Lifestyle | Page 71 | Your Delray Boca

10 August, 2016 2 2 Comments

Change

August 10, 2016 By Jeff Perlman 2 Comments

You are never FINISHED

“By nature good public spaces that respond to the needs, the opinions and the ongoing changes of the community require attention. Amenities wear out, needs change and other things happen in an urban environment. Being open to the need for change and having the management flexibility to enact that change is what builds great public spaces and great cities and towns”–Project for Public Spaces 11 principles for creating great community spaces. Note: Founder and President Fred Kent has a home in Delray Beach.

The Project for Public Spaces is spot on, as they always seem to be.

The best part of cities is their changing nature. Cities evolve. Places change. That’s the beauty of an urban environment, it’s never stale. And switched on cities know this, embrace this and seek to shape and ride the waves of change.

We are witnessing tremendous change in Boca Raton these days. Just cruise on over to Palmetto Park Road and you’ll see large scale development taking shape on what I’ve always found to be an interesting but underperforming street.

The nature of the development is not everyone’s idea of healthy growth but there’s no question that Boca is evolving before our eyes. And I’ve talked to many people who love what they’re seeing. Development and change will always be a mixed bag. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder as they say.

On Military Trail, the Moderne Boca is taking shape and its nice to see some attention to design in a western location.

FAU Research Park is booming under the capable leadership of Andrew Duffell. Both FAU and Lynn are coming of age as innovative institutions of higher learning and the Park at Broken Sound is sprouting three new residential apartment projects (1,050 units) to go along with office space and new retail in the 700 acre business park. With yoga rooms, pet facilities, a Fresh Market, putting greens and Zen Gardens, the former home of IBM is shaping up to be a true, live, work, play destination.

It’s an interesting time.

And a time when visionary public officials have an opportunity to work with the community and design spaces that can become great public spaces.

In Delray, the opportunities are immense but only if we recognize them and embrace good design and change.

US 1 is looking good these days. And there is tremendous opportunity to extend the downtown north and south along Federal Highway. The idea to narrow the federals and slow down speeding traffic was first broached in 1991 but it took a decade before it became a city goal when it was included in the Downtown Master Plan. It took years to construct, but now that the project is complete, it presents an opportunity to create something special; it’s now a street not a highway. There’s a difference.

The area near Third and Third and South of the Avenue offer great opportunities for infill development.

Congress Avenue also represents an important opportunity for transformation.

My hope is that both Delray and Boca think strategically about placemaking and about what is needed in order to sustain and build on their obvious success.

Any analysis would include honest discussions about what has worked (and how those aspects can be extended and sustained), what’s not working, what can work better (lazy assets) and what’s missing.

Other key discussions should focus on demographics, design, mobility, land uses and how it’s all paid for.

In Delray, that means focusing on what’s important and no more majoring in the minor. (For example, weeks of discussion on a tattoo shop but little or no discussion on how to attract millennials, create more jobs and add middle class housing or how to improve our torturous approval process).

It’s time to move on Congress Avenue, not wait for an outside firm to confirm and codify what 30 plus citizens who studied the corridor for nearly a year already concluded. A sense of urgency is needed to take advantage of the economic cycle.

It’s also time to activate the Old School Park and make it a great public space as was envisioned when voters overwhelmingly passed a bond issue in support of that idea in 2005.

It’s time to bring back discussion of a bonus program for our CBD to jumpstart housing for young professionals who are attracted to downtown living. The best way to support our mom and pop businesses is to encourage people to live downtown. Study after study show that downtown residents strongly support local businesses. As rents soar –threatening to crowd out independents –this is needed more than ever.

Downtown office space is also critical. Every conversation I’ve witnessed with and about entrepreneurs laments the lack of office space in the urban core. This isn’t necessarily a call for class A space, but rather creative space, co-working space and incubator space. It’s nice to see The Kitchn open inside the offices of Woo Creative and Delray Newspaper, but more is needed.

The aim of past citizen driven visions was to build on food, beverage and culture and create a sustainable city driven by creative industries. Delray’s vibrant, urban feel is hugely appealing to entrepreneurs but a lack of space hinders the sectors ability to gain traction in our central business district.

An important caveat to note: the key words are “build on” not jettison or replace. So it would be folly to lose events or culture or our robust food scene, we need an additive attitude because community building is not a zero sum game.

Finally, both Delray and Boca are blessed with abundant human capital. A strategy to retain graduating college students and bring home locals who go off to college while also attracting the best and brightest from other locales will go a long way toward diversifying our economy and growing opportunities. Again, placemaking is at the core but so is opportunity making. We need to create cities of opportunity.

We also need to tap into the incredible knowledge base of our boomer and senior population many of whom long to be creative, active and involved as they age.

Cultivating our human capital is the best economic development strategy we can ever hope to conceive.

When I survey the region, it’s hard not to get excited by the possibilities. Sure there are big problems and challenges. Every single place in America has them. But few regions have our upside potential.

Miami is rapidly taking its place as among the world’s most exciting cities. Fort Lauderdale is making some interesting strides and several other cities in Broward, notably Pompano Beach are well positioned for a renaissance.

Boca is attracting industry and further north Boynton Beach is making some noise with several growing breweries, Hacklab, young leaders, eastern investment and some really cool restaurants (Bond and Smolders, Sweetwater and The Living Room among them) and keep your eyes on 22-year-old Ariana Peters who is quietly accumulating key properties in Lake Worth. Northern Palm Beach County cities, led by dynamic business leaders such as Chamber President Beth Kigel, are working well together on branding and industry recruitment efforts.

