Tim Smith's Fort Lauderdale

 …….  I know what you are thinking …Oh No  …not another post on that damn history house and the little juveniles screwing it up !! …..

       Well not exactly  …

        Yesterday there was black smoke billowing out of the city park where the historic house sits, and my wife flew over there thinking they were burning down the house this time  …

                       

      ………….    Nope, they just lit the trash can on fire ( Fireman on left…remains of the melted trash can on right!)

      …….. yes,  they stole the friggin surveillance cameras !

                                   

      …………….   The FLPD ( Fort Lauderdale Police Department), pointed cameras at one of the  oldest structures in the City –  the Annie Beck House  (1914) , that was moved to the Middle River Terrace Park, (from off Las Olas,) to save it from demolition, and has been violated repeatedly by juvenile delinquents …..

                                                 

                               ( these are the brackets where the stolen cameras used to be ….)
   …………………………………………………………………………

        The FLPD isn’t giving up   ..  they are installing new cameras  … but inside the historic Annie Beck House, to catch the vandals  !!

                                            \
                                                                    view from inside

                            
                                                                 Stay Tuned ……  Tim
                 
                                        

      Caution:  This post might make you scream!
      

       

      We have been talking a lot this year about crime and juvenile delinquency.

      And you might remember that burglary in my neighborhood, Middle River Terrace, is way up. And you might even remember that one of the oldest houses in the City, the Annie Beck House (1914), located in Middle River Terrace Park, has been vandalized by juveniles on multiple occasions.

                                         
                                Here comes the screaming part ….. read on

     I was disappointed that the Police and the City weren’t doing more to stop the continuing and costly damage to the Center, until I got a call from a Police Sergeant yesterday. She told me that the Police hadn’t shared with us that they had placed security cameras nearby, trained on the Annie Beck House, to catch those throwing the rocks through the windows, marking the House up with graffiti etc….  ..

                                 

     
       And when I went to the park to see for myself, I  saw that a Police Officer was actually  there, doing some paperwork, keeping watch over the scene.

                                               

     So why would you scream? …. The Sergeant said that there was a problem with the $500 worth of security cameras that were installed to catch the delinquents –

                          ….  they had all been stolen !!!

 

 

    

     

      In the South Middle River neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale, they have some challenges for sure ….

                  ………   but they also have some interesting things that the refined neighborhoods do not !!  ….

                           

      They have lots of beautiful peacocks walking about  ….

               Some times (though not much), the peacocks take flight ……

                             

       And when they do fly, this is usually where they end up  ……

                       

       Today, I must have seen 50 of them in a couple of blocks   ….

                …… So there, fancy neighborhoods !   ……..

     ….. This car was just in front of me at the McDonalds drive thru,  on N. Federal  …

                 

        The Florida specialty tag reads …. ‘helping sea turtles survive” ….

                                        Please Comment !

     Happy New Year!

                                 

     But back to business!

     Burglaries ……..

    …..    The latest crime stats show that the Middle River Terrace neighborhood in Fort Lauderdale,  ( I live there) –  is a burglar haven, and getting worse ! The burglars are jumping in people’s windows, (sometimes armed) at an alarming rate.

                     

     …..  a 150% increase in burglaries for the last five years….. and up until December 1st,  98 burglaries in a neighborhood that only has 450 homes! ( a 49% increase over last year)….

     

     
     The FLPD say they are perplexed…..working it….trying to figure it out   …. putting new resources to the problem ..

     And unfortunately, the leaders in the neighborhood responses to the problem,  has been very weak ..

         … The neighborhood secretary, Dick Eaton, says the rash of burglaries is to be expected in the current economy… says the stats should get better soon  …

        ….   Former President Laura Croscenco has ignored the burglary rate until recently, and is now pushing the City to build a juvenile jail, though that is not possible…

        And the current President, Domingo El Cid, wrote Mayor Seiler, asking him to change the laws in Tallahassee !

     ……………………………………………………………………………………………………..

        I’ll keep you informed, but for now,  I’m getting a big mean dog!

                        
      

    

       I was asked about a month ago, by the Fort Lauderdale Magazine, to write a bit about what “New Year’s Resolutions” I thought our City should take on in 2014, and here is what I submitted….. The article comes out in their January 2014 issue  …..

     …. Let me know if you agree or disagree!  …  thanks, … Tim
                                              
      ….. I think it would be a healthy exercise for Fort Lauderdale to
make some New Year’s resolutions. We are an exceptional city for sure,
with real possibilities, but some things need tending to.

    
Our challenges, (or root problem) may be that our city was not very well
planned out from the get-go. We began as a tropical winter destination,
and no one stayed here past March except for the Seminoles and a few other hardy souls!

