buy on this block,
PlUM sold on street
Next to Plcclalo'. \'llet parkln& lot, I
dope ~.Ier arrive. al 3 p.m" pt1ldUn& dl-
laudJd. outade the sloppy 1921,etll
Beachvlfw Apartments, whre I'O(lntl are
u cheap a~ $475 a yeu. HaU the tenant.
are Rtwlan aDd PoUsh Jewr, half art
younl CUbans and American.. PrKlSl!ly
at 5 p.m., an addlet come. back from a
clinic with methadone, and 1'Ii. friend.
walt on a Ion, bench IIkt vuttu~._ A
prwtilulewaUa.
On the nortbeast corner of 1'1<<1010'.
block I. the TroplC&N. Bar, clOU<ll>Y th.
city aUer a dru& bun. fiChU and a liq-
IIDr.lietn.'te vkllallon. A Cuban rtopued it
but found lh.It the maiD cutltomers, Marlel
rf"'aets, 1l0pped cormnl when the gov.
ernlnl"nt slOflPf'd malllnl out $119 month.
lyauist8oc!check.l.
Next door is an old groury stort, its
outdoor frnh-lruit stand tmpty and rot-
tin&. Thr-.e Ri~ns hne bren posttd III
order on . now-bmku window: '.'\iel.
Abandoned streets sui~
the people of the night!
Do.....o'tairs arf tht customers. A Jo. \
yrar-old mllit.ry mart from Sin Fr.odsco
s1t1i nut to . 5O-ye..r-old pro.tltutt and
sa.ys, "rm thlnklnl of tlkln, her home:'
but he thinks of his wife and doeIn't.
''fm In South Beach to be amona the
9O-uUed. commOD people." the man i1YI,
u two blken pltk up till' proltltute, "I .
don't have to 'ttlllD my braiD,"
By MIOiAEl KRANlSH
Hffl/US'''lI'''ril''
Out of the dukneu comes. man In I
pink MiUlfot, A Hell's Aniel on .n An.
lelmobile. An AlabaflU. preacher wiln
.Ieeps In .n .l1ey, A Ruulall matriarch
who lives out of I bll baa lnd llHp. out-
sldea hie bank.
Nilht unravell South 8E'ach like I
pulltd rUI, throwiD, the ole! Eastern Eu,
ropean Jews Into their little rooms. un-
COvtrlD& the ba& ladle. and the cat lidles,
the hUlltlers and the junkie.,
In3R-:I;I:n~n~~~~ tht~e h:~e~r~lt~~=~
alona: thol,llh the radio bu DO batteri",
Crazy WIUy. aka The Count, la always
falling down and sayinl grandly, "How
do )'Ou do? May Ilntrocluee mYHIr11 1m
The Count."
On Third Street ~adt, Cuban male
prostitute. hlwk them.elve. In a Span-
Ish.It}'le bathroom built In 1935 by city
fathtrl. The only people Interested tbil
night lie three undercover police,
Cat and Star are watching the action.
Cat. 23, a babv-faced Pumo Rican from
New York, !l"lis dope to IS-year-olds like
Petey, /I chenlbic blond kid who has betrl
on South Beach "since Day One."
Bu.1 even Ca~, .....ho wears I BlICk S.b.
bath T.sh.ln ud jeans. doesn't like wlat
ht'8 Iffinl 011 South ~ach. Tht only dl"'
cent thing about It anymore Is "the lood
drul' at the Pier:' he says.
Pier' 8cn'CS as hangout
Tbe (lfUued and drunk han, Ollt at the
Pier, whlcb today Is nathlne more than a
deuylnl concrete walkway tuttln, Into
the ocean, dtf,ct<l by more grafflttl tban
. 8ron"l! Aub'o\'ay.
The Had A PiKe LAtel\' B.1:r attract.
tl'e-n1atn and motorc).cit'tou.e:hIU, who
push each nlber into the streft. A Hell'l
Anael, Sportllli a s1Mr-calortd Nul,
typt Iplkfd lIelmf't, I(rtKhtl onto Ocean
Orl..~ In a purple open-air roadster, the
Anieimoblle,
The Ihlrtiess, b<<r- belUtd drlver toys
with a .cltllrlend at thl! bar,lhe &lrlfrlend
pushe. him, yells: "I've had you for four
}..au and you fT..at me IlIle I'm a plclr.vp,
Go on, let altlhere!" He takeli aU III tbe
roadster, round. the Piu Park PArking
lot, yeila It the girl, nearly I!n(){,kt o...tr
In old man at the bus stop, com!!'s back,
~s her and make. peace.