It’s an exciting time. Cities can’t rest on their laurels and they can’t succumb to those who want to freeze progress and stop change.

You can do the former but you can’t do the latter. And if you freeze progress you can be sure that the change you’ll see won’t be pleasant. Not at all. It will be ruinous.

As General Eric Shinsecki once said: “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less.”

8 August, 2016 0 Comments

No Way to Run A Railroad

August 8, 2016 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

It even has a t-shirt

I learned a new word this weekend: kakistocracy.
It’s a Greek word and I saw it in Peggy Noonan’s weekly Wall Street Journal column which covered this very strange election season we are stuck (trapped?) in.
The word means government by the worst persons, the least qualified and or the most unprincipled.
Noonan concluded that we are on our way there. I would take it one step further. I think we are there.
Now that doesn’t mean there aren’t standouts in office at every level of government or bright stars on the horizon but let’s face it Congress stinks and many state and local elected officials are lacking.
Inevitably elected officials are judged on results but style counts too.

Maya Angelou may have said it best: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

Yes indeed.
It’s hard to get results with a bad style and if your all hat and no cowboy (style but no results) you’ll also fall short.
But one thing is certain, public service is a job to do, not to have. And too few people are willing to take votes that they know to be right because they fear losing their next election. The best elected officials have to be willing to lose if it means doing the right thing. You have to be willing to put it on the line.

The job of an elected official is not an easy one. I’ve only got direct experience on the local level, but I’ve observed state and federal officials and I can comfortably say the jobs are complex.
On the local level, you have to understand municipal finance and taxation, you need to be cognizant of public safety, urban planning, architecture, mobility, labor unions, economic development, ethics, education, social issues, health issues, race relations, the importance of culture and the nuances of your local economy to name but a few. Hopefully, you’ll also value the importance of citizen engagement, the need to attract talent, encourage economic growth and how to position your city in the regional, state and yes national and even international conversation.
On the state and national levels, the list goes on.
So if you are going to do the job, you have to be willing to work hard, do your homework and show up because there are endless demands on your time.
But perhaps the most important skill is leadership.

Why? Because your success or failure will ultimately depend on your ability to lead, your emotional intelligence, your ability to communicate and connect and how you handle the stuff that’s inevitably going to be thrown at you that you don’t expect.
Success depends on your soft skills, how you navigate the nuances and most perhaps importantly how you are able to communicate and connect with the communities or constituencies you serve.
And the operative word here is serve. You are elected to serve the people, not to indulge your personal preferences or to have others serve you. Sounds simple, but take some time to study how issues are handled and you’ll often find a deficit of leadership. And if issues remain unresolved a lot of times it’s because elected officials are unwilling or unable to compromise, unwilling to listen or cling to their personal preferences at the expense of the community.
We wouldn’t be talking about kakistocracy if we were attracting stellar leaders to politics.
When was the last time you couldn’t choose in a political race because there were too many good choices?
Wouldn’t it be nice if elections were like visiting your favorite restaurant where there were so many good options you couldn’t go wrong?
Can’t hurt to dream…

But at some point in time, hopefully sooner rather than later, we’ll fix what prevents our most capable leaders from running for office. Until then, we will have to content ourselves with too often having to choose between the lesser of two evils. And our Democracy, our communities and our country is too important for that to continue.

3 August, 2016 0 Comments

The Return of Print? Perhaps

August 3, 2016 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

Print promotes concentration and allows for an immersive experience.

I’m a print guy.

Oh, I love the Internet, have a blog, enjoy Facebook, know how to tweet and read the New York Times on my smartphone. But I still love books, real books. And I still love print newspapers and read two a day and the Times in print every Sunday.

So I was thrilled to see a terrific column by Colin W. Sargent, editor and publisher of Portland Magazine this month extolling the many virtues of print.

I subscribe to Portland Magazine and eagerly await its arrival every month. I fell in love with Maine two years ago during a birthday trip to the state and especially enjoyed spending time in Portland, a great, walkable little city with amazing restaurants, a vibrant art scene, live music, festivals and a picturesque waterfront.

This month, Sargent wrote about the many benefits of print, citing research done by cognitive literature scholar Susanne Reichl of the University of Vienna who says when we read we actually lose ourselves while reading books, magazines and print newspapers. Good writing transports us and in a world full of noise, our minds can use the escape.

Sargent writes that when he reads he gets swept up in the stories and descriptions and that he becomes more “fully human” and that’s why we will always have a need for print material because the digital experience is just not quite the same thing.

“Pop-ups, streaming, email alerts and other interruptions can’t help but prevent us from reaching deepest into the reading experience,” he writes. “The internet may be irreplaceable, but so is real reading with a real book or magazine.”

Naomi Baron who has studied the difference between online reading and reading print materials says her research clearly shows that readers pay more attention and retain more information when reading print.

Students multi-task three times as much when reading online than when they read hard copy and therefore don’t connect emotionally to digital material, she says.

Sargent’s prediction: a print comeback is coming soon to give us relief from the cacophony of the internet.

His advice: “buy all the print newspapers you can right now, because they are on the eve of a renaissance.”

Well, we did. (shamless plug: Delray Newspaper, Boca Newspaper) So I sure hope he’s right.

