Winter 2017 BNA News www.bnamiami.org BNA News Five seconds is the average time One pile of dog waste can take a Keep your dog on a leash at all your eyes are off the road while year or more to fully breakdown. times. texting. Meanwhile, parasites from the It is the law ! At 55 mph that is equivalent to waste can pass on to children, you, and other dogs. driving a full city block blind. Welcome to the winter issue of BNA News It was a very active year for BNA. DDA can bring similar programs as the beautification of Flagler, the Ambassadors program, Biscayne Green and We continue to work with the City of Miami Police the extension of the Bay Walk farther north. to address many issues from social situations as homelessness to traffic and safety. What DDA has accomplished downtown can be done also in our neighborhood if their footprint goes far Our closer relationship with the Downtown Neighbors enough into Edgewater. Alliance and Brickell Homeowners Association is starting to produce results. We are looking at education and This year will bring more opportunities for Omni/ schools as a common problem that requires working Edgewater to work with DDA. together towards the same goal: to have more and better schools. Mentioned in a previous newsletter was a slowdown in the real estate market and the need to establish the Andres Althabe alliances to minimize the effects. Working with DDA President, BNA and CRA is the main tool to keep Omni/Edgewater progressing to sustain property values. 2 BNA News A PLAN FOR BISCAYNE BLVD. Biscayne Blvd. 32nd to 39th Andres Althabe We suggested also that FDOT BNA President should have more information of the new building permits A group of stakeholders from that are approved on the side the BNA area had meetings with streets, to fully understand the FDOT that started on March 30th impact of that construction on 2016 the volume of traffic on Biscayne There are five lanes on Biscayne FDOT presented a safety study Blvd. (Immediately that was Blvd: All traffic in one direction for Biscayne Blvd between 32nd incorporated and they have been would allow for and 39th Streets. The project was receiving the information from the to build a median for pedestrian City) Dedicated bus lane safety and blocking traffic turns on Bike lane that stretch of Biscayne. One way Biscayne Blvd. Since then, FDOT started another Three lanes for other traffic We gave them suggestions that more comprehensive project. they incorporated to their study, Advantages: reduce congestion like a traffic light on 35th Street A traffic study on US1 (aka and increase safety. allowing a left turn so south Biscayne Blvd.) from SE 8th Street We asked also to look into bound traffic could reach all the to Miami-Dade/Broward County parking during off peak hours. existing buildings and the new Line. Edgewater is such an active construction between Biscayne At our first meeting with the area and growing so fast that at Blvd. and the Bay. Project Advisory Team (PAT) the last meeting on November for this project on May 17th we 17th, the PAT suggested that we The project was to build a presented the idea of changing should have a separate meeting median for pedestrian safety Biscayne into one direction only of the Advisory Team, FDOT and and blocking traffic turns on and Second Ave. the opposite Edgewater only. that stretch of Biscayne. direction. After a slow start, racism ends in arrest downtown After repeated threats to kill South Americans and African Americans, Andrew Kleopa, a resident of MarinaBlue was arrested. Miami Police Commander Jose Fernandez referred to this incident on December 16th: “First and foremost, I want to thank you all for communicating this issue to us. The Miami Police Department takes all these issues of public safety with the utmost importance. I would like to inform everyone that we immediately began to work on this issue upon notification. Utilizing a methodical problem solving approach, we were able to locate and apprehend this individual, who was causing great concern to the residents of the Marina Blue building and the employees of the CVS located at Biscayne Boulevard and 8 Street. This individual was arrested and transported to the Jail this afternoon.” BNA News 3 What’s Next for Airbnb in Miami? Andres Althabe consider unfair. The competition BNA President from short term rentals limits how high hotel rates can go. N.Y. Governor Cuomo Signs Bill The dilemma is about income to Fine Illegal Airbnb Hosts for the city to provide services New York Governor Andrew funded by taxes and quality of Cuomo in October signed a bill life of the permanent resident into law that will fine residents against the extra income for some who rent out their apartments for homeowners. illegal short-term stays. The fines In Europe, Barcelona is the only could be as high as $7,500 for city in the world