What remain. at tht Soutlll!rnmoat Tip
of the f10rlda Gold Coalt Is Ihe Pla,yhouse
Bar, whue tllr nRhters Ind dOi-tRCk
fans li5I'd to crowd ttlp IO/Ig woodtn
babln. near the autographed plctur.. of
.we Lout. and Jack Demptoey, Outside thlt
customen Ilavf' parlr:rd th..lr tranAporta-
tlon: a purple Trans Am, a Ford pick-up. a
Chule and two wheelchairs.
Tht Pla}'hou.~ I~ run by 1Ct' Cn'am Jot
~~n~ell lI~XU~;~~I~~I~~~~~a::~~~~:
in Lummlll Park, He sa\'ed fnoue:b
"t() buy the )oint" In 1964 and bu1\t a
two-itory condo on top of It,
No\\' hi. Bel H.ubour"tyle condO onr.
looks one rhe dinclest blockli of South
Rueh, and he u,ually 51a)'1 away from
the bu b<<au!ot It has to few CU5tomefl.
Up.talrs, he walcbu vidto rec:ord.ln&1 of
Jack DempNY and Joe Louis,
Squad finds the bodies
Beach Police lospector Ken Glassmin, :
commander of the nilht shift, pruldes ~
ove1' a squad of mOltly youlla officers :
who butt the 'cycle touihle., lll\'tatllate .
necklace snAtchlngs, and find tbt dead, :
blolttd bodies 01 old people In little ;'
~~lI' tbe rlodlcconteml of bis ;:
squad ate the IrBeach ta, I.dlet who .Ill- .
way. SIHP 1ft th~ same .pot. Marilyn MI- :
~~:S.O:h~~:~~:~a[~e ~IC::! Jrun~ :
c:oIn Road Mltll with a huge &hopplnl cart .
flUd wltb 300 plastic ba,s, an assort. :
ment of bottles and some dOl-UrN -
coplu of The Wall SlrtetJourn...I. .
>1 worktd Wall Strett once." she NVS. '-
"I was I linger, an adress, a ,ollrmet .:
cook, and Nlllllerlor dnoi,ner, Oh, I had'
many taltnts, I used to bave many friendJ
too, and 1 U\'ed In lux:ury. 11 aorrltOllt h..d
told me 20 yelll'eo I m1ehl be llvinB like
this, I would havt thoueht they were
cru)'.
"But my husband died and Idt mt"
without a ptnDY, and I came down here
to Soulh Bf'aeh from Nf'W York, lib
e'\lt'r)'bOdY elk', I didn't b..ve lIai' chil-
dren, but I alwaya toved dllld<<Il, Now
little chlldreo come up to mil! and taU mt
puw, prostitute. rm not a prOlotllutf'."
And Marilyn Manute, bal Ildy, cries.
"It's Vtl')' hard UvlDI like thl., I ",,'ur I
don't want to i1~.t like thl..I'm I &In,er.''
Suddenly .he .prints 10 a bUI bench,
IIl'5 down, tnlM" h,r fPf't o"f'r the hadt,
puts her worn h.l.n.u behind her hf'..d,
.mllt'. and sing, a brid passait from an
ltalln opera. Then she lItumea .way and
dilappeau Into her favorite abandon~
bulldlnl. .
. Winter brings bums
like th~ rich tourists oC Hotel Row, the ,
. baa ladlN aDd the bunu come to South .
Btacb ID the wlllltr to ueape the cold. .
and aDout 300 of them littp In Illeya .nd .
abandoned bulldlnls. G1auman's crew:
rou.rJnely finds IS derelicta In tilt oncl-el. .