No less a sage than Warren Buffett is also bullish on local newspapers and magazines. He doesn’t believe in regional papers, but small papers that serve their markets well have some life left in them, says the Oracle of Omaha.

So maybe our desire to connect emotionally with the written word; our need to concentrate and move away from the screen (for just a little while) and our need to avoid pop-ups, texts and email notifications will give newspapers, books (I wrote one of those too) and magazines (go Atlantic Ave) a bright future.

I sure hope so.

1 August, 2016 1 Comment

Leadership Instills Belief

August 1, 2016 By Jeff Perlman 1 Comment

I read a fascinating story in Sunday’s New York Times.
It was the story of a man in a poor Brazilian favela who converted an old decrepit building into a badminton training center that is producing champions.
His son will compete in the Olympics only a few years after picking up a racquet and dozens of other children are training and winning in the midst of poverty, crime and despair.
It was an uplifting story of what my old commission colleague Jon Levinson used to call “a monomaniac on a mission.”
Never ever underestimate what a passionate person can achieve if they believe in their cause and won’t stop until they change the world, or their little corner of it.
And that’s why a dad in Brazil worked for years, scavenged dumps and pushed until he created a place where children could come and learn that they could achieve. It wasn’t about badminton per se, the sport was just a vehicle. The real end game is to instill belief.
That’s what leadership does. It instills belief, uplifts others and speaks relentlessly about possibilities, solutions and a better future. Leadership is empathy. An ability to see and feel what others may need in order to thrive, even if they might not see it (yet) themselves

It’s doubtful that impoverished children in Brazil were sitting around dreaming of playing badminton. But they were certainly in need of someone who cared about them and believed in their futures.
Fortunately, in Boca and Delray, we have been blessed with people who have stepped up and made a difference. Some have worked with children, some have devoted themselves to the arts and culture, others have devoted their lives to bettering a neighborhood or treating addiction.
They are leaders in the purest sense.
I’d love to share a few examples with you.
Tony Allerton and a few other good people founded the Crossroads Club 35 years ago to help those who are in recovery from an array of addictions.

For some it’s drugs. For others it may be food, gambling, alcohol or sex. Tony, a Korean War veteran and all around good guy, has been the heart and soul of the place from the beginning. And he and others at Crossroads do an amazing job. They serve over 900 people a day, an astonishing figure and a blessing to those in need of community, love, understanding and truth.
Tony is something else. Inspiring, positive, warm and caring.

These are the types of people I think Pope Francis referred to during World Youth Day yesterday when he urged people not to succumb to complaining and negativity but instead find ways to care for and help others.

The Pope called negativity a “virus infecting and blocking everything” and said young people must not forget about God in a world of unlimited information.
My friends at CROS Ministries are also amazing. In our community, you may know their work at The Caring Kitchen which for many years has provided food to the hungry in our community. They are remarkable community servants. They serve over 100,000 meals a year, each and every year. Just remarkable.
Fortunately, there are many more examples of the power of visionary leaders to make a difference.
For a while now, there has been a desire to create an entrepreneurial “hot zone” in Delray Beach.
There’s also been a long time desire to jumpstart Congress Avenue and to rejuvenate US 1 and south of the avenue, the Sofa district.
All of this and more is not only possible, it’s probable if the right combination of people, passion and leadership make a choice that it will happen.
If you can create badminton champions in a favela (and teach them movement based on Brazilian dance steps) anything is indeed possible.

27 July, 2016 5 5 Comments

Task Force Exhibits Passion & Leadership

July 27, 2016 By Jeff Perlman 5 Comments

Our country is suffering from a deadly crisis.

People are dying from coast to coast as a result of heroin and other forms of substance abuse.

It’s not a new problem, but it’s growing, and right now heroin, flakka and fentanyl are taking a heavy toll. A very heavy toll.

Our community is really suffering. Nearly 800 drug related calls for service in the first six months of the year, according to recent stats. People are overdosing or dying with shocking regularity on our streets and in homes.

Our police officers and firefighter/paramedics –many very young– are having to cope with a humanitarian crisis, hitting people with doses of Narcan (which reverses the effects of heroin) to save lives. But Narcan is not much of a match for fentanyl, which is incredibly powerful. It’s a lot to deal with and despite incredible efforts by dedicated people the flood continues.

Recently, I have gotten to know and admire Suzanne Spencer, who for five years has been the volunteer leader of Delray’s Drug Task Force. The effort dates back to a former commission colleague of mine, the late Pat Archer, who was passionate about the issue and led early efforts to gather the community and respond to the challenges posed by substance abuse disorder.

Suzanne Spencer has taken the task force to new heights and it has taken a toll on her and others involved on the front lines of this issue. There’s not a lot of good news to share–yet. But Spencer and the people she has attracted to the task force understand that if our community is going to make a positive impact it will require collaboration, communication, information sharing and a whole lot of resources and smart problem solving. They are making a difference.

I have had the privilege of attending the past two task force meetings hosted by our Chamber of Commerce. The meetings attract a wide variety of players from our police chief (and other local law enforcement from Delray and neighboring cities) and the State Attorney’s Office to corporate citizens such as Ocean Properties, treatment providers, city officials from as far away as Pompano Beach, hospital administrators, insurers, EMS providers, Congressional staff and attorneys.

