HomeMy WebLinkAboutSubmittal-Alexa Ledesma-Letter to Mayor and CommissionersSubmitted into the public q1,5
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Downtown Neighbors Alliance
James Torres, President
Tel (602) 432-2593
MiamiDNAPresident@gmail.com
June 22, 2023
Esteemed Mayor and Commissioners,
As a community organization dedicated to advocating for the residents of downtown
Miami, I wanted to put on the record our concerns with two items to be discussed by the
City Commission at its June 22, 2023 meeting.
RE.5 — Accepting a grant from the Miami Downtown Development Authority to
establish a special detail of off -duty police officers in downtown Miami
First off, we want to thank Commissioner Manolo Reyes for sponsoring this item, and for
his leadership as Chair of the Downtown Development Authority when it comes to
bringing public safety resources to downtown Miami. As downtown continues to grow, and
with the expected renewal that will follow when the Flagler Street project is concluded, it
is important to provide the city resources to handle this new activity.
Miami is a world -class city and should have a world -class downtown.
While any additional safety resources to downtown are valuable, there are several things
that the DNA wants to consider with this item. First off, we'd like the city to provide an
accounting of the way the City of Miami PD will be using the $650,000 grant. The current
program cost suggests that it will cover four officers for one shift per week, at a cost of
over $160,000 per officer. That would seem to exceed the average cost of employing a
police officer.
Secondly, it's important to consider how to make the officers more effective. The program
is being described as targeting "loitering" and "prowling". That suggests the off -duty
officers will be interacting with downtown's sizable homeless population, who as we all
know cannot be arrested for being homeless. Given that situation, DNA feels it's
important that this grant acceptance be accompanied by an additional dedication of
resources from the city to manage homeless placement in shelters.
FR.5 — Legalizing the use of LED "murals" on the sides of buildings today
Given the controversial history of LED billboard proposals in the City of Miami, we are
surprised to see this ordinance on the agenda, dealing with such a sensitive topic to the
community as illuminated outdoor advertis'ng ithout a prior word to the relevant
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community organizations from the sponsor of the ordinance or the outdoor advertising
companies. This ordinance should be deferred until it can be presented to the downtown
community, as well as other communities in neighborhoods likely to be affected (such as
Brickell and Midtown), so that residents can fully understand the effects this change will
have on their quality of life.
We are particularly concerned with the maximum levels of brightness allowed for these
LED murals. While we are not experts, it is our understanding from cursory research that
the maximum brightness of 500 nits proposed in the ordinance for nighttime displays
would illuminate the inside of apartment units hundreds of feet away from the billboard
with the approximate brightness of several HDTVs. Meanwhile, the 5,000 nits allowed
during the day would be brighter than indirect sunlight.
Having such bright lights potentially shining into residents' homes would be a hazard to
health, affect our quality of life and potentially diminish property values. Again, we ask this
ordinance be deferred until such issues can be clarified.
Respectfully,
James Torres, President
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Downtown Neighbors Alliance
Alexa Ledezma, Vice President
Downtown Neighbors Alliance