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HomeMy WebLinkAboutR-02-0550J-02-532 05/09/02 0 2- 550 RESOLUTION NO. A RESOLUTION OF THE MIAMI CITY COMMISSION ACKNOWLEDGING AND RECOGNIZING THE ENHANCEMENTS RESULTING FROM THE RELOCATION OF ENTERTAINMENT AND MULTI -MEDIA COMPANIES FROM SOUTH BEACH TO THE OMNI AND SOUTHEAST OVERTOWN PARKWEST COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AREAS ("REDEVELOPMENT AREAS"); DIRECTING THAT THE CITY MANAGER, ALONG WITH THE CITY OF MIAMI POLICE DEPARTMENT, FORMULATE A SPECIAL SECURITY PLAN FOCUSING ON CONTROLLING VEHICULAR AND PEDESTRIAN TRAFFIC, MONITORING MOVEMENTS OF THE HOMELESS/VAGRANT AND MINIMIZING CRIME WITHIN THE REDEVELOPMENT AREAS SPECIFICALLY DURING MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND; FURTHER REQUESTING THAT THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE COMMUNITY REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY ("CRA") MEET WITH THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CRA TO SEEK A COMMITMENT FROM THE BOARD TO EXPEND AN AMOUNT NOT TO EXCEED $25,000 FOR THIS PLAN. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI, FLORIDA: Section 1. The relocation of entertainment and multi- media companies from South Beach to the Omni and Southeast Overtown Park West Community Redevelopment Areas MAY 0 9 2002 pies nom. 02- 550 ("Redevelopment Areas") is acknowledged and the resulting enhancements to the Redevelopment Areas is recognized. Section 2. The City Manager is directed, along with the Department of Police, to formulate a special security plan focusing on controlling vehicular and pedestrian traffic, monitoring movements of the homeless/vagrant and minimizing crime within the Redevelopment Areas specifically during Memorial Day weekend. Section 3. The Executive Director of the Community Redevelopment Agency ("CRA") is requested to meet with the Board of Directors for the CRA to seek a commitment to expend an amount not to exceed $25,000 for this plan. Section 4. This Resolution shall become effective immediately upon its adoption and signature of the Mayor.!/ -' If the Mayor does not sign this Resolution, it shall become effective at the end of ten calendar days from the date it was passed and adopted. If the Mayor vetoes this Resolution, it shall become effective immediately upon override of the veto by the City Commission. Page 2 of 3 02-- 550 PASSED AND ADOPTED this 9th day of May , 2002. ATTEST: 9 PRISCILLA A. THOMPSON CITY CLERK APPROVED T 'FOR0 1000 A I CITY TORNE W6 7:elf:BSS CORRECTNESS Page 3 of 3 02— 550 ►`�_. E`er L7 �� eek Re.�,.�. ,x Ag_o%ey May 9, 2002 Honorable Chairman Arthur E. Teele Vice -Chairman Johnny L. Winton and Members of the Board of Directors of the City of Miami Community Redevelopment Agency Subject: Memorial Day Weekend Security Plan Dear Sirs: As you may or not be aware the City of Miami Beach has established twelve-hour Alpha/Bravo shifts in anticipation of 500,000 or more visitors to the South Beach area over the period spanning the Memorial Day weekend. In recognition of that fact, as well as the fact that the Southeast Overtown Park West (SEOPW) 24 hour Entertainment District and Fire Station No. 2 Multimedia District, still in its infancy, represents a success to the City of Miami due to an overflow the businesses on South Beach. It is our understanding that the SEOPW CRA 24-hour Entertainment and Multi -Media District establishments have plans to make their establishments available to "out -of - towners" who are not necessarily familiar with the rules and customs of our City. It is our goal to establish a strong sense of police/security presence. The CRA has taken the opportunity to discuss these plans for the area with business owners and they have embraced this idea with great enthusiasm realizing that this service will be to their direct benefit by having the City of Miami Police Department controlling the flow of traffic, vehicular as well as people; monitoring the movements of the homeless and other vagrants; and minimizing crimes of opportunity. Respectfully, L,_� L,-, Annette E. Lewis Acting Executive Director Enclosures 02- 550 .r PF May 9, 2002 DELIVERED VIA FAX Carlos Gimenez, City Manager Attn: Chief Raul Martinez, Chief of Police Miami Police Department 400 NW 2nd Avenue Miami, Fl 33132 Subject: Request for a Memorial Day Security Plan Dear Mr. Gimenez: The City of Miami Community Redevelopment Agency ("CRA") is requesting that the Police Department provide the CRA with 'the operational option(s) for the potential funding of a Special Security Operational Plan for the period spanning the Memorial Day Weekend (May 23-27). This request is based upon the "fiasco' that occurred over this time period last year on South Beach. The Southeast Overtown Parkwest and Omni CRA Districts represent an extension of the businesses on South Beach. We will be best served to be prepared for any overflow or movement from the South Beach area in addition to the anticipated increase in patrons to our 24-hour Entertainment and Firestation No. 2 Multimedia Districts for