I was particularly touched to see retired Police Officer Jeff Messer at the meetings. Jeff is volunteering many hours in an effort to talk to people in the grips of addiction. It is heartening to see experienced officers stay involved— their experience and perspective is simply invaluable. Many dealt with the crack cocaine epidemic, which also took a very heavy toll on Delray Beach.

But as difficult as the crack wars were, heroin and its tentacles may prove to be even more challenging. The issue leeches into human trafficking, patient brokering, insurance fraud and all sorts of exploitation.

Another retired police officer, my friend Marc Woods, now works for the city dealing with sober homes and related issues. Marc is a very passionate guy. He has seen a lot. What he’s seeing today overwhelms him—the emotional toll of seeing what happens to people caught up in a twisted system in which bad actors exploit and destroy lives is very evident when you talk to Marc.

It is important to note that there are good providers in our community, doing good work with people who need help to return to their families and to a productive life.

But it’s the bottom feeders that are literally soaking people for money and playing with their lives that trouble the officers and paramedics that I talk to.

Heroin abuse is a particularly vexing challenge even for good providers, because according to those in the know, the condition of patients coming into treatment is deteriorating—they are in the grips of an addiction that is very hard to shake.

It is gratifying to see the heart and minds sitting around the table at the Chamber from all walks of life and disciplines trying their best to make an impact.

We should take pride that our community is pioneering a lot of innovative tactics, but we must also realize that we haven’t made a dent yet.

Delray Beach Police Chief Jeff Goldman is deploying a three-pronged approach to the crisis: enforcement, education and lifesaving.

He has reached out to FAU’s school of clinical social work in an effort to bring more resources to the cause.

More resources will be needed because the scope of the problem is ever changing. For instance, last week law enforcement was tipped to a large shipment of flakka that arrived in the area. That drug is incredibly powerful and causes very volatile and strange behavior in users. In addition, local addicts are now carrying their own Narcan, meaning that they are self-administering or working with buddies to prevent overdose deaths. But without professional medical attention or an understanding of the drug’s half-life, the behavior is seen as extremely dangerous.

Delray police are seeking to hire a clinical social worker and that would to be a very wise hire to help our community cope better with this issue.

Meanwhile, Delray Medical Center is expanding its facilities to add 12-15 beds by year’s end to deal with behavioral health emergencies and local businesses are joining the task force so they can help employees and better understand the issue.

Thanks to efforts by people like Marc Woods and Delray police and code enforcement officers so-called “overdose houses” used to exploit addicts are being identified and shut down. But despite these proactive efforts, nobody is under the illusion that victory is near.

“We haven’t made a dent yet,” said Goldman. “But we will.”

I believe him.

I also believe in collaboration and that’s what makes what the task force is doing so important and so extraordinary. They deserve our support. Suzanne Spencer is what leadership is all about, bringing people together to solve challenges and make a difference. Over time, they will. They already have.

25 July, 2016 3 3 Comments

What We Often Don’t See Is What Matters

July 25, 2016 By Jeff Perlman 3 Comments

I saw a great graphic the other day. (Look above).

The picture depicts success as an iceberg with only the good stuff visible on the surface.

But just below is what it took to achieve success. The trials, tribulations, setbacks, false starts, hard work, good habits and more that few see. But it’s the struggle that is essential for achieving success.

While the graphic is probably aimed at individuals, I think it also holds true for cities and other things we strive to build.

There are so many things that don’t appear on the surface. So many hurdles that few get to see.

And so it has been with Delray Beach and Boca Raton.

First Boca.

I moved here in 1987 and I remember the old mall on US 1. It wasn’t a very nice mall, but it had a bookstore and so I went there often.

I worked for a newspaper at the time headquartered on East Rogers Circle and it was a fairly desolate place back then. There were few places to eat, we had to drive to Tom Sawyer’s or into Delray where there was a restaurant sort of underground at Linton Towers. We sometimes went to Rosie’s Raw Bar, Dirty Moe’s or to a barbecue joint on Linton and Congress.

Boca was always pretty with beautiful parks. But there was really no downtown. The best restaurant may have been La Vielle Maison. West Boca began to boom and often we would venture to Wilt’s or Pete Rose’s Ballpark Cafe and yes we saw Wilt a few times and Pete a whole lot. He did his radio show from the cafe which was attached to a Holiday Inn on west Glades.

Boca was a pretty nice place back then but at the risk of offending some folks, I like it now too.

Although I knew many of the city folks and elected officials through the years I wasn’t privy to the struggles they most surely dealt with.

I was too absorbed with Delray’s journey first as a reporter and later as an elected official.

And dear reader, there were some titanic struggles and make or break decisions to make.

When I think of the 80s, the first thought that comes to mind is crime. The town felt dangerous.

I remember walking into the old Phoenix at Atlantic and A1A as a naive 22 year old new to town hoping to shoot some pool and grab a beer. I actually wondered whether I would make it out intact.

Then there was the time I was assigned a “man on the street” interview and when I stopped a guy on Atlantic Avenue he turned around and ripped the sleeve of my shirt clean off. We both stood there shocked. It was a perfect tear, not sure how he did it and I guess he surprised too, because he ran off. I can’t remember whether he answered my question. Probably not.

I went to police briefings and neighborhood crime watch meetings and heard a litany of horror stories.

Back then, there was a major drug dealer in town named Deniz Fernandez. His network of dealers were brazen and actually hung a pig’s head off a street sign as a warning to cops. When he finally went down as a result of a task force consisting of Delray police and federal agents, the scope of his astonishing empire was revealed: 10 homes, acres and acres of property, a few businesses and duffel bags full of drugs were seized.