    
Then came air conditioning, and the frenzy for year round living took
hold fast. We grew from about 14,000 people in the early ’50’s, to
nearly 200,000 today. The boundaries that used to stop at Searstown, are
now many miles away – out in Palm Air! While we can thank our lucky
stars that we are not Des Moines, or Detroit,  we can do more about :

                                  
      . the beach –
    
     We are constantly bickering about the beach, it’s time to stop!

    
…… Are the greedy developers controlling the beholden politicians, or are
the whiny beach residents ungrateful that they live in paradise, and
don’t want any new neighbors? The city needs to make sure the beach is a
fun, lively place for all citizens of Fort Lauderdale, and the tourists.
And it needs to attract lots of new residents, but don’t let the
developers build just anything, make the new hi-rises contribute to a
better beach!

     . crime –

  ……. Some of our neighborhoods have no crime and some are inundated!

    ….We need our own Apollo Project, for
safer neighborhoods thru-out!  Get those troubled areas up to snuff.
Control the traffic going in and out of them, use cameras, citizen
patrols, alarms, repeat offender programs, community policing, whatever it takes, but try something new, the status quo is intolerable.

     . downtown –

     …… It looked like we were almost getting there, but the downtown has slid backwards somewhat since the economy soured. The Riverfront is
a shame. The elected leaders have to put their heads down and get that
Riverfront back up and running! Use as many carrots and sticks with the
property owners that you can muster!

                                       

    … 
And while they’re at it, the land by City Hall, that we all own, has sat
there looking worse and worse, year after year.. Knock the junk down,
see what we can put in its’ place! More people downtown will bring more
restaurants, entertainment, culture, and that important  – Je ne sais
quoi!

     . history –

   ……  Some cities save all of their old buildings for posterity. That’s not
what we need here, but there are some important old structures in our
city that are worth saving.

     The Bryant Homes and the
Shippey House are making progress, but let’s make this year the year
where the leaders identify the rest of the important historical
structures, and put a plan in place to save those important parts of our
past. The days of waiting until a developer starts a demo plan to start
screeching needs to end!

     . Sistrunk Blvd. –

    ……. Now that we’ve set aside the few naysayers that want to hide our
historically black part of town, let’s bring it totally out of the
shadows. The area has lots of possibilities to make it a more functional
part of Fort Lauderdale!  I’m ready to buy some tickets to BB King at
the new House of Blues on Sistrunk, and drink some wine that goes with that traditional soul food afterwards.

                             

                                                 What do you say?

      A big Christmas shindig took place on the Sunday before Christmas.

                  
 
      It’s now a tradition for the neighborhoods that run along 13th Street in Fort Lauderdale to hold a fun party. The idea is to  reward the area kids that are doing real well in school, (despite living in challenging conditions), with great gifts, food and merriment!

     The area schools each pick 25 kids that fit the bill and every year the kids can’t wait!

                        

        They play fun games   ………

                            

      Eat eat eat! …

                     

       They meet the Mayor   …

                   

       Get entertained ….

                                

      …even by the area Commissioner !

        But the real fun comes when Santa arrives with their gifts !

                  

        Santa starts with the little ones  …

                              

       …. then moves on the the bigger kids  …

                              

          …. but when they get too big  …..

                            

     We are all about to celebrate the holidays and eat too much!

      My friend Amy Jones Hamilton, long time President of the Laudergate Isles Civic Association (just east of Federal Highway and north of Sunrise Boulevard), was telling me about a great new program that can keep off the poundage and stay in shape right thru next year…..

     Amy says that if you are no longer a spring chicken, than this is the ticket  …..

              

      And if you doubt that Amy knows what she is talking about,  just take a look at what the new 70 looks like !!

                                               

      Amy’s sweet husband Joel was in this picture ( that’s his left ear), but I cropped him out so we could see more of Amy !

     Keep up the good work !

                                                                  Tim

                    P.S. Happy Holidays and Happy New Year to you all  …..

      Just returned home after a brisk morning walk along Las Olas.

      I was a bit groggy still, but saw a bright light in the distance  …

                             

     By golly, the road was closed, lots of people roaming about with lights …. cameras….action !

                          

      Geez, I thought  ……  I’m about to be an extra in a movie!

             So I looked for her …..

                                               

      I figured if I snuck around behind her, I would be in some important scene….   but she was nowhere to be seen!

               Then I spotted this guy with the radio  ….
                                    

      Where are the stars, I asked. What movie are you shooting?

      It’s an FPL commercial pal  ….  please move along  ……