'Iant Bhaya Hotel. bu1lt by Cui Flshf'r :
II the f1arldlan In 1926, now an abin. -
dontd bayfront monument to South:
Beach'. decay. :
Tht)' twn takf' up po'rmllnf'nl r~,l.'
dence. RK1.lt'lUy, pollce lound 35 den'lieu :.
at a boaN!tI.t,up warehOU\I'. all with their:
own maUr""...., Thf' buildin!,..' 52G Jtf- .
f.rloOn Ave., Is ownHt by E\'~lyn Frink, ,~
oft..n a worktr on the City'. bf'aut:flaUM ~
~~:I~rM~:~h~~~ ~~~~~~.. tht ~
Ii \lied l<l b(' Ulat tht police limply':
dro\'e th.. undeslrabln out of town. .
"But now South ~ach Is thfllr bomr:' .:
In.pector Glas6man say', "Wt'\'t created
this erut envlronmtnt for them with .11
tb.. chtlp hOlfl,,"
come to our .tort!" Rf.CJr RenL" "hr
S,lIr."
On lb.e northwnt c:ornu I. a chHdrl!fl'i
P4rk, littered with j\lncle I.)'m., Iwlna
&t't, .nd a few ooil-Iprlnl hony k'ats
that have petle4 thetr paint and lost tht'lr
.prlng. The park, u.lItd FrlendllNp Cor-
Mr No. I, has lK'fn Itnced In .nd I. clOMd
at 6 p,m., but kids break. In aftll!t dark
anyway, In the style af the South 8rotl:r..
Auou the street Is Friend.shlp Corner
No. 2. whlcb had ICl many nallln patron.
20 Yf'ars .go that the city ~pla<<d Ule
shuUl,board courts with bocce lant.. an
ltaUAll bo\\'lIni iamll, Now only a few
Ital\analtJlI play bocce dally,
block, then locks some residents in
f The tenantl of the Nemo ,It dlrtetlv
acro... from the Concord Co-op, 101 eoi- ..
::UiIIA~':" ~:~ur::ti~~::o-~[J'':'U~~dIH~ -: J
(ound thAt Nrw York J"W6 wt're ~fifrn' :f
~:nftt~: ~rt~;~f: l~t~~: :D ~:t ~~~~ ~
Drive boltl or apartment. ,t
eo::~~~::~ a b~~~~~~o~~,n;.C~n':~n~ I
~:e b~l}~WI~ ~:l' =~~ ~I=r: I
New York Cll)' to break the landlord mo-
nopolies. Most of thoM wbo bought al Ule
Conc:ord were owning their Amerlcu
Dream borne for ttlt first time: AI 6~
. '... 1~5"-
;1""" -, '\ "~,:.:.~ : lll~ '\.
, I :i;t ~
--' ~._~
IS .'." I'
" "t t, ,'~
~ " ,.;;;-- ::~ ~1'p. .' ~H "
"'"~-..;'~--::r-r"""'~
Jj
HOTe,[,
.
9
.
rUIns
The promiae was broken
"I was 100 J)f'r cent lor redtvelop.
ment," says one bitter luU.n, who wears
rumpled pant&, , Striped .tun and an o~
fedora~ "I tTUned thtm. IlhOtleht I would
/Ie( . new pllK'e. Now my landkln2 klckf'Cl
me out - he's nnlin, to four re.fuletalD
myoid place _ and YO'J Ihould see tllr
hullf' In the waUl have now, I ean.t live
,
an)'wheredsr,"
Ptcciolo'. rtalauranl i\ III Ole mlddlt of
the block, To tbe lOuth II the Nt'mo Hotel,
a Spanl.h,.t)'le 10000room bulkllng wltb
Romantsque pillara Ind an open court-
)'ar(l ot dNd and dying trH,.
For $50 a week, I Nemo patlan gelt an
eight-foot b)' 10.foot room with peeling
wall., hroktn fklor ud a ratty bed. The
hallwaY' ~k of urine. The Nfmo. consi..
lenUy c!led for hundrtQ of housInl viola-
tlOM, la owned by uwrtnct' Taylor. Vice
chairman or the city's Mlnimllm HQUainl
St.lndan2a Board,
"Minimum hOUs.lnl is lUst that: mln].
mum hOU8in,," n:plalll' Taylor. "You
oan't expect me to .pend a lot or money to
rlJ. this up wben it'. IUppoM'd to han
been tom down for nllle vears for redt-
velopment." Hil I. the lament of IItarly
rvery landlord In tht rNlevtlnpmlOnt arlOa,
lncludlnl the founding member Of the
MiamI Beach Rtdt\'tlopment Altnc)',
Oav\d Klev,n5, who owna tbt nearby Hla.
