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| On the biggest weekend of the year, Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine pretended he was driving a Coast Guard boat, but he instead ended up looking a lot like Michael Dukakis. (Click images to enlarge.) |
One frustrated Miami Beach resident spent the good part of an hour on Saturday simply trying to get home.
He left this message on Miami Beach Mayor Levine's Facebook page.
If Levine saw the message, he didn't respond.
And the reason he didn't respond is because he spent much of the weekend taking a ride on a U.S. Customs helicopter and playing sailor on a Coast Guard boat.
All of this on one of the busiest and most important weekends of the year for the City of Miami Beach....and the most frustrating for many Miami Beach residents.
Today, Levine took a ride on a Coast Guard boat with Scott Robins, a millionaire developer who owns half of Miami Beach, apparently. Oh, and I almost forgot...Robins is also Levine's business partner.
A 2013 Miami Herald story called Robins "a prolific Miami Beach developer."
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| Miami Beach's millionaire Mayor Philip Levine took his millionaire friend, developer Scott Robins, left, for a ride on a Coast Guard boat on Sunday. |
And last Friday night, the first big night of the Memorial Day weekend,
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| Miami Beach Mayor Philip Levine and Commissioner Michael Grieco pose in front of a Customs Blackhawk before the chopper took off and buzzed the homes of Levine's constituents. |
After Grieco posted the photo on his Facebook page, Miami Beach-based filmmaker Billy Corben asked him...
Grieco never answered Corben.
And at least one Miami Beach resident let Levine know on Facebook what she thought of the chopper ride.
Elaine Wright Loved having MBPD helicopters buzzing over my house on the Venetian Causeway at MIDNIGHT, shining search lights on our backyards!!!! Makes us feel SO protected!!! Really great!!!! Oh, and LOVE the street closures and how most of my fellow Beach residents NEED to flee from the madness that is this weekend! Can't wait for next Memorial Day!
Other Beach residents shared their frustrations, also. But the Mayor never answered any of them. He was too busy having fun.
Alana R. Rothlein Mayor, do you know that Miami Beach residents trying to get home from the [Heat] game are forced to sit in 30 min traffic jam on the Tuttle because of police checkpoint?
Reggie Ann Make this weekend go to another state. Do we need to use our entire police force for this weekend. I feel sorry for the businesses there that have to suffer. And Mr Mayor would you normally be out at this time to check our streets??
By the way, the video below shows what happened to another politician who pretended he was in the military.
Mayor needs to keep close friends with the people who will evacuate him from 5 Star Island or any other waterfront property when the party goes bad.
ReplyDeleteIt’s time to stop cow-towing every year to the “Canadians” who overwhelm our city’s resources, congest our traffic, and consume $1m worth of police manpower which we as taxpayers have to pay for.
ReplyDeleteJust because there were no incidents or lower arrests than previous years does NOT mean we have to continue to sanction this event. Enough is enough!!! It’s time to take back our city for us residents!!
When the Monday morning quarterbacking of this year’s UBW is held at the next commission meeting, Levine & Co. need to answer, which will it be? Will we continue to let them take over our city every May, or will we finally withdraw the welcome mat and say thanks but no more? Better yet, replace it with events & a tourism clientele more geared to observing the weekend as it was originally intended: MEMORIAL DAY.
So what’s it going to be, Phil? Them or us?
WE'RE the ones who voted you in, not them.
It’s put up or shut up time, Mayor. Can’t blame Matti anymore. The buck stops with you and the new commission and all of you need to decide:
WAS THIS THE LAST UBW WE'LL EVER HAVE TO SURRENDER OUR CITY TO????
This event is not organized and cannot be revoked or banned by the city. Miami Beach promoted the nightlife industry in the early 1990s. What you are seeing is a result of a city that promoted too many things to too many people (terrible zoning). If you check public records city officials are still trying to assist the Club Row on Washington Avenue. Miami Beach has a huge public beach and will continue to attract people from all walks of life. It will only get worse as the city has built more parking garages to attract more people.
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