the same period. Upon receipt of your plan, the CRA staff will be recommending to the Board for the budget authority to move forward on a Special Security Plan for the Memorial Day weekend. Additionally, we are currently studying the feasibility of formally petitioning the City to establish a permanent Special Security District as a Taxing District, Special Assessment District, or other appropriate designation, for the strict purpose of ensuring the police presence necessary to preserve order and provide the required sense of security that will guarantee a positive impact on the tax base of the City of Miami. Page 2 of 2 Request for a Memorial Day Security Plan May 9, 2002 I look forward to your quick response and for the opportunity to work in moving forward, especially as it relates to the Memorial Day weekend which is almost upon us. Sincerely, VuL,tLL Annette Lewis Acting Executive Director Enc. 02- 550 Page 1 of 3 From miaminewtmes.com Originally published by Miami New Times May 09, 2002 ©2002 New Times, Inc. All rights reserved. Anatomy of a Part How do you prepare for a holiday bash with 400,000 guests? Very, very thoroughly. By Rebecca Wakefield The Memorial Day hype is washing over Miami Beach like a wall of water kicked up by some distant earthquake. And as often happens when a place becomes submerged in oceans of hype, nothing is as it seems -- Luther Campbell being the prime example, but that's another story (see "Kulchur," page 17). Party promoters, for whom hype is a tool in trade, are predicting that anywhere from 200,000 to 500,000 young, middle-class, black revelers will soon descend upon one square mile of South Beach for a wild, star-studded, crowded holiday weekend. City officials appear to believe it, and chastened by last year's fiasco they've rolled out an elaborate plan worthy of a Category 5 hurricane. It remains to be seen whether this level of preparation will be too little, as some think; overkill, as others believe; or just about right, as the city reassures its business and residential communities. In the two weeks remaining until the fateful five days (May 23 through May 27) when America's black bourgeoisie struts onto Ocean Drive, the Beach seems pressure -packed with expectancy. The big question: How many people will be coming? The answer everyone agrees on: a whole lot. Assistant city manager Christina Cuervo says the 400,000 (and even 500,000) figure her boss Jorge M. Gonzalez has been tossing around in public meetings is based on "what the special -events promoters have given us," as well as reconnaissance of local hotels. "We haven't reported a firm number," she emphasizes. A tourism official says a hotel survey indicates the occupancy rates will be 100 percent on the Beach and 75 to 80 percent at several hotels in the City of Miami. Other than that, the main indication of the potential size of the crowd has come from promoters, radio advertisements, and Websites such as blackbeachweek.com. Ronald Pope, an executive with Atlanta- based Affiliation Entertainment, says the word is out that Miami Beach will be big. "I've heard it's the place to go this year," he offers. "A lot of record executives are talking about going down there for private parties on Star Island." Holleratus.com, a St. Louis -based promoter offering airfare -and -hotel packages for Memorial Day weekend, provides this advice to potential partiers: "There will be all kinds of people representin'.... Athletes and Celebs, Black Professionals, Ballers and Goldiggas, Thugs and Hoochies, Bustas and Chickenheads.... The police are tolerant, but after last year's unexpected crowd, they'll be a little more strict." The city's plan to manage the crowds is aimed at striking a balance among the perceptions of visitors, business proprietors, and residents -- who often see things very differently. The last thing the city wants is a reputation as a resort town that discriminates, a charge as potentially damaging as news reports several years ago about European tourists being killed here. On the other hand, it doesn't want the headaches of Fort Lauderdale's spring -break pandemonium during the mid -Eighties. Last year's Memorial Day weekend was marked by residents and businesspeople laboring (sometimes unsuccessfully) to couch their criticisms in nonracial terms; by overwhelmed cops so sensitive to the race issue that some officers, in coded radio transmissions, referred to groups of blacks congregating on street corners as "Canadians"; and by a miffed local black community epitomized by Bishop Victor T. Curry, who resigned as head of the NAACP's Miami chapter after the national organization chastised http://www.miatninewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/metro.html/print.html 0 2, . "D 19/2002 Page 2 of 3 him for suggesting the NAACP hold its 2003 convention somewhere besides Miami Beach. David Wallack, owner of Mango's Tropical Cafe on Ocean Drive, resigned from the city's planning board a few days after his inflammatory comments about the hip-hop crowd appeared in the Miami Herald. "Their culture is