Bracing for Federal Occupation

HUD takes over county housing agency

By Cynthia Archbold

Despite the housing scandal, the first part of the Scott-Carver housing project is almost completed, providing 57 new homes. Photo by Cynthia Archbold

County commissioners all but hung their heads in shame on Tuesday, as they voted 11-1 to allow the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to take over the Miami-Dade Housing Agency for the next nine months — or maybe longer.

“This is the product of mediation,” County Manager George Burgess told the Miami-Dade County Commission, calling it a “reasonable compromise.” He reminded the board that the county was “not in a position of strength” when the settlement agreement was being negotiated.

“I held my nose all the way,” said Commissioner Dennis C. Moss. “I believe we should have litigated,” rather than accept the terms of the settlement. Moss nevertheless voted along with 10 other commissioners to approve the agreement. Commissioner Barbara Jordan was the lone dissenting vote.

The settlement gives HUD ultimate power over everything: construction, staffing and even the budget.

HUD’s new appointed oversight administrator will “make decisions regarding those matters which would ordinarily have been made” by commissioners, the mayor and the housing agency’s director, Burgess’ memo stated.

HUD’s corrective action has been in the works since February, when national housing agency officials determined that the county had done such a negligent job in managing its affordable housing program and allowing rampant corruption that there was nothing left to do but take it over.

But the county had already begun cleaning house, removing personnel and hiring Kris Warren to be the new housing director.

“I don’t believe with a new administration and changes that we should find ourselves in this position,” Moss balked. “We could take the work plan and accomplish it without an administrator from HUD being here.”

Commissioners questioned Burgess, trying to grasp the scope of the new housing czar’s authority. They were informed that the HUD appointee will have total control.

For example, employees will answer to HUD’s oversight administrator, not to Warren.

The county did gain some concessions from the feds: HUD may not dispose of or demolish any county property without the county’s consent, as they would have been otherwise allowed under federal law.

Meanwhile, at least part of one long-awaited county public housing project is almost completed. The new Scott-Carver affordable housing project is an oasis of bright, green front lawns, tropical landscaping and 57 freshly painted homes along a stretch of Martin Luther King Boulevard (N.W. 66th Street) and 22nd Avenue.

“I’m happy to go to work every day,” said Habitat for Humanity’s Carlos Ayala.

Habitat for Humanity started the $6 million project — a thrifty $105,263.16 per home — in July 2006. The homes range in size from 1,000 to 1,200 square feet. In fact, workers say they’ve built the homes so fast, they’ve had to slow down construction so they can hold their annual community rally, the “Blitz Build” Jan. 14-26, when around 200 volunteers will come with hammers and paintbrushes to finish the interiors of the homes.

The rest of the Scott-Carver public housing project calls for building another 120 public housing units along the same stretch of 22nd Avenue. However, the old Scott-Carver project consisted of 850 homes until it was demolished in 2001, displacing residents.

The agreement said “HUD agrees to review, in good faith, any future revitalization plan that increases the number of housing units … onsite for the Scott Carver project,” but commissioners are divided on how to increase the density.

Habitat for Humanity Executive Director Ann Manning said the good news is that those who truly need affordable housing are the ones moving into Scott-Carver. She said 80 percent of its residents are those who were forced to leave the old Scott-Carver.

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Coral Gables

On the Lookout

Police believe three suspects are responsible for 14 bank robberies

Suspects caught in the act on surveillance video cameras. Police believe one and two are the same person.

By Cynthia Archbold

Good old-fashioned bank robberies are back in style in South Florida — especially in Coral Gables.

Now, Coral Gables officers are going to banks in the City Beautiful showing photos of three black male suspects they believe committed 14 bank robberies since Christmas, a rash of stick-ups reminiscent of the roaring ’20s.

Seven of the bank heists took place in Coral Gables, four in September alone, the most recent on Sept. 24. Coral Gables Police estimate that the crooks stole between $42,000 and $43,000 from banks located within the city limits alone. Usually there’s barely one bank robbery in Coral Gables a year, according to crime statistics.

Video from bank surveillance cameras shows what appears to be three different men — between 25 and 30 years old, about 6 feet tall, weighing around 185-190 pounds — walking up to tellers, passing notes demanding cash, saying they are armed and, in some cases, showing a weapon.