,a)'llt-CoUln. Hotel, and has ~n .ued b}'
the city 10 nx Musing \lloletloa..
Thi!' Ni!'mo I. now f\lled wilh refu.
,~
, if."l i&1
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,1 ~
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",
N1EM'Ol
,~S, aJmlw and poor Americans and an
aNOrtment Of Mlamiall' Ipt'ndilll the
wl!!eknd on Ihe Beach. Dutilde-, youol
mrn and women drink beer and Witch
the tralflc on Colllnl AnnUl!. At 2 a.m,.
the Junkie. and )'OUnl rrostltutu walk
by,
lIotelleads in police call.
The NemD, a block from tbe. police .ta-
llon, provoked 216 pollct c.llll bttween
July 19,1981 and JUDe H, 1982,a1mOtit
twice II DUlD)' as .ny other addrrM In
Miami Buch, It it Inllmoul amona till!'
offlctu for Its ltabbln.i. robberies .nd
.nOOUnss, Whrn a.ked at:w;Jut South
Beach, the f1ut thin, police usuaUy men.
tlon I. Tht Nemo,
"That place il the worst on Soutb
flHdl," says S1t. Thomas Hunker, a 10.
ynrnttran,
A('1'OI:' from the iOUthern $ide 01 The
Nemo II Ibe Four Freedoma, a JlI!wl,b
nursing home, whrre tht tenants my In-
aldr, &:InaJne 101111 like Hovo Nagila and
pJI).lnlcuClI. MGStJullstay In !)Pd.
,,,~1r,
~
{
:i,-j
No one goes out at nigbt
TodaY, .. balf.doten tlderl)' telWlll
croucb outside tht Concord III UW.
chairs. .tarine at 1M Il'nAntl of Th
Nemo, whu Ue OD con<:retr bencbeL 11u
Coorord ttfl.aDU never k'ave th~(r build
inl after dark; the)' just aJ.t_
"!hIli wit a beautiful streel when ,
bousht here IS }'t.lU aKc''' ..Id Woll
AAtknll)" 7A, "Now, It'l no 1000, ...ery
dan&trOu5. I mo...td here from New York
to let aWlY trom Ihe robben, Bert, It
was. beautiful especially for Jewish peo.
pie. Now look at It."
Oth..,. ti!'nanl.l muller In flllr.eluent.
PoeM would luve If they oould, \
Twenty"two are trapped
Rut the 22 leoanu - four ha...'f' dird
lin<< r.developmaat Wit ploIllDed in 11176
_ (.IllIlot Ifave. Uke J,3OO other el4erty
who own condominium. in the rtdevelop.
ment ana. the relidl!nt.l at lhi!' Concord '.
cartnot ,et . bUyer al a rair priCt for a :i
bulldin, that'" IUppoMd to be torD down, ~
and ia now .urrouadP4 by cbeap bOtfl. '!\
~~~m;;'m Plcdolo, whO .Idvocated no; \
developmtnt 10 fervently, la Oil tbe &Ide of : \
tbeColacon2rtsldfnl.l, '
The ).000 ni,hUy cultomtra dropped to ,
J~;o.:r:, I:O'property It GIlt-third tht .
market value to hia fonner chd, Alfredo
Sartu.l., who pray. mlnUy that redtvrlop. .
ment will rucue the tM&ilnaa.
Ai P1cciolo'l telVt& the early bi.rd Iipe.
clallnto the nllht. the ConcaN! ruId",18
lock their doors. The tenlnlt of the'
"Beacbvlew Ind Nemo belln to take eon.
lral of the slrft'l, '
And Sam Plcciolo Is h....lnl truublt ,t't-
tlnllo.1H>p.