violence," he reportedly griped. "That's their only means of communicating with each other." This year Wallack is on his best behavior, as are most city officials and businesspeople. "Our concerns are the same we've voiced for years -- we want it to be clean and safe," he asserts. "I'm going to look at Memorial Day weekend the way I do any big weekend. Mango's will put on our best food, our best show, and our best foot forward." As to the city's efforts, Wallack believes the test will come only when the full scale of the event is realized. "It's a test of the machine," he says. "We'll find out if it can handle it. At the same time it's about how the crowd handles itself. If the crowd handles itself in a beautiful way, then it should be a great weekend." Among the city's preparations is a welcome pamphlet with useful information and a somewhat condescending recitation of Miami Beach rules governing drinking, boom boxes, and cruising. The pamphlet will be distributed to hotels and goodwill ambassadors. Also at the ready are lots of portable toilets, vigilant sanitation crews, and a 24-hour information hotline. The city produced a videotape of last year's Memorial Day weekend and sent it to the county as part of its request for assistance. The county responded with offers of police, volunteers, and the assistance of its Community Relations Board, which will oversee an African arts and crafts festival on Ocean Drive. City Manager Gonzalez also asked the CRB to conduct "cultural sensitivity training" for police, fire, and city staff. Beach police plan to close Ocean Drive to vehicular traffic between Fifth and Fifteenth streets from 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for the entire Thursday -to -Monday holiday. Collins and Washington avenues will be restricted to north -south traffic; many side streets will be barricaded. Police also plan to make more room for pedestrians on the east side of Washington by blocking off one traffic lane. Shuttles will run continuously down the two avenues in a loop from tht convention center and from city parking lots. Capt. John DiCenso told a group of nightclub owners last week that officers will be posted at intervals along Fifth Street from the MacArthur Causeway to direct traffic to commercial routes and away from residential neighborhoods. There will also be electronic signs on the causeways directing tourists to parking, as well as a contingency plan for closing the MacArthur if the Beach becomes seriously overloaded. In the heart of the Deco District, officers will be stationed at every intersection. More will be on foot and bicycle patrol. At 6:00 p.m. Thursday evening Miami Beach police will begin working double shifts until Monday. More than 200 officers will be on duty at any one time, supplemented by 87 county cops, a few dozen state troopers, and police from surrounding municipalities. "We will have a little over 500 officers total, with around 380 Beach officers, the county, other cities, and FHP," says Ofcr. Jerome Berrian, who will supervise 100 to 200 goodwill ambassadors, volunteers in bright yellow shirts who will walk the streets assisting tourists. Berrian is also hoping to have 50 or so local clergy form an orange-shirted God Squad. Such volunteers, he says, have worked well in Daytona Beach and at last year's Source Awards. "They get more respect than even the goodwill ambassadors," he explains. "They are the most effective. Nobody wants to mess with the God Squad." This contingent of official peacekeepers, though, will be dwarfed by the private security expected to be retained by clubs and hotels. One firm has told the city it plans to have 300 to 500 guards working the Beach that weekend. Andrea Melotti, general manager of the plush Sagamore Hotel, 1671 Collins Ave., 02- 550 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/metro.html/print.html 5/9/2002 Page 3 of 3 says his resort will employ more private security than normal, plus two off-duty state troopers, to protect an extensive art collection spread throughout the hotel. "We are also not accepting large groups and no major parties because even if the organizers are strict, [a hotel party] can attract attention from the street," Melotti adds. "At the same time, we don't want to be discriminatory. Our best guest lately has been P. Diddy." Jeff Abbaticchio, spokesman for the Loews Miami Beach, 1601 Collins Ave., says the city has done an exceptional job of planning this year. "Last year," he recalls, "everybody got caught with their pants down." Including the Loews. The very expensive wedding of a wealthy couple from New York was frighteningly interrupted last year by what some described as a "near riot" situation and pepper spray in the adjoining lobby. What is the Loews doing to prevent that kind of horrific scene? "Well, we're not having any weddings this Memorial Day weekend," Abbaticchio laughs. Sharone Tzalik, general manager of the Best Western South Beach, 1050 Washington Ave., says the upcoming weekend has been booked for more than a month. He views the holiday crowds as a