Fernandez owned a place locals called “The Hole,“ a notorious crack house on Southwest Ninth Avenue in Delray Beach.

During the summer of 1987, the group`s business reaped an estimated $50,000 a day in gross profits by selling individual doses of crack cocaine for $10 a rock, according to federal agents and police who worked on the investigation.

Check out that number, $50,000 a day in $10 increments.

When undercover Delray officers closed in on him on a dirt road wear of town, he brandished a blue steel revolver and pointed it at them before ditching the weapon. Germantown Road, steps from a popular Ford dealership, was Fernandez’ turf and drivers were brazenly hailed to pull over and buy crack rocks. When officers showed up the dealers dispersed in seconds disappearing into the darkness. Our city was literally an open air drug market.

Once a month, the Sheriff’s fugitive task force came to town and teamed up with our officers to round up literally scores of felons who failed to show up in court or were on the run.

We rode with Charlie Comfort of PBSO, Lt. Jeff Rancour and the late Johnny Pun in an effort to find as many of the worst offenders before word spread on the street that the warrant task force was out and about.

Augmenting those efforts, was the legendary or infamous–depending on what side of the law you were on–tact team also known as the jump out crew. They were tasked with fighting and disturbing street level drug sales which was rampant in parts of Delray. This is where I first met a young Jeff Goldman, now our chief and really amazing officers such as Mike Swigert, Don West, Eddie Robinson, Chuck Jeroloman, Toby Rubin and John Battiloro.

Mad Dads was active back then. They were citizens determined to reclaim their streets from drug dealers.

I saw K-9 officers like Skip Brown and Geoff Williams deploy their dogs in pursuit of dangerous criminals and a slew of incredible detectives solving one horrific crime after another. Legends like Bob Brand, Robert Stevens, Tom Whatley, Craig Hartmann, Dwayne Fernandes, Casey Thume, Brian Bollan were only a few of the people who labored long hours below the success iceberg.

John Evans, Terrance Scott, Robyn Smith, Tom Judge, Shirley Palmer, Randy Wilson, Marc Woods and Jeff Miller were road patrol cops who made a big difference. Vinny Mintus was a fixture in Pineapple Grove which was far from gentrified in those days. Very far. Tom Quinlan and Glenn Rashkind kept our beach safe and everybody knew their names. There were more. So many more.

While police and fire lived most dangerously, in every department at City Hall there were people toiling below the success iceberg struggling with financial issues, code enforcement challenges and even zoning problems–all trying to find a formula to unlock success. They found it. And that should give us comfort as we read about today’s challenges, which include a crushing heroin epidemic.

Our community has risen to challenges before, they will again.

Meanwhile, I appreciate the present because I saw the hungry years. And that’s what gives me and others civic pride.

20 July, 2016 2 2 Comments

A Trip to Naples, Yields Some Lessons

July 20, 2016 By Jeff Perlman 2 Comments

Upscale and stylish today, 5th Avenue in Naples also had some hard times.

Fifth Avenue in Naples is an elegant main street.

It features some great restaurants, a boutique hotel and a nice array of retail stores.

At night, the street is vibrant, filled with boomers who seem to enjoy a lively but decidedly upscale vibe.

It doesn’t feel like a late night place, but that’s OK. For me late is 10 p.m. these days.

We had a chance to spend a day and night in Naples recently when we attended a Florida Redevelopment Association meeting focused on Business Improvement Districts (BID); particularly Naples successful model which includes a partnership between downtown property owners, city government, the chamber and CRA.

My wife Diane is president of the FRA this year and I spent a few years on the board many years back so it felt good to reconnect with an association that has done a great job advocating for CRA’s, DDA’s and BID’s over the years.

The focus of the day was the history, present and future of Naples’ much loved main street, 5^th Avenue South, which like many Florida main streets has reinvented itself over the years through good times and bad.

In December 2010, in an effort to jumpstart the avenue, a group of civic, business and city leaders got together and formed a Business Improvement District that levies a tax on property owners that is then reinvested into beautification, events and marketing.

The Naples BID is a good model for other aspiring streets and may serve as inspiration for places such as Palmetto Park Road in Boca and Congress Avenue in Delray.

The goal of the Naples effort was to re-establish 5^th Avenue South as “the place to go” in Naples.

An active board of directors, a small but entrepreneurial staff along with a strong core of merchants and downtown evangelists has restored 5^th Avenue’s luster and importance in the wake of competition from nearby lifestyle centers and shopping districts.

We heard from Mayor Bill Barnett, BID President Michael Wynn (whose family has owned property on the avenue since the 40s), BID Director Lise Sundria and Naples CRA Director Roger Reinke on how they work together on branding and marketing efforts.

Mayor “Bill” as he is affectionately known has been an elected official for 24 years with some time off between terms. His historic perspective and involvement has proven invaluable as he recalled efforts in the 80s to transform the look and feel of what had become a tired downtown.

“It took people with vision,” he said. “And the changes were not without controversy,” he said. “Downtown is the heart of Naples and the heart was broken.”
Two early catalysts were the conversion of a suburban style Nationsbank building into the Inn on 5^th, an attractive hotel that has become an important economic engine for the district and the hiring of new urbanist town planner Andres Duany whose team came to Naples with a slew of ideas.