"If Ilr:nflw then ""hat I know todly,l
would nnrr ha...e supported r",e\'tlo~~ .
m,nt." he 5.1}'5. "AI . buslne$.~man. It ,
InokNi Irnt to me, bur look ".h.t it'~
done to this block,"
The Nemo Hotel once housed the Rcdevt'lopment AKcnc)"'s headquarters, Sa)"s a veteran
police ser<<eant. 'That place is the worst on South Beach.'
tSM
f
lis future
By MICHAEL KRANISH
H-.u s..<< W,.Un
Boston has Beacon Hili. New York City
has Greenwich VlIlt.e. Baltimore hu
"ell', PoInL If AndrtW CapltmlD has his
way, Dade County will have South
Beach's Art Deco district - bUabl tumtd
Manly.
Today, It startS and stopl with the
Hotel Cardozo. Ita '3IJ:rera by.tht-sea am.
btanc:e attractlnl a troupe of yauna dinetl
and \aU fans.
Cardozo co-owner AnllTtw Capltman
would like to see . to-block stretch of
Ocean Drive lined with similar cabarets
and reSUunntl, and the rest of the 120.
block district tutnf'd Into upscale houslnl.
"Dade Count)' doesn't han a 'bit'
nelahbor1lOO4 like Boston aDd other (.\t-
Its." ..ys Capltman. "Tbls Is loinl to bf-
It."
Thrtt w~ks 'ao. Capitm&n and I'll. 78
investor. announced. S6-mlllloll plan to
rehabilitate uvea Ocean Drive.art. bo-
leIs. t\l1tlini the SIG-S20 per.tUahl "pull.
maaette$" new occupltd by retirees Into
$~per.nllht hotel room. for the "cui-
Illrtd vacationer,"
Similar tnnsformatlool of dytDI ndah-
borboods are onder way In New York:.
Boiton and Washington_ Plllllnen call the
phenomonon "lentrlfluUoo" aocl 3IOme
critlclu It btcaUR It dule. Iow-lm::ome
nsldents a platt lo Ihe.
But chance In tblt particular ntllbbor.
hood II Inevltablt, Capll.man lreues. EI-
thu It', more hJgh-r1ae condos or rrstored
Art Deco. And Deco, he laYs. would cin
people a ruson to come back to Miami
Stach_
Final
By MICHAEL KRANlSH
I~NId stall WrlWl'
Six years after Miami Beach unoul'lced
plaM to tranl10rm the dty', decaytng
llOUthemrnost tip Into a VI!IlIce-Uke r.-
sort, a developer hu once &lalrL.promlsed
to complf'te the \'ilion.
Twice a putneublp hu bid on the
$1.2-billlon proje.;t. TwIce the deal tau
failed. This third attempt. which oUidals
promise will be the last, faces u many
o~u.c1e1 and u much opposition IS IDY
befOTt It.
lt wu once an ldea1atic vision: Clear
the landscape of blight, 11V'e the area',
6,000 elderly residents I better borne than
they 6larted with, c005tn.1ct . IIODpanll
world-class resort surrounded by water
- unab, bey and auln.
So far, tht nloe-year-okt moratorium
on. new coru;tructlon and the six-~f.ar-old
redfowlopml"nt plan bave only hastened
decay In the 255-acrtI area.
ADd the new vision of rt!<1enlopment
probably means a mlni-clty or corporate
officH, not luxury hotels on a network of
canal. as originally planned.
Now. u the Miami Beach Red"dop.
ment Agency starts nelotlations with the
project', only bidder - a jolnt partner-
Ihip of f1rlt BolIton Inc_ of New York and
Tbe Rou.e Company or Co~mbla, Mo. -
DO one I. certain the pro}ec1 will 5UCc~.
It Is aD uncertainty that has marked the
project from italnceptloD,
Project's 'like an inranl'
Steve Siskind, the orillnll nodevelop-
ment pllnnet', says be promiled too mucb
too 8OOn. SlBklcd, who two years IgO quit
the lime)', says the plan mWil. not be
shelved. '"ThIs project Is really like In la-
flct,tO be lMotUlely fair," he sald_
Miami Buch, Redevelopment Agency
ud Metro oltldala say a deal must. be
signed by OK. U. But the Joil:lt partn~r-
ship wants to put that oU until June 15.
That request ror a 5tx.montb delay II a
majOr ~umblln8 block that the Rt'dp\'l":I-
opment ABency hope. to resolve belore
Its k~ Wednesday burlnl before the
City CommillloD_
Meanwhile, the dty', opUmll1D bas
turned to pusfmlsm. City Manager Rob-
ert Parkh:as hu tolo his No. 2 assi$tant.
