LTC 020-2019 North End Enhancement Team (NEET)MIAMI BEACH
OFFICE OF THE CITY MANAGER
NO . LTC# 020-2019 LETT R TO COM MISSION
TO : Mayor Dan Gelber and Members o
FROM : Jimmy L. Morales, City Manager
DATE : January 10, 2019
SUBJECT : NORTH END ENHANCEMENT TE
The purpose of this Letter to Commission is to announce the formation of the North End
Enhancement Team (NEET), a multi-departmental task force to address quality of life issues in
North Beach .
The City has had a significant focus on North Beach over the past five years , and there are many
outstanding projects in the pipe line that will be real gamechangers for the area. That said , I am not
satisfied with the progress we have made in tackling everyday problems like illegal dumping ,
cleanliness, code compliance, street repairs and landscaping. I know we can and must do better.
Towards that end, I am creating a multi-departmental team whose job is to spend at least one day
a week blitzing North Beach with human and physical resources to make a significant dent in the
issues identified above. This is not a team that will sit in conference rooms having meetings, but
instead will be in the field addressing the issues in real time. Since most issues usually require
multi-disciplinary solutions, let's bring out these resources to work in tandem in the field to have a
maximum immediate impact. The goal is to start this program over the next few weeks. We will
notify you when we conduct our first sweep. For the record, there is no increase in head count or
additional cost associated with this program. The key is to conduct recurring sweeps in North
Beach to change the look and narrative in the NOBE neighborhood.
I have asked Tom Curitore, our Assistant Code Compliance Director, to spearhead the NEET
Team . Prior to joining the City , Tom had worked for the Mayor's office in New York City and one
of his projects was to spearhead the MARCH program , which stands for Multi-Agency Response
to Chronic Hotspots. His task there was to provide multi-departmental responses to daily
challenges in troubled spots in NYC . When he moved to Miami, Tom was hired as the Director of
the Wynwood BID, where he played a similar role in focusing on daily challenges in that
neighborhood . He is particularly qualified to lead the NEET Team. I have directed the applicable
departments (Police, Code , Sanitation, Greenspace , Parks, Public Works and Property
Management) to provide personnel and equipment as requested by Tom on those days when
sweeps will take place in North Beach. Tom will also coordinate with stakeholders in North Beach
to leverage any other resources that might be available .
I look forward to positive results from this concerted effort as we bring to North Beach the TLC it
rightly deserves.