"City likes to suck blood out if it's host; the Grove"

The current situation with the city waterfront property proposals is ridiculous.  However, it clearly makes the case for secession from the City of Miami.  Clearly, Coconut Grove is a unique community that is different from the rest of Miami; just like any other community in Miami is unique.  That simple sentence explains why the city of Miami is too big. There are rumors, as reported in the Miami Herald,  that  the finalists competing  for  the  waterfront property will be up for vote in the Nov. elections. This means that people as far away as Mid-town or Little Havana can vote on the issue, even though they are not part of the Grove community or have the same values as people from the Grove.

In  other  words,  people from other communities with their own uniqueness will have as much say as the citizens of the Grove on this community  issue.  Now, I know that the City of Miami being the parasite that it is, likes to suck the blood of its host, Coconut Grove; blood being taxes.  However, enough is enough.

A person mentioned in a recent letter to the editor the phrase "taxation without representation."  Clearly the RFP Committee did not represent the Grove in terms of members.  One response to this is to declare the process as "not valid."  This could take place through a protest, organizing a campaign to vote against it in the elections, or voting with our money.  In other words, our final "trump card" would be to choose not to eat or drink at the new restaurant in order to protest the Committee's decision and actions.  While the Committee and City have a certain amount of power to choose which restaurant will rent the marina property, we as consumers could decide to not associate with the restaurant and shun it.  This would be "voting with our money and our feet" which are the only votes we have that count.  This strategy could be carried out by using some type of community awareness campaign.

Joshua Stevens
Coconut Grove