Chat of The Rat
The Ole Rabbi Rope a Dope
Written by: Ponce DeRaton 02/23/05
Here on Key Biscayne there is a fight.
A big one. But before I describe the action, let me set the stage.
There is something fishy smelling but
more like a bucket of shrimp
left out in the midday sun in August with
a touch of Kosher Cuisine to it.
Out here on the Key there is this Rabbi
guy who has been here for 3 years and lived in 3 different locations.
He portrays himself as a peace seeking
meek man of modest means asking all of us to forget the
fact that he has purchased a home worth
around $2,000,000.00 (Two Thousand Hundred Thousand Dollars)
and has a legal team from Greenberg-Taurig
(one of the priciest most respected real estate law firms in the world)
mentioning the words 'Federal case'
like other Rabbis mention 'Shalom'.
He has a 'following of about 22 - 25 people.
He must really preach some fire and brimstone to loosen the
pockets of this tiny little congregation.
How does this happen? Hmmm. Look further....
Two of the top names on behind the scene
power mongering - Gene 'I'm a Baptist' Stearns and
Alan ' I guarantee it' Fein (a self proclaimed
'lapsed' Jew) come up to the microphone to make their statements
in support of changing the zoning on Key
Biscayne for 101 Harbor Drive from residential to institutional.
I smell a Rat, but not a Key Rat...A Rat
rat.
Enrique Garcia is now my new hero.
What a guy. Not a linguini spine council being that wants to be all
things
to all people, but someone who sees a
mess, and tries to stop it before it becomes a sewage backup. He
was the lone dissenting vote to stop this
nightmare before it costs the taxpayers (you and I) anymore time and money.
Carol Castro, and John Festa, Ray Sullivan,
and a few others highlighted the concerns of us all only to be
mocked by elderly condo dwellers and those
who would say that their 'fear' 'would not hold water'.
Oh brother. What a disaster.
We all got treated to the three minute monologue of elderly residents who
were telling their children to move to
Key Biscayne but their children were not convinced, but if they could tell
them that we had our own synagogue, that
might be enough to persuade them. Great. Just what we need.
Another family of 5 looking for something
on Galen for around $1,100 a month that accepts pets.
More to the point is this.......
Tuesday, Feb. 22,2005, at the Village Council,
there is a variance sought by Rabbi Caroline to allow 101 Harbor
to be re-zoned to be a synagogue.
101 Harbor Drive is on the corner of Fernwood and Harbor Drive.
For all of you that live east of Crandon,
this is THE #1 busiest intersection on Key Biscayne. The author knows.
Yours truly lived on Fernwood Road for
about 25 years and on the island for over 40. Listen to your Key
Biscayne Elders.
So, residents with common sense said things
like, re-zoning residential would....Set a bad precedent (true),
add more traffic to this congested spot
, impact property values, violate their sense of a 'sacred trust' for their
elected officials to keep their best interest
and that of the Key in mind, safety concerns, growth concerns,
a concern that this would continue up
the road as other religious organizations would look to move here
and so much more, and basically that the
perceived benefit (by a very small group) does not constitute
the inherent risks. Alan Fein (for
the Rabbi's side) said that these concerns were unfounded and in the
future, all that the council had to do
to these future religious groups was to just say No.
Well, if that is the case, what is wrong
with just saying NO now? I mean, if this is such a good idea Alan.
In fact, (former Gore and Reno apologist)
Fein went onto say that there would be no parking or traffic
concerns and that other religious groups
would not apply for the same thing that the Rabbi is applying for
so passionately that he said "I guarantee
it, I guarantee it, I guarantee it". It is worth noting
that while
Alan was speaking, he had someone behind
camera taking a multitude of flash photos as he spoke.
Why is this important to Alan Fein?
Ug.
The real question is...what is the Alan
Fein guarantee? Does he personally guarantee it? If it does
happen,
do we get money back? Will he pay
us in a class action settlement if he is wrong? Of course not.
He made all kinds of guarantees for Gore,
Reno, and Kerry. Photos available upon request.
Why would it matter to a 'lapsed Jew'?
He is a highly paid attorney and political activist.
Speaking of conflict of Interest, Gene
Stearns, another waterfront multimillion dollar homeowner who will
never pass this intersection since he
is 'a Baptist' and he has to leave the Key to go to a Baptist Church
that is, if he goes at all. I digress.
Why is he, a highly paid attorney sitting in the council chambers in the
middle of the night on a Tuesday night
supporting the rezoning of a home to institutional zoning for a
Jewish Educational Center?
Let's float a mental balloon up for a moment
and take a look and see what it looks like. Let's call this balloon
the, "If the Village Council will
do this, they will do ANYTHING balloon". This balloon successfully
flying will
assure the accumulation of real wealth
as the new Crandon Boulevard Developments take place. As the corner
of Harbor and Crandon is slowly being
bought up bit by bit under the radar screen, and the new Sonesta
Beach Hotel is due to commence construction
in the summer of next year. Zoning matters and troubled attorneys
for these large multimillion dollar corporations
will need some players in place that can persuade a feeble
minded council that cringes at the idea
of 'bad press' in the Miami Herald or even worse if this should ever
become a Federal Case.
My humble two cents worth is that the council
should have bitten the bullet hard and said, we don't like the rules
anymore than you do, but, the rules are
the rules, and zoning does not discriminate, and the answer is no.
For this reason, Enrique Garcia, the lone
NO vote, deserves our thanks.
How did it go from black and white to
gray?
Joe Rasco.
The ex-Mayor of Key Biscayne came up with
