Two of my favorite places are closed: Cita's and Havana Grove. Why? Because there are no customers. I was shocked to be turned away today for breakfast at Havana Grove. Another place that was planned for the corner (where the hair salon was), which was to have music, drinks, an outdoor deck for seating, has decided to go to South Miami instead because they encourage thriving businesses.
Cita's which was "the vision" of a select few of how a restaurant should be run in the Grove did not work. While the food is being blamed, the food was not the issue. The "less drink, more food vision" may have been the issue. The picking on Grove establishments non-stop, setting Code Enforcement and Zoning on Grove establishments has not helped, the 3 am bar closings have not helped. The Parking Authority extortion has not helped either. And having police scare off patrons in certain select establishments as punishment for people speaking out (a la Germany 1938) has hurt business very much.
None of this goes on in the rest of Miami. But it may soon happen. All of Miami may catch up to the Grove if a new resolution is allowed to pass. The changes at City Hall have not been good in the past month. The City Commission is about to hurt the whole City, big time.
The Miami City Commission is pushing resolution asking Governor Charlie Crist and the Florida Legislature to support some things that sound harmless like red light cameras and tax credits for small businesses and even a going green initiative. But if you read the list of things the City supports, one of the things they support doing is:
"AMEND - 893.138 entitled "Local administrative action to abate drug-related, prostitution-related, or stolen-property-related public nuisances and criminal street gang activity." to include acts of violence including murder, rape, assault and battery. This would allow the City to use the Nuisance Abatement Board to close establishments (like nightclubs) where there have been more than two incidents of violence."
Basically, they are asking that one or two person's "views" of things govern whether a bar or restaurant can remain open for business. It is completely consistent with everything else being done these days to KILL THE GROVE AND NOW THE CITY.
By adding "assault and battery" to the list, that means that if a bar were to have two fights which could include a friend punching another friend or a wife slapping her husband, the "Nuisance Abatement Board" which is a five-member City board, where each Commissioner appoints one person, could shut the business down. Since the Commissioners are appointing the board, we know where the agenda lies.
Of course we know that there are people in office just waiting for a braw to happen. They can easily pick and choose who stays open and who closes. If a husband and wife leave their house arguing, have dinner in a local establishment, the wive throws water in the husband's face and the cops are called, this is strike one against the establishment. Sort of a pre-existing fight which exacerbates and affects the innocent bar/restaurant, without liquor even being involved!
We suggest people contact the Governor now (Charlie.Crist@MyFlorida.com) and explain to him how the Grove and the City cannot be run by one or two people with "visions" and that in this economy we need to encourage businesses to thrive, not shut them down and punish them because one or two people don't like living in a City and prefer to turn the whole place into Venice, Florida (this photo shows how they want it here).
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