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Home My WebLink AboutR-22-0179City of Miami Resolution R-22-0179 Legislation File Number: 11967 City Hall 3500 Pan American Drive Miami, FL 33133 www.miamigov.com Final Action Date: 5/12/2022 A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION DECLARING NO OBJECTION AND SUPPORTING THE CO -DESIGNATION BY THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE, PURSUANT TO SENATE BILL 160, DESIGNATING THAT PORTION OF STATE ROAD 953/NORTHWEST 42ND AVENUE/LE JEUNE ROAD BETWEEN NORTHWEST 11 TH STREET AND NORTHWEST 14TH STREET, MIAMI, FLORIDA, AS "OSWALDO PAYA WAY"; FURTHER DIRECTING THE CITY CLERK TO TRANSMIT A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION TO THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, DISTRICT SIX, FOR SIGN INSTALLATION WITHIN THE NEWLY DESIGNATED ROADWAY. SPONSOR(S): Commissioner Alex Diaz de la Portilla, Commissioner Ken Russell, Commissioner Manolo Reyes WHEREAS, the Florida Legislature, during its 2022 session, passed Senate Bill 160 (2022), approving, inter alia, several road designations, including a co -designation for Oswaldo Paya ("Paya"); and and WHEREAS, Oswaldo Paya was born on February 29, 1952 in El Cerro, Havana, Cuba; WHEREAS, Paya was brought up as a Roman Catholic; and WHEREAS, in 1969, Paya was sentenced to three (3) years of hard labor on Isla de Pinos for refusing to transport political prisoners during his mandatory military service; and WHEREAS, while serving time on Isla de Pinos, he discovered a locked Catholic church, Nuestra Senora de Dolores, that received permission from the Bishop of Havana to reopen as a mission, giving religious talks and caring for the sick; and WHEREAS, after his release, Paya enrolled at the University of Havana as a physics major, but was expelled when authorities discovered he was a practicing Christian; and WHEREAS, he then attended night school, eventually studied to become an engineer, and later worked at a state surgical equipment company; and WHEREAS, Paya had an opportunity to leave Cuba in the 1980 Mariel boatlift, but chose to remain and work for change; and WHEREAS, in 1986, he married Ofelia Acevedo in a Catholic wedding ceremony; and WHEREAS, the couple went on to have three (3) children together: Oswaldo Jose, Rosa Maria, and Reinaldo Isaias; and City of Miami Page 1 of 3 File ID: 11967 (Revision:) Printed On: 6/3/2022 File ID: 11967 Enactment Number: R-22-0179 WHEREAS, in 1987, Paya founded the Movimiento Cristiano Liberacion (Christian Liberation Movement), which called for nonviolent civil disobedience against the rule of the Cuban Communist Party and advocated for civil liberties and freedom for political prisoners; and WHEREAS, he also began a publication for Catholics, titled Pueblo de Dios (People of God), which called upon Christians to lead the struggle for human rights; and WHEREAS, the publication was shut down the following year by Cuba's bishops under pressure from the government; and WHEREAS, in the late 1990s, Paya and other activists began collecting signatures for the Varela Project, a petition drive that would become one of his most significant endeavors; and WHEREAS, named in honor of Felix Varela, a Catholic priest who participated in Cuba's struggle for independence from Spain, the petition drive relied upon a clause in the Cuban Constitution requiring a national referendum to be held if 10,000 signatures of Cuban voters were collected; and WHEREAS, by October 2003, Paya had collected and delivered over 25,000 signatures calling for a referendum on safeguarding freedom of speech and assembly, allowing private business ownership, and ending one party rule; and WHEREAS, according to the Los Angeles Times, the petition drive was "the biggest nonviolent campaign to change the system the elder Castro established after the 1959 Cuban revolution," and gave Mr. Paya an international reputation as a leading dissident; and WHEREAS, Paya's efforts were recognized by the European Parliament, which awarded him its Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought; and WHEREAS, the Varela Project progress was blocked when the government launched its own petition drive to declare the socialist state "irrevocable"; and WHEREAS, through the years, Paya received multiple threats from the Cuban government due to his efforts to ensure human rights, freedom, and lasting change; and WHEREAS, on July 22, 2012, near Bayamo, Cuba, Paya died in a car crash at the age of 60 under suspicious circumstances; and WHEREAS, many suspect that the Cuban regime was responsible for Paya's death; and WHEREAS, despite his untimely death, Mr. Paya touched many lives and proved to be a strong agent for change and freedom in Cuba; and WHEREAS, through the years both before and since his passing, Mr. Paya was nominated for, and received, many awards recognizing his accomplishments and efforts towards change, including the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought of the European Parliament (2002) and the Truman -Reagan Medal of Freedom, posthumously (2018); and WHEREAS, he was also nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by the former Czech president Vaclav Havel; and City of Miami Page 2 of 3 File ID: 11967 (Revision:) Printed on: 6/3/2022 File ID: 11967 Enactment Number: R-22-0179 WHEREAS, the City would like to honor Mr. Oswaldo Pay6 by supporting the co - designation by the Florida Legislature of that portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road between Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 14th Street, Miami, Florida as "Oswaldo Pay6 Way"; and WHEREAS, that portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road, specifically between Northwest 11 th Street and Northwest 14th Street is a state road located within the City limits; and WHEREAS, Section 334.071, Florida Statutes, provides that the erection of markers for a state road designation shall be contingent upon the appropriate city or county commission passing a resolution in support of the particular honorary designation; and WHEREAS, in addition, Miami -Dade County adopted Resolution No. R-66-22 on January 19, 2022 urging the Florida Legislature to codesignate that portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road from Northwest 11th Street to Northwest 14th Street as "Oswaldo Pay6 Way", urging the City to approve such codesignation, and approving such codesignation; and WHEREAS, in accordance with Section 2-33(f) of the City Code, the City Commission, by a majority vote, hereby deems this Resolution to be of an emergency nature; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The recitals and findings contained in the Preamble to this Resolution are adopted by reference and incorporated as if fully set forth in this section. Section 2. The Miami City Commission declares no objection and supports the co - designation by the Florida Legislature, pursuant to Senate Bill 160 (2022) designating that portion of State Road 953/Northwest 42nd Avenue/Le Jeune Road between Northwest 11th Street and Northwest 14th Street, Miami, Florida, as "Oswaldo Pay6 Way". Section 3. The City Clerk is directed to transmit a copy of this Resolution to the Florida Department of Transportation, District Six, for sign installation within the newly co -designated roadways. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption. APPROVED AS TO FORM AND CORRECTNESS: 1 i ria i "ndez, ify rattor ey 5/19/2022 City of Miami Page 3 of 3 File ID: 11967 (Revision:) Printed on: 6/3/2022