Sacdy Youkllls, to draw alternative plans
Uthe latut plan falls.
YouklUs u.ys the original concI'pt
"thow. an amulng lack of planning. hav.
ing to buy all that property lit once... It
\ wu mucb too crandlose to ever be suc.
ceSoliful."
And M has similar doubta a.bout the
cumnt plan: "I can't belltve a dneloper
would put oown that much money to bu)'
this much propeny In tbls economy."
If no deal Is signed, he ncommends
Chat the city create a "'uptr umiog
board." which would give developers In-
centhiMl to build Iccordlng to I new pin.
That wu an Idea rint proposed In 1973
by then.Plannlng DlrllCtor Harold Toal.
The Miami Beach Chamber of Commel'Cf'
didn't like 1t.lI.ylng It would lead to more
condos and rewer hotels. Led by Fon-
tainebleau imton flotel ownftr St~f1l
MUll, they proposed In 19n lhat the arel
SOUTH BEACH: Suggestions for SalvaDon
.
the
past? Deco
t
In
advocates
The poor-Depression, paste\-hued botels
and apartffifflts were designed to takr the
t'dle oU the hlU"shnltSS of life_ Everything
In [)reo bulkllngs Is rounded and curved,
The roofs soar with rocket.like Ons. Win-
dows art round, Uke ponholes, A critic
writing (or Nr.w York's Vlllllge Voice, AI-
uander Cockburn, rl'antly ailed it "OM
of the loveliest or.ighborhoOO5 in tlw> Unit-
ecIStates."
1n the ey~ of Dt-co devot~$, Cbe afe's
illCCess would spread to the 800-building
DIltion&! historic district, which bu
everything suburbia could offer, and
more
Instead or the man-lDaOe lakes of Ken.
dall, it has an ocean Ind a bey. Instead 01
hJgh-pricecl Iook.Uke townhouses, It has a
historic coIl<<tlon of archltt!Cture. Instead
of a tratflc.doa:ged 2o-mile commute to
downtown Miami, it has a two-mile drive
over B1l1C&yne Bay.
Oth",. particularly those who want
the OpPOl'tunUy to build condominiums 00
offer:
Offices
instead
of
Carrying their lawn chairs in the afternoon 8un. an elderly
couple walks down 10th Street toward Lummus Park.
:!lOUth 01 Sixth Street be razed to make
way for a grand reSOn_ ne'l Llald it
would "bring back the Beach."
It was. and I&, the mOlt txpt'nslvt
urban renewal plan ever (ODcei\'ed. ac-
cording 10 Don Plltch, the fedf'rAI official
who hu reviewed such programs for 1-4
~~;'b::'fh~~~ ~~ ~ua~lnBeC:~
redevelopmef1t wu bom, the mauive fed-
eral urban renewal program died.
But that dldc't deter MUM. who bt><:ame
chairman of the Redeve~pment Alene)',
He hlrf';d San Ftancbco pllnaer Siskind.
SWtlnd', 1041: Creale a "deltlrution" re-
liOrt 10 speelal u.at touristl would traV'e1
the world to vistt, Bulld the resort &rO\ll'ld
a 2.7-mile utwCX'k of canals, the Atlantic
Oceal'l. Bi""yne Bay and Government
Cut. .
For two years, the a&ency planned.
And th. building moratorium In force
since 1973 continued,
MUla hdped finance the 1917 electioo
of ileveral City CommlsslOb candidates,
creatine a pro-redevelopment ma)orlly_ In
1973, the Dade County Grand Jury
probed tht> campa!an contributions of
Comm!6Sioner Elaine Writbunt &lid con-
cludf!d. that $1.600 or her D\ODey came
Comparison of Ori loal and Revised Pro
ELEMENTS ORIGINAL
Zoning . Rigid plan
f
j
n
"
Building Mix
l.and Ownership
I I
REVISED
. No plan
. Nine botels. island re6idences.
offices, convention center. sei.
ence center. sea habitat aUrac.
tion 2596 condominium units
. Public owns, developer leases
. Half the number oC hotel
rooms; twice the number of or.
flce units, 5.411 condo units
. Dc\'cloper owns
Canals . 2.7..mile network . No canals
Relocation Benefits .6,000 1976 residents relocated .3,000 remaining 1976 raidents
relocated
Housing for Elderly . $200 million developer relJpon.. . $10 million developer respousi.
slbillty bility
Timetable
. Seven phases in eigbt ye8l'li
. 10 to 15 years
from New York.based MUS5 WiOclate:i.
