REDEVELOPMENT 101: IF YOU WANT JOBS, HELP NEW BUSINESSES, NOT HARASS THEM!

After the failure of Urbanite Bistro, job creation in the downtown redevelopment area is severely at risk.  With the bistro's failure primarily due to customers' fear of the blighted neighborhood, other new businesses need to learn from Urbanite's misfortune.  Grand Central, a recently opened event venue located at 697 N. Miami Ave (http://www.grandcentralmiami.com/), is determined to succeed despite the inability of the City of Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) to redevelop the surrounding neighborhood.  In order to support the recently opened business, Bradley Knoefler, owner of 697 Lofts  and Aramis Lorie, owner of Grand Central, decided to spruce up the surrounding streets to support the business and improve patrons' safety and security.  As recently reported in the Miami Herald (activists take matters (and bulldozers) into own hands), the duo fixed up the surrounding neighborhood by using local residents to support the Grand Opening, which occurred on May 13th to great success. The party was successful, drawing rave reviews and hosting over 700 people from a diverse cross section of Miami, with the Spam All Stars performing live.  

However, the road to the opening was fraught with roadblocks and rogue elements in the City and the neighborhood seemingly determined to harass the new business at almost any cost.  Several hours before the opening on May 13th numerous City of Miami vehicles repeatedly drove past the venue and later a code enforcement official arrived with several reported violations, including operating a nighclub without a permit and other alleged illegal acts.  Sources within the City reported that the Overtown NET office and the CRA had called in these violations, surprisingly not just once but numerous times during the day to ensure that Code Enforcement hit the venue.  This is despite a cease and desist letter to Mr. Loren Daniel, Overtown NET administrator, who has previously harassed and threatened the parties involved.  At approximately 7:30 PM, three police cruisers blocked the entrance to the parking lot on the Old Miami Arena site and threatened Brad Knoefler with arrest for tresspassing on private property. "I asked them if the owner had called them," said Knoefler, "they said no but the had 'reason to believe' that I was trespassing." Luckily Commander Sanchez of the City of Miami Police Department stepped in to diffuse the matter after speaking to the owner by telephone and the lot was allowed to open provided that the parking was offered at no charge.  Satruday night at 1:30 AM, Andrew Mermelli of M&M Parking, incensed at the free parking being offered across the street, drove up and placed the "free parking' sign in his car.  When security confronted him for stealing the sign, he attempted to run him down with his Porche Cayenne. A police report was filed and the sign was quietly returned at 3:30 AM.   No arrest was made.

The following weekend the venue, attempting to spur economic development in adjacent Overtown, invited Darrick Rudolph, a licensed street vendor to serve the nearly 1,000 customers attending the venue.  At approximately 10:30 PM, four police cruisers pulled up and forced Mr. Rudolph to shut down his business, due to the lack of a special Downtown Development Authority permit, required of Overtown street vendors who wish to cross the tracks to serve the 20,000 visitors to the Entertainment District every weekend.  "I was on private property," said Mr. Rudolph, "and asked them to give me a warning so I could sort it out Monday but they didn't.  I invested all of my cash in food and now can't sell it.  It's hard enough already to make a living, now this," he said, obviously frustrated.

So why is it so difficult to start a business and create jobs in the "redevelopment area" of Downtown Miami?  Our elected officials constantly talk about jobs, jobs, jobs and the City of Miami CRA's stated mission is to spur economic development and to reduce slum and blight.  Is the City really that business unfriendly?  No, although certain ordinances, like the one that prevents street vending after 6:00 PM can unintentionally hinder job creation and should be revisited  A more probable explanation is that there are certain rogue City officials, Parking Lot Operators, and Developers who have a vested self interest in keeping Downtown Miami unsafe and blighted, in spite of the need for a decent quality of life for the thousands of new residents.  The big question is when those truly concerned about job creation will reign them in. 

If we really want to create jobs, not just talk about creating them, then we need to learn from these examples and help business startups, not harass them.  Identify and eliminate the barriers to economic development and the vested interests and agencies that want to keep the area as it is.  Elected officials please take note..