I had lunch the other day at Leela\u2019s restaurant in Little Haiti and, boy, was it tasty. Crunchy-on the-outside, moist-on-the-inside fried grouper, fresh veggies and white rice. Simple and good. I\u2019ll be back for more. <\/p>\n
That\u2019s precisely what the city of Miami\u2019s Community Development Department hoped for when it invested $430,000 in Community Development Block Grant money from Washington to upgrade the facades of Leela\u2019s and 14 other nearby businesses in Little Haiti. The goal was to improve the look of the neighborhood in order to attract more customers, including folks \u2014 frankly, white folks \u2014 who normally would never think of going to Little Haiti for anything, much less eating and shopping. These improvements may make some at least consider it. I\u2019m among them. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe hope that by improving these businesses with their appearances,\u201d said Miami Commissioner Michelle Spence-Jones, who represents the neighborhood, \u201cit will begin to get more people to come into this particular corridor to shop, dine and explore.\u201d <\/p>\n
That\u2019s a lofty goal that would have been inconceivable even a year or two ago. And it still remains to be seen if perceptions about Little Haiti will change just because its \u201cdowntown\u201d \u2014 the stretch of NE Second Avenue between 54th and 62nd streets \u2014 has been nicely spruced up. <\/p>\n
But I\u2019ll be the first to say that downtown Little Haiti now has a fighting chance to attract new visitors, what with Caribbean colors brightening a few blocks of contiguous shops that shine with new paint, awnings, windows and doors. It doesn\u2019t take an urban planner to see that because the refurbished businesses are mostly adjacent to each other there\u2019s a nice synergy. It\u2019s also reassuring that an impressive non-profit called NE2P (Northeast 2nd Avenue Partnership), which includes a cross-section of Little Haiti leaders, is behind the push for these and other improvements. \u201cI believe the facade project is just a taste of what is to come in Little Haiti,\u201d says NE2P staffer Joann Milord. The early evidence indicates she may be right. <\/p>\n
But what does the evidence say about similar facade refurbishments in Liberty City? I\u2019m less optimistic. In fact, I\u2019m downright skeptical, as I said in my last column. Not since I wrote about the death of our dog Zoe have I received such an outpouring of reaction from readers. More than 90 percent were supportive, including several residents of Liberty City who see the Northwest 7th Avenue Rehabilitation Project as the latest in a string of political boondoggles. Certainly there were a few Liberty City residents who took umbrage at my \u201clipstick on a pig\u201d analogy and the leader of the nonprofit that will oversee the Northwest 7th Ave. work, Leroy Jones of Neighbors and Neighbors Assn., which will be paid $62,482, blasted me for prejudging a project that hasn\u2019t even begun. Fair enough. <\/p>\n
But ire was nothing compared to Spence-Jones\u2019, who, after spying me in the audience at a recent Miami City Commission meeting, remarked on the \u201cmany calls\u201d she was getting from constituents who thought my column and comments were \u201cracist.\u201d She made it clear she agreed. <\/p>\n
I asked her at the Little Haiti ribbon-cutting why they\u2019d been able to rehab 15 storefronts there, but would do only four in Liberty City for the same amount of money. Her answer was that there might be more than four. Shouldn\u2019t she know? It\u2019s her district and she\u2019s taking credit for the project. <\/p>\n
Last week I took a second, closer look at the four businesses along Northwest Seventh Avenue in Liberty City where $428,000 in CDBG money will be spent to refurbish facades. I came away even less convinced this project will achieve much. None is adjacent to another. They sit on a busy, gritty, crime-ridden street where as many stores seem to be closed as open. It\u2019s an area where a lot of people, black and white, would not be comfortable or safe at night. <\/p>\n
Let\u2019s see what the finished product looks like, but this money \u2014 which has strict spending guidelines \u2014 could be better used for other programs in Liberty City, whose needs are legion. Putting $428,000 in taxpayers\u2019 dollars fixing up the facades of four or even half a dozen businesses on Northwest Seventh Avenue will do nothing of lasting value for the people of Liberty City. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The rest is here: I had lunch the other day at Leela\u2019s restaurant in Little Haiti and, boy, was it tasty. Continue reading
\nLiberty City, a second look<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"