;::~n~&ery ~~u~:un~e.::i~:J~~
"lettetafth!'law."
The cootro\'fJt5'1 was typical of the ac.
rimony that has surrounded the l'1N1evel-
opment plan from the start..
In 1979, the agency nelotJated with a
partnersbip or thl'H developers, AUanta-
based Earl Worsbam, Dade Federal Sav-
Inp aDd Loan Association, and Miami.
based Turner Development.
Expl"ctation., aoal"l"d. IhfO" plummeted,
The dtal was never si8ned. Muss resigned
u dlalrman but stayed on as board mt-m.
ber and chid negoliator. The Muss coali.
tlon on the commllRiion Whi toued out by
voters in 1979
Expectations soartd again In 1980. oy a
thr~-to-two ma}orlty, citywide voters
approved Ihl'! concept of redevelopment.
In the redew:lopml!:nt ar.a, the concrpt
won support for the fir${ lime, 1.339 to
1,234. Many residents said they VOted for
lhe plan because the area had changed far
lbe worae since the 1973 cul1,truction
moritontlm,
The agency ltartPd negati.Uans with a
grou.p of Investors. IncludlDJ Worsham,
Fim Boston and The Rouse (;()mpauy.
The florida Supreme Court approved a
mechawun to enable the agency to aell
the needed S200-mIlUon-plul worth of
bon...
I. 1980, tbe- bidden squabbled amonc
tbemst'lves. High iDtere~t rates made tbe
bonds unsalable. Ant Boston and co-de-
veloper Worsham fougbt for the projeCt',
control. Rather lban pick sides, the agen.
cy fired mem, rebid the project a.nd came
up with S\'!ven develo~n, among them
Worsham. That group too was fired.
Exasperated, tbe commi.ss1on $f'r a Dec_
31, 1981 de.adUne for a new developer to
be c1es1lnated.
Potential bidder (ound
Agency ChaIrman Irwin Sawitz, man-
aler of Joe', Stone Crab rtltluraat, got a
potentla1 bidder a week before the dead-
ItDe.. He called Flnt Boston real estate
vice president G. Ware Trnelltead Ind
offered 10 cWlle the deal. Travelstead
said he would agree 10 Mlat!.ate on that
baal'.
To entice developen to bid, the agency
Ind the Beach Commission softened their
zoning plln, allowed twice II maoy con-
dominiums and offiets and half u many
hotds, and atreed to sell - lutead of
lease - tbe land to the d"tloper.
TbOlfl concesslolU Atb;fled F1rst &6-
toll, which rd8DfJd on Rouse to plan the
project. Rouse hu de4lgned the hlahly ac-
claimed Harbor Place project In Baltlmore
and QuIncy MArketplace In Boston.
On Aug. 16, Arlt Boston and Rouse be-
eame the IOle bidders on the proJed. But
they uked for two more concuslons:
. Eliminate the 2.1-mlle network 01
Venellancanal..
. Delay the project for a1x months.
Tbou&h the canals had on<< been de..
scribed u rssentlal to th~ project. the
cornmjsslOD alreed to eUm.h18te them.
But the commlssioll majority, tired of
wa.ltlnl, objected .crongly two weeu.go
to the requut for further delay, allOther
The Miami ner~ld
Sunday, AUgU8t :'. 1982
think so
the oceanfront property, we little lovely
about the dittrtct. '"There's nothing hi,.
toric there," ariuea AM Resnick, who
owru I doun South Beach Deco-style
properties and lut year tore down tbe
landmark New Yorker Hotel. "Irs ridlcu-
Ious."
The Beach Oty Commission hu rejea-
tel a hlatoric preservation ordinance that
would bave forced preservaUon while aD
alternative buyer Wit: .ought, InSlead
aclopt1nc a law that preserve!l a bulldlnl
0111'1 witb the owner's CODstnt.
But recently the commission has
offered significant tax break, to encour.
ale restouUoo.