Gables police believe that two of the suspects may be the same person wearing different disguises: one, a floppy hat pulled low to cover his eyes; the other, a big curly wig. Suspect number three doesn’t even try to conceal his appearance, wearing a close-cropped hair cut and preppy attire.

“They’re all very similar,” said Major Mark Ginn, commander of Criminal Investigations for the Coral Gables Police Department. He believes the seven Coral Gables crimes were committed by the same robbers who held up seven other Miami-Dade County banks. “When you get the videos from those banks they match the pictures that we have of ours,” he said.

Ginn believes the suspects may be working together. “They seem to be taking turns. So one is either in the bank or outside, or driving the car, or there may be even a third one we’re not even aware of who may be the driver of the car,” he says.

What’s taking police so long to catch them? The biggest problem is that bank policies don’t allow employees to contact police until first notifying the bank manager and corporate headquarters, causing lengthy delays, Ginn said.

Coral Gables officers pride themselves on their short response times — 3.5 minutes for emergencies, according to the latest report. Yet, that wasn’t fast enough in the latest bank robbery, when police missed the crooks by 10 seconds. So, now Gables police are meeting with all area banks to educate managers and coordinate robbery-response action plans.

“We’re trying hard to apprehend [the crooks] before there’s another bank robbery,” Coral Gables Police spokesman Frank Jackson said. “Our major concern is whether there was a gun seen or implied. We don’t want this to escalate into a violent encounter. “We can’t dictate corporate policies.”

But he hopes that by posting pictures of the suspects, bank employees will recognize them if they come in and immediately call police.

Jackson said bank robberies are high-risk, high-reward jobs, more attractive when economic times are tough. “There’s a huge risk involved in going into a place with surveillance and lots of eyes on you,” he said. “It’s a high reward, going in for 30-40 seconds and walking out with thousands of dollars. More likely than not these robbers are armed.”

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Miami

3 A.M. Is Enough

Coconut Grove Council wants to stop proliferation of late-night clubs

By Claudio Mendonca

CocoWalk contains many of Coconut Grove’s bars and clubs.

For many years, even before the resurgence of South Beach, Coconut Grove has had a vibrant nightlife.

Yet many Coconut Grove residents are now tiring of the traffic and noise that comes with the late night clubs. More than that, the Grove club scene is becoming a safety issue.

“Clubs and nightlife after 3 a.m. have a direct correlation with the crime surge,” said Miami Police Commander George Martin. “There are more potential problems, such as stabbings, assaults and fights when you allow establishments to operate until late.”

The solution, according to the Coconut Grove Village Council: Stop the sale of alcoholic beverages in new nightclubs and bars at 3 a.m. instead of the current 5 a.m. limit. Village Council members hope to draft a recommendation to the Miami City Commission in the next month.

“We would like to see nightclubs in Coconut Grove stop serving liquor earlier and I think this can be done through law,” Gary Hecht, vice chair of the Coconut Grove Village Council, said during Tuesday’s meeting.

Hecht said it is difficult to take away “special liquor licenses” that allow sales of alcoholic beverages until 5 a.m. from five clubs already operating. However, the council wants to prevent the city of Miami from issuing future 5 a.m. licenses.

Just recently, the Miami Zoning Board granted a special liquor license to Vision Nightclub, located at 3015 Grand Ave. But Grove resident Kathy Komis appealed the decision and the nightclub will have to wait 90 days for a final ruling.

“I moved to an entertainment district, not to a nightclub district,” Komis said Tuesday night.

Currently, two CocoWalk bars have the special license. Hecht mentioned that Nikki Beach, opening at the Sonesta Bayfront Hotel on McFarlane Road, could also request the exemption.

Hecht said it is possible to make village bars close earlier, but city commissioners would have to amend the current zoning code. Coconut Grove is in a Neighborhood Conservation District, which makes it easier for commissioners to change the code.

Another desired change: prohibiting existing nightclubs from transferring their “grandfathered” 5 a.m. licenses to new ownership.

 “Licenses wouldn’t be transferable once establishments are sold,” Hecht said.

Council member David Collins added that there are “not enough police officers in the streets to enforce the laws.”

“We need more people, we need more presence,” said Collins.