It took political will and some time to add the design elements needed to rejuvenate 5^th Avenue and BID President Wynn said Mayor Bill has been a champion of that vision.

“The mayor’s warmth is an asset,” Wynn said. “It makes a difference to have a mayor who believes and who is engaged along with us. We’re fortunate.”

The Duany plan drew upon Naples historic strengths as a hub for tourists, fishing and commerce.

Leaders also wanted to remind people that 5^th Avenue led directly to a beautiful beach, a fact that was somehow lost as Naples bled tourists to other popular west coast beach communities.

The Wynn family has more than 70 years of history in Naples and as president, Mike Wynn has a unique perspective of how the city has boomed and busted through the decades. The city got its first traffic light in 1949 and thrived through the 50s before being hit by Hurricane Dennis, a category 5 storm that devastated downtown Naples.

Along with many other cities—Delray included—5^th Avenue was hard hit by suburban flight and the rise of the mall in the 70s and 80s, with vacancy rates hitting as high as 40 percent. Former Delray CRA Director Chris Brown, who was at the Naples meeting, can relate.

“When I came to Delray in 1991, I closed my office door at 5 p.m. and nothing was moving on Atlantic Avenue,” he said. “There was roughly 1 million square feet of commercial space and 500,000 of it was vacant. I thought…’what did I get myself into’ here.”

The situation was similar in Naples and the retail that was left was marginal at best. There was even an adult bookstore on the avenue, hard to imagine given today’s upscale vibe. Office vacancy downtown was also 50 percent, Wynn said.

“Like many cities, we came together,” said Wynn. “We realized we needed to act and act fast. We also realized that for the avenue to have life, we actually needed to have people coming downtown.”

Not a revolutionary concept, but hard to pull off because it requires a tremendous amount of promotion and hard work.

The BID was formed in part to compete with competition from other shopping districts. Key strategies include beautification, relentless marketing and promotion and 12 street festivals. The BID, a non-profit, also organizes block captains, provides business counseling and also offers local businesses an array of marketing services. Money for the BID is raised via assessment and the BID also does some fundraisers that ultimately raises over $400,000 annually.

Wynn said the BID takes to heart the wisdom of the great placemaker Willliam H. Whyte who said: “what attracts people most, is other people.”

Wynn said the BID hopes to compete by embracing the arts, retail, office, tourism, events and a vibrant food scene.

Rod Castan, VP of the BID and a property owner from the Courtelis Companies, said 5th Avenue won’t rest on its laurels because of competition and an ever changing commercial landscape. On his wish list: more chain stores which he says drive retail traffic that also supports mom and pops, a small boutique theater and a need for more housing near the downtown, which appears to be under way.

“When the avenue suffers, the whole city suffers,” says Wynn who also serves as president of his family’s chain of Ace Hardware stores.

How true.

18 July, 2016 0 Comments

We’re Asking Too Much Of Officers

July 18, 2016 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

It’s Monday morning.

Another weekend of carnage in America. Another three police officers murdered. Another three shot in Baton Rouge.

When the news flashed, I thought immediately of Dallas Police Chief David Brown. His words ring truer every day.

“We’re asking cops to do too much in this country,” the police chief said at a briefing last Monday. “We are. Every societal failure, we put it off on the cops to solve. Not enough mental health funding, let the cops handle it. Here in Dallas we got a loose dog problem, let’s have the cops chase loose dogs. Schools fail, let’s give it to the cops. That’s too much to ask. Policing was never meant to solve all those problems.”

Chief Brown is correct.

In Delray too, we ask a whole lot of our police. And our firefighters too.

Someone overdoses on heroin let the cops and paramedics save them. No facilities for the homeless guy who scares you, no worries call the cops, they’ll deal with it.

We want our cops to live in our city but we don’t pay them enough to live here and if you mention the need for workforce housing–which almost always requires density– we adopt policies that make sure it will never happen. (I’m holding out hope for Congress Avenue).

And when it comes time to compensate them we cry poverty and moan about their pensions.

Are pension liabilities a concern? You betcha, a big one, so why not roll up our sleeves and help solve the issue because you can’t just wish it away and the men and women who protect and serve us deserve security when they retire. If you have financial acumen think of applying for the pension board, maybe you can help. But don’t begrudge a cop or a firefighter if they have a pension. They earn it.

It’s a tough season to be a police officer in America. It’s a tough season for everyone period.

Last week I had the occasion to speak to several officers. They are aching for their brothers and sisters in Dallas and now in Baton Rouge.

When I was on the City Commission we solved a serious attrition and recruitment issue with a package that included take home cars for officers who lived in Delray or within a few miles of the city. The literature at the time showed that having police cruisers in neighborhoods lowered crime and was popular with residents who felt safer living in a neighborhood populated with officers.

I believed that, still do.

But last week, I heard from a few officers who were concerned about bringing their cars home. They were worried about being targeted. They had read reports from around the country that police cars were being vandalized.

It’s heartbreaking to hear.

Our community has been largely supportive of our Police Department for a long time now.

I’m not referring to politics and labor negotiations –which have been good and bad over the years depending on the players involved– but about the larger community which seems to get how important our police officers are to the welfare of our city.

Every chance I get (this time included) I like to credit our officers for creating a safer city which enabled our turnaround to take place. If a community doesn’t feel safe, you can’t attract investment or families. It’s just that simple.

But these days, there’s an overall feeling of unease in America. We are not immune.