huge economic boost. "Our reputation is on the line," he acknowledges. "The city, they'd rather be careful than sorry. But I think it's maybe a little too much." But there are others, notably residents, who feel the city isn't doing enough. Morris Sunshine, a South Pointe activist who lives at the intersection of Fifth Street and Ocean Drive, says many of his fellow residents are "deeply concerned that there will be a huge amount of unnecessary traffic, excessive noise, rowdyism, drinking, and trash. We are concerned there's just not enough police power," Sunshine complains. "We're acting in my building like we're under siege. We will go to the store to buy four or five days of supplies, and basically we'll hole up. For those four days we basically don't own the city -- they do." David Kelsey, president of the South Beach Hotel and Restaurant Association, reports that at a recent meeting of the Ocean Drive Association some residents said the National Guard should be put on standby for Memorial Day. "The city kind of laughs it the idea of having the National Guard on hand, but it's no laughing matter," he argues. "To squeeze that many people in just a few blocks -- do the math. You just can't fit that many people in. Nobody wants to overreact. [The city is] always very cautious about anyone being able to make claims about racism. If it were anybody but a predominantly black crowd, there would be no question about what they should do. I think they are genuinely afraid to take action." As far as city officials are concerned, however, they are taking action -- lots of it. "This is the most extensive planning we've ever had for a special event," Officer Berrian says. "We want everyone to come, have a good time, be safe, and come back." 02- 550 h4://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/metro.html/print.htmi 5/9/2002 Page 1 of 4 From miaminewtimes.com Originally published by Miami New Times May 09, 2002 ©2002 New Times Inc. All rights reserved. AsNasty_as He Wants To_Be Miami Beach sours on Luther Campbell's Memorial Day freak show By Brett Sokol "You want my prediction for Memorial Day Weekend?" asks Rudolf with a mischievous grin. The Billboardlive nightlife director pauses a beat for dramatic effect and then cracks to Kulchur: "It's not going to be nearly as interesting as last year." That's certainly the message the city of Miami Beach was hoping to send at last Wednesday's meeting of the Nightlife Industry Task Force. Inside a packed city hall room, Rudolf wasjoined by a veritable army of nightclub figures -- including Level's Gerry Kelly, crobar's David Silver, Spin's Tony Cho, and SMAC Entertainment's Angel Febres -- who had been personally asked to appear by the city manager's office. Along with an array of police officials, Beach assistant city manager Christina Cuervo laid down the law. Yes, the city was expecting full occupancy in its hotels. And yes, some 250,000 to 400,000 predominantly black revelers were anticipated, all looking to get their groove on alongside P. Diddy, Busta Rhymes, and a who's who of hip -hop's glitterati. But, Cuervo stressed, the looming holiday weekend would not be a replay of last May's chaos when the Beach's avenues hosted gridlocked tailgate parties by day, and mass brawls by night. "Last year caught everybody by surprise," conceded Beach police Capt. John DiCenso to the gathered audience. "We did lose control of Collins Avenue." This May 23, however, "When you come across the causeway to Fifth Street, you're going to be greeted by a county uniformed officer at each intersection," part of the 87 Miami -Dade officers and an unspecified number of Florida Highway Patrolmen who will be supplementing the Beach's entire force of 380. "We're not looking to make mass arrests," DiCenso added, but drinking on the streets will not be tolerated. "If they don't comply, then they're going to be arrested." Conspicuously absent from this city hall meeting -- and from most of the Beach's Memorial Day weekend plans as of press time -- was Luther "Uncle Luke" Campbell and his Progressive Righteous Organized Inc. (PRO). Only a few weeks ago, Christina Cuervo was singing the notorious rapper's praises. "I have all the confidence in the world in Luther Campbell and his PRO group," Cuervo declared, voicing approval for PRO to close Ocean Drive for "Umoja," an African -arts -themed festival, as well as host three nights of hip-hop concerts inside the Miami Beach Convention Center. The city commission gave its thumbs -up as well. It was hoped that once the Beach's nightclubs had reached capacity, these events would draw the crowds left milling outside. On the surface it certainly seemed like a winning alliance. Last year's Memorial Day fracas left Beach officials caught between outraged residents looking for a law -and -order crackdown, and critics such as then -Miami NAACP head Bishop Victor T. Curry, who saw racism driving the city's pained reactions. Curry even publicly floated the idea of moving the 2003 NAACP national convention from the Beach in protest -- a contretemps that ended in his own resignation. 