that fines the repeat offenders. company instead of the host. It Airbnb says the New York fined the company 600,000 euro legislature has ignored the and announced a second such wishes of their constituents and fine. rewarded a special interest -- the London and Amsterdam were price-gouging hotel industry. Miami-Dade receives about 40% the first cities trying a negotiated of those visitors, and it is the The San Francisco-based solution. In London, since 2015 Airbnb’s fourth largest market in company plans to sue the state, short term rentals are legal no the nation. alleging that the law violates more than 90 days a year. Airbnb several federal protections, will introduce automated limits of Miami Beach voted additional including Section 230 of the 90 days a year for any home to be restrictions requiring hosts in Communications Decency Act, listed, and in Amsterdam 60 days areas that are zoned for short- which prohibits governments from a year. (Amsterdam is considering term rentals to submit an affidavit punishing websites for content reducing to 30 days a year). to the city and obtain a business tax receipt and resort tax account posted by their users. However, They hope this will stop illegal the New York law punishes the to affirm they are operating hotels and prevent housing legally. Hosts will also have to people that advertise illegal short shortages while contemplating term rentals, not the company. show that their condo association the interests and rights of the rules allow short-term rentals. The City of Miami Beach in March homeowners. Resistance against home- increased the fines for illegal In Miami short term rentals to $20,000 per sharing is prevalent across occurrence. S.T.R. Monitor is a company the state. Earlier this month, a dedicated to solving some of neighborhood watch group called The tourism industry advocates the issues for building managers AirbnbWatch Florida started a for short term rentals that and Boards due to the exploding campaign against Airbnb. compete with hotels to pay taxes Airbnb- issues and be regulated. According to a Miami Herald poll “To help managers save time, we (the Daily Question, described Residents that oppose the short have developed a search system by the Herald as an unscientific term activity also complain that that finds the listings from all the measure of our community pulse) they affect safety and quality major vacation rental web sites on December 23rd 64 percent of of life, attracting partiers and in minutes” says Nicolas Lund- respondents were unfavorable creating safety concerns. Larsen to Airbnb, saying that attracts obnoxious partiers and create During events like Art Basel, hotel Airbnb provided accommodation safety concerns. rates usually go up to what many to about 2% of the 85 million that visited Florida in the first nine Miami-Dade may be close to a tax months of the year alone, but the deal with the company, trying the numbers are growing. negotiated solution. 4 BNA News HUD’S HOUSING FIRST “SOLUTION” Andres Althabe go to permanent housing at the with an aggressive housing-first BNA President expense of traditional shelters. approach from 2005 to 2011, using rent subsidies to move HUD spokesman Charles McNally The year 2016 brought 33,000 people out of shelters. told Politico New York. devastating news for many of the But families who were not ready shelters at a time when there is a “While transitional housing to maintain a stable housing surge of homelessness in cities situation began to bounce back across the country. The homeless programs play an important into shelter (the return to shelter population in cities like New York temporary role for people rate climbed to 60%) and instead is near an all-time high. experiencing homelessness, of going down. The federal funding to house, permanent supportive Some families need the support, feed, and care for some of the housing has demonstrably education, therapy, training, very neediest Americans is going and safety that only transitional away. With this policy many will better outcomes at a lower shelters can provide. Temporarily stay on the streets. cost.” government paying the rent is not Well established shelters in many a solution. If the behavior doesn’t states, including Camillus House Basically, HUD favors programs change most end up homeless in Miami had their grants from that put people in permanent again. the U.S. Department of Housing housing and the government pays In the name of helping a and Urban Development (HUD) the rent. permanent solution, HUD is taking drastically reduced or taken away. The Housing First programs away hundreds of beds from What changed at HUD? Not their to which HUD is giving grants transitional programs that provide budget that actually had a five provide temporary rent support, the essential to incorporate the percent increase in 2016.