We have so much work to do. So much trust to restore. So much fear and hatred to overcome.

We shouldn’t rest until every boy and every girl is given real opportunity. We shouldn’t rest until and every man and woman goes to bed knowing they can find a job and if not they will still have a roof over their head and food for their families.

Is that asking too much in a country with our resources and ingenuity?

I don’t think so. I don’t believe most Americans feel this way either.

We wrote last week, that while our national politics were a mess, there was hope for progress in our cities.

So we have to get to work. We have to create a community of opportunity for everyone.

We have to be focused on jobs, education, strengthening families, enriching our cultural opportunities and restoring civility. Have you seen a city commission meeting lately?

Too often instead of debate, we engage in coarse, personal attacks. We label people, dismiss them, call them self serving or worse. We can do better. We have done better.

It’s going to take work. It’s going to take vision and investment. It’s going to take dialogue and a commitment to understanding. More people have to be engaged in the important work of community building.

It starts with engagement and dialogue. But it doesn’t end there. It doesn’t end period. We have to keep working. There are problems to solve and we can do it. There are opportunities to create and we know how to do that as well.

We can’t just leave it for the cops to handle. They need our help. Now.

13 July, 2016 0 Comments

The Power of Local Leadership

July 13, 2016 By Jeff Perlman Leave a Comment

Our future depends on our choices.

I’m a big fan of New York Times columnist David Brooks.
Even though our politics don’t quite line up, I always glean something from Brooks’ writing.

This week, Brooks wrote an excellent column in the wake of the Dallas, Baton Rouge and Falcon Heights violence.

It was a quick trip through history and a treatise on how societies can come unglued after major upheavals such as economic dislocation, technological advances and war.
While Brooks concludes that we are not quite broken, he does believe we are peering over the abyss. It’s a dangerous place for a country to be and is often characterized as polarization after tragic events rather than a coming together.
Brooks opines that the answer to America’s problems during similar fraught eras has always been leadership. He is spot on. Leadership responds to the moment and helps us navigate to a better place.
What’s especially interesting is Brooks’ contention that the answers to America’s many challenges may come from local leadership–local police, local non profit leaders, neighborhood reformers and mayors.
All across America, cops, educators, local elected officials, public servants and local innovators are making strides and changing lives.
Brooks is hopeful that some of these game changers will make the leap and fix our ailing and frequently embarrassing national politics.
Lord, I hope so.
Meanwhile, it’s clear to me that the places that will thrive and create opportunities are those cities and communities that are blessed with dedicated, visionary and brave civic entrepreneurs who fix neighborhoods, improve schools, eradicate crime and find ways to create economic opportunity for all.
If you’re lucky to live in such a place count yourself among the fortunate.

But it’s not enough to sit back and count your blessings because transformation is never ending and you can’t grow complacent or declare victory. Your work is never done. And progress can be more easily squandered than gained.

It’s critically important to find and nurture local leaders, empower them, support them, help them, defend them and if you do–watch your city soar.
If you are not so lucky and you are plagued by corrosive leadership or lack of leadership– get involved and resolve to make change.

Bad leaders=bad outcomes. That’s the law. Wish it was different, but its immutable.

On the local level it’s possible to change things with an injection of one or two solid, mature leaders who realize that being an elected official is a job to do not a job to have. There’s a difference.

It’s not about their resumes or egos or personal preferences, it’s about moving a community forward by serving it.
If you are not sure what you have on your local council or commission, take the time and figure it out.

Attend a meeting, view a few online, email an elected official and see what happens.
If you watch a meeting observe whether they are focused on ideas, opportunities and problem solving or whether they are fixated on each other or grandstanding statements. It’s easy to tell. Watch how they treat the public and city staff, are they courteous, warm and professional or are they dismissive, rude and distracted? Do your elected officials ask questions, do they listen to facts or are they reading from a script with a closed mind? Are they empathetic? Are they able to frame issues, calm the community and focus on what’s important? Or do they fan the flames and major in the minor?
If you send an email on a local issue or concern do they respond in a timely fashion? Is their response” canned” gobbledygook or detailed and sincere? You’ll know.
Positive change can happen quickly when the right people are in the right seats on the bus. You’ll spin your wheels if they are not on the bus and you’ll eradicate whatever progress that’s been made if the hard workers in your city are under that bus.
Block by block, brick by brick, that’s how we get America and our cities moving again.

11 July, 2016 2 2 Comments

We’ve Been Traveling Over Rocky Ground

July 11, 2016 By Jeff Perlman 2 Comments

“Rise up shepherd, rise up
Your flock has roamed far from the hill
The stars have faded, the sky is still
Sun’s in the heavens and a new day is rising

You use your muscle and your mind and you pray your best
That your best is good enough, the Lord will do the rest
You raise your children and you teach them to walk straight and sure
You pray that hard times, hard times come no more
You try to sleep you toss and turn the bottom’s dropping out
Where you once had faith now there’s only doubt
You pray for guidance only silence now meets your prayers
The morning breaks, you awake, but no one’s there
There’s a new day coming
A new day’s coming” –Bruce Springsteen, Rocky Ground

Life has a way of getting your attention when you least expect it.
Last Thursday night we were at Mizner Park dining with family and marveling at the MacLaren’s, Ferrari’s and Tesla’s cruising by.
It was a week when a town nearly went bonkers on social media over the Garlic Festival and when adults argued with each other over whether it is proper for a high school dance group and Cub Scouts to volunteer in exchange for donations.
Wow.
Talk about ridiculous. And small.
We witnessed people squabble over whether John Prince Park was in Lake Worth or in unincorporated Palm Beach County which suddenly became “important” because that’s where the Garlic Festival ended up after a terrific 18 year run in Delray.
But then you come home and switch on CNN and see footage from Baton Rouge, Dallas and Falcon Heights.
And suddenly reality sets in.