Tbr ruton 1$ a poor economy, Irom
whlcb Miami Beacb hu Jufferl.'d ,In<< be-
fore lbe current nAtional r<<ession. It Is
Idod to historic' preilerv1.tion, Builden
can't afford to assemble the ~().lool bv
lio.foot Sots. can't afford to gamble on .a
big condominium, and can't get buyers III
the current rJooded condo market.
At the lame time, young middle-cLus
worker. are looking lor re..onably
priced rental apartmenta and, frequently
today, an urban eovlronment clo&e to tllt'
beach,
"The profit potential Is enormous,"
Capitman says.
And, Capltman say., eVfn if his Irand
neighborhood plans should fail. his Inv('S-
ton would still have primr oceanfront
real utate. aDd could sUII replue the
Deeo hotels wfth blib-rise condos. Says
Capitman: "If t can't mike it work, &nd I
think I will, then I owe It to my Invb;tors
to 00 what!'ver it would take to make
bKk thf'Jr Investmr.n1. n
Venice
sign of uncertalnlY.
On TUl!jday the fiVe-member Redevcl-
:::;: ~~~~ :':e ~:~t~:::lrt~~::~
ai, but the ...ency appears act to approve
theconcrpt.
No harm dODe, Sawitz says
AleDCY Chairman Sawltz denies th.t
tbe Impact of the nine-year-old conJIruc-
lion moratorium bu harmtd the area, and
u.y. the redevelopment project would be-
come the biggest tourist attraction in
South florida. It I, I. view lenerll1y
shared by memben Marwin Cassel, an at-
torney,aod MUM.
MU$I,theagency's chief nt-gotlator, hit:
consJstently refused to answ~r The Her-
akl', questions about rtdevtlopment,
Alency member Norman BTaman. a
mllllonalre car duler, has said be doe&n'C
"have faith" In F1nt Bo!ton because he
5lYI the company flU previously failed to
follow throuxh on a requ!red, depoQt.
Agency membrr Max Serchuk, a retiree
who represents the art'a's elderly resi.
dents, has crlticlzed th. propoul because
It weakens the developt'r'a oommltment
ror public housing from $200 million to
S10 milllon.
'JlJc CIty Commlulon earlier this yt'ar
approved tbe neW redeVf"lopmmt concept
by. 601 Yate. It Is it scheduled to decide
at 11 a.m. Wednesday whether to acc.pt
the n~w proposal and grant a rrqumed
slx.month df'lay.
Bond plaD uDchanged
A centnl concept In the orIlln.1 plan
remain. unalterf"d, the method of Ilnanc.
Injl the bulk of It.
In e$itftce, bonds will be sold to pay
for prPparlnl the land. and property taxes
earnN by the Improved land will be us.ed
to JMl'l off the bonds. The method Ia called
tn-Increment flnudn&: and II de&laned
to rehabilit&te blighted aren,
In South Beach tb.at will be a "tu In-
cremtflt" of about $25 million a year. the
dUfer!'nce betwefn tanl produced by lbe
are. In 1930 - $900,000 - aod the taxes
Ihat will br. produced whrn the area Is
fwly built - 126 mlUioD at cumnt rat".
But that level (If taxation won't be
achl"ed until the project Is luIly built,
from 10 to ZO yeara. At the earJlt$t, con-
struction ODce pllnned for 1979 W01lId
be&ln In 1934.
Currently, acCOrding to flrlil Boaton .at.
torney Joyce Letten, it would be an "f'(:o-
nomJe d.lsutu" to build the now'platl.DL'd
resldentl.al condominiums. The company
Instead anticipates ton6lrUctlDg offSce
buildin&$, Tn about 10 )'ears that would
crute demand lor the Original vision of
aho~ hotels and condoa, Let~n has said.
"There'J 10 many uncontrollable ele.
ments Involved lbat It Is dUficult to say
what the exact plan or time schedllle will
be'," Agency ExecuUve Director Gideon
Kellerman said. "You ClJl.aot predict the
real estate market or the economy. Hope-
fully, we'll complete tht pro)l!cl Ii soon
asposcible,"
Thl!ll lIallI, u Kelltnnan cautions and
the realdenta of South Brach already
know, "nothlnglscertain."
',---"-'~~_.~~~"
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