Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Occupy North Bay Village

The strip club proposal for 1415 JFK Causeway was voted down unanimously by the Planning & Zoning Board.

Within the 24 hours prior to the meeting, hundreads of citizens mobilized to pass out fliers in front of the school, write to their commissioners, spread the news to their neighbors and one intrepid mom made a hundred "No Strip Club" signs and passed them out to attendees.

There was no leader, no formal organizing, no "you do this, I do that", simply the spontaneous community organizing that happens when enough is enough.

It was impressive to say the least. And the message carried.

Last night shows what the power of community can do. The spark, a Channel 7 news report on the plans, was enough to ignite the opposition of an often fractured and seemingly detached community.

I'll review the details of the meeting later this week - the arrogance of the developer's lawyer, the poorly drafted plans that were accepted by the city with holes large enough to drive a truck through, the anger of the residents at "business as usual".

This is not the last step. This could still go before the commission and they can override the recommendation. So let's be prepared for another round.

You did good last night, North Bay Village, you did really good.

Kevin Vericker
November 15, 2011

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