People were dying.

On America’s streets.
I have a deep respect for law enforcement officers forged over years of watching them save Delray Beach. I had the unique privilege and opportunity to ride with our officers. I was an eye witness to their challenges, I saw their dedication and their courage.
I spent hours with officers taking notes as they patrolled the most dangerous streets of our city. I saw how the job impacted them in good ways and in not so good ways.
I saw them smile when they pulled up to a crowd and were greeted by people who genuinely liked and trusted them. I saw the chemistry and the rapport. I saw the closeness and the good natured ribbing.
But I also saw an officer stare at the sky and hold onto a telephone pole for balance after responding to a rape call. The victim was nine years old. Being a cop is a tough job.
I will never know what it’s like to put on a uniform and not know whether today will change or end my life or somebody else’s.
But I do know what it’s like to try and comfort a community after a teenager is shot dead by an officer. I can’t help but think of Jerrod Miller these days. Google the name if you’re new to town.
So yes watching the news after an evening at Mizner Park ogling sports cars snaps you back to reality.
The reality of families dealing with the shooting of a loved one and the reality of officers murdered and injured in Dallas.
It puts life in perspective. In a hurry.

It makes you want to focus on bigger things and deeper questions.
What are we doing? What are we focused on? Why it does feel that things are spiraling out of control?

It has been a helluva few weeks hasn’t it?
The massacre in Orlando. Terror in Turkey and throughout our world.

Insensitive, lightweight politicians who are so far from being leaders that it is almost surreal.
We seem to be spinning off our axis.
As a nation and I’m afraid sometimes as a community.
An old friend asked me what I thought was going on?
And I think the answer is simple.

We are losing our sense of community and our sense of what it means to be Americans. We are becoming tribal, quick to label, quick to condemn and ignore.
We are in desperate need of kindness, empathy and understanding. We seem to be getting a steady and almost lethal dose of meanness, disrespect and ugliness.
The issues come and the issues go, but how we handle them leave marks. That goes for our national discourse and the way our local communities behave.
The conversation and decision making process can either enhance us as a community or diminish us. And too often these days– and for a long time now– they are diminishing us. How we make decisions matter; maybe as much as the decisions we make.

And if we slide into bad habits, one day we will inevitably pay the price. One day the stakes will be more than the fate of a festival or whether we should permit a particular business to open. If we don’t learn to compromise, invite and encourage dialogue we risk civility and we lose community. And then it’s too late.

Conversation helped us in the wake of Jerrod Miller. It was difficult for sure, but there was an effort to come together. But the shooting didn’t provoke the conversation. We had already embarked on a discussion about race. I don’t think we solved our issues. In fact, I know we didn’t. But I think the conversation made a difference. It just has to be ongoing and it has to lead to change.
Looks what’s happening across our nation.
In our politics, in our reactions to tragedy or terrorism and in how we seem to drift further and further apart rather than come together.
It doesn’t feel safe anymore.
It doesn’t feel stable.
We need to transcend. We need to think and we need to stop, breathe and consider.
I’ve been an observer of local government for 30 years. I like to write about what I observe. That bothers some people. So be it. I think we all have a civic responsibility to speak out and I won’t be silenced. You shouldn’t be either.
But I’ve noticed that when my writing is assailed it’s often not on the facts or even on philosophy it tends to be based on the gall of having an opinion, expressing that opinion and distributing it. When they want you to just go away, or they threaten to harm your business or blame you cryptically for stirring controversy you know you’re onto something. You hit a nerve, you exposed a truth, you lifted a cloak that others would prefer remain veiled.
That’s what conversation and writing is supposed to do. Nothing is ever solved through violence whether in deed or in word, but a lot gets settled with conversation.
A few years back, I observed some odd decision making as if there was a puppet master or two behind the scenes using elected officials as marionettes. A group of people grew tired of it and many of those elected officials were replaced by others who promised to do things differently. But what I have observed lately is not transparency, it’s something else entirely.
When visioning is replaced by personal preferences, when processes seem to be hijacked by agendas one has to wonder. Those of us who care about our community have a right and an obligation to speak out and seek change. If we don’t, we lose our community over time and when we lose our community we are in danger when something tragic happens.

In Washington, we see an inability to act against Zika, to even talk about ways to prevent lunatics from getting weapons of war or to effectively deal with a growing opiate crisis gripping America.
We look to leadership for ideas and solutions. We also look to leadership to engage not keep their own counsel or to listen only to a few people who never dare to differ or who stuff money in super pacs and campaign accounts.
We look to leaders to forge compromise, to frame issues and transcend the noise and do what’s right not what’s politically expedient or popular at the moment. We want them to think five, ten, twenty years ahead. Past the next election. Past the next post on Facebook.
Last week’s violence in Dallas, Baton Rouge and Minnesota led to a lot of national introspection.

We have separation not unity. We have divisiveness not community. That’s both our challenge and opportunity in our nation and in our own backyards.