02- 550 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/kulchur.html/print.htmi 5/9/2002 Page 2 of 4 Into the breach stepped Campbell, looking to placate both camps: Here was a black entrepreneur -- a class of '78 Beach High graduate, to boot -- offering up his own plans for dealing with Memorial Day. And if Campbell managed to turn a nice buck while keeping the peace, well, as he unabashedly told Kulchur, "It's about time black folks were allowed to earn a living on Miami Beach." Behind the scenes, Beach officials were understandably less sanguine about their new business partner. After all, Campbell's celebrated hitmaking days as the frontman of 2 Live Crew are a decade gone. Local media may continue to lionize him, but the rapper has long since passed over to the margins of the music industry -- which calls into question just how much influence Campbell could wield on the national hip-hop milieu set to arrive here. Indeed, since emerging from a 1995 bankruptcy, Campbell's mainstay has been his Luke's Freak Show X-rated video line, dedicated to capturing on camera the fine art of separating a woman from her thong -- preferably in front of a hooting crowd of spring breakers. There is no small irony in this being the precise scene Beach officials are looking to prevent. Even Campbell himself seemed amused at his newfound role of civic diplomat. During an April interview with Kulchur inside his 12th Street office, he explained how PRO was hoping to coordinate the booking of hip-hop acts throughout South Beach's clubland. He wanted to ensure "crazy -ass artists" and their "crazy -ass" fans would be barred. And just which rappers was the onetime defender of free speech hoping to censor? Campbell answered with a triumphant laugh and switched to the third person: "I wouldn't let a nightclub book Luke! You want Luke and the Luke girls? Nah, you can't have Luke. All those girls getting naked, girls getting sexually active -- Memorial Day weekend is a family-oriented event!" Confused? Campbell proceeded to break down his tangled persona, one that finds his office walls decorated with Malcolm X and Martin Luther King portraits next to posters of the leering rapper in a hot tub, surrounded by a bikini -clad harem. "I'm an entertainer," he explained. "Five percent of the time I'm Luke. Ninety-five percent of the time I'm Luther Campbell ... I've got political concerns like anybody else. I care about what's going on in Jerusalem, the state of Florida -- why they didn't count all our votes. I really want to run for governor! But if I go political, I might go broke. So I gotta stay on the wild side to pay the bills." Not that Campbell hasn't proved adept at working the political angles of the Beach's racial jitters. He freely admits that back in February, while officials were quietly mulling his offer, he convinced sympathetic writers at the Herald to put his proposals into print, hoping to force the Beach's hand. "Miami Beach wants to prove to the NAACP that it's not racist?" he explained of his press tactic. "Then let's watch exactly how they treat me. If they're not racist, then they'll treat me just like they treat the Winter Music Conference, [Ocean Drive magazine's] Volleypalooza, and the 'N Sync concert they had on the beach." Twisting the screws farther, Campbell arrived for a meeting with assistant city manager Cuervo accompanied by an aide to outspoken civil-rights advocate Rep. Carrie Meek; later meetings with Beach police chief Donald De Lucca saw Campbell flanked by Larry Capp, director of Miami-Dade's Department of Community Relations, and Tom Battles, Miami director of the Department of Justice's community relations service. Battles is a veteran of the headline -grabbing investigations and lawsuits surrounding Daytona Beach's 1999 Black College Reunion -- a 100,000 -strong fest which, like last 02- 550 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/kulchur.html/print.html 5/9/2002 Page 3 of 4 year's Beach Memorial Day mess, ended with conflicting accusations of widespread anarchy versus racist behavior. The implications of involving this negotiating team weren't lost on anyone. "Campbell's very good at playing the race card," griped one Beach administrator to Kulchur. "Can you imagine any other city in America bending over backwards for a guy that makes porn films? If everybody wasn't so terrified of bad PR, [Campbell] would've been shown the door a long time ago." As of last week, city hall finally looks ready to take that step. While the Miami -Dade Department of Community Relations has stepped in to co-sponsor the Ocean Drive arts fair, Campbell's PRO has scaled back its Convention Center concerts from three nights to just one. And the contract for even that single evening has yet to be signed; Campbell told Kulchur he was considering passing off the event to a different promoter entirely. So why the turnabout? According to faxes sent between the city manager's office and Campbell's PRO, the rapper repeatedly postponed putting down the $24,000 security deposit and proof of insurance required to rent the Convention Center for three nights. After missing permit deadlines, Campbell then asked for only two nights, and presently just one. The Department of Justice's Tom Battles attempted to do a little spinning via cell phone as he drove between meetings with City of Miami officials over a PRO concert on Virginia Key with Master P and Ja Rule. "Luther Campbell couldn't come up with the right economic formula that was comfortable for him and his partners," Battles said, choosing his words carefully. "He wasn't able to meet some of the challenges placed on him." Is Mr. Campbell broke? What exactly is the problem "I'm not sure specifically what he has a problem with," Battles answered, adding that he had yet to actually talk with Campbell about the matter. Battles chose not to tell Kulchur that he was sitting next to Campbell at that exact moment. Tact was not one of the four-letter words Campbell aimed at Beach officials during an impassioned interview last Friday. Memorial Day weekend was "set up for a disaster," he warned, pointing the finger of blame squarely at Police Chief Donald De Lucca and the city manager's office. "I feel like I've been fucked around, jerked around, bullshitted, for almost four months now," he said bitterly. "I always wanted to give the City of Miami Beach the benefit of the doubt. We're on the heels of a black boycott. As I explained to Victor Curry, I wanted to give them the opportunity to either shit or get off the pot. So I came with a solution." Instead, he charged, Beach officials intentionally sabotaged him by constantly delaying his events' approval. "Their whole idea was to make sure we didn't have anything concrete, so we couldn't promote it around the country." He denied being short on cash for the necessary deposits, security, and performers' fees, turning the question around: "Why didn't the Chamber of Commerce, the Convention Center, and the [Greater 02- 550 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/kulchur.html/print.html 5/9/2002 Page 4 of 4 Miami] Convention [and] Visitors Bureau co-sponsor me right from the beginning? If they're with the program, they should be saluting me. They should give me a goddamn key to the city!" As proof of what he calls the city's double-dealing, Campbell produced a series of faxes sent between himself, the Convention Center's Doug Tober, Beach City Manager Jorge M. Gonzalez, and Miami - Dade County Manager Steve Shiver. In them, Shiver originally promises to provide the Convention Center with both fire -rescue services and 31 police officers each evening, absolutely free -- a savings to Campbell of more than $100,000. Then, on April 25, Campbell was informed that of the 87 county officers being sent to the Beach for the holiday weekend, none would be available for his Convention Center concerts, per the decision of police chief De Lucca. Instead De Lucca would provide only seventeen Beach police. Campbell's PRO would have to hire more security to make up the difference on its own dime -- a proposition PRO seemed unwilling, or unable, to entertain. "It's all a big goddamn motherfuckin' conspiracy!" Campbell snapped. The Miami -Dade Department of Community Relations' Larry Capp -- at Campbell's side for several meetings with De Lucca and various Beach officials -- backed away from Campbell's accusations. "My dealings with them have been very much aboveboard," Capp said. Although he wished De Lucca would have reconsidered deploying county officers to Campbell's concerts -- "it's a no-brainer" -- he declined to cite a "conspiracy." "I can't speak to any motives as far as sabotage is concerned," Capp continued. "Miami Beach can be very difficult to work with at times, and for someone who's not used to dealing with all these rules and regulations, it can be very frustrating. There's a lot of hoops to jump through. I would call it bureaucracy. I wouldn't call it racism." Chief De Lucca did not return calls for comment. "I'm scared of the police right now," Campbell cautioned. He was unsure what, if any, involvement he'd have with Memorial Day weekend. "I'm not going to be part of an event where I bring my people there, and they're going to get their ass whipped. Or get maced because they're just standing outside the club trying to get in, and now they're spilling over into the streets because I don't have the overflow outlet for them." If this latter scenario unfolds, Campbell promises to join in mass civil disobedience blocking Beach - bound traffic. "I'll be right up on the MacArthur Causeway, laying down in the street with Victor Curry, saying, 'Don't go over to this motherfucker!... And regardless of what transpires, he vows to remain a highly visible local presence: "I've been working here on the Beach long before Christina Cuervo. Maybe she'll try and get her friends over at the Herald to write something like 'Luther doesn't pay his taxes' or some other bullshit. Well, fuck 'em. I ain't going away that easy." 02-- 550 http://www.miaminewtimes.com/issues/2002-05-09/kulchur.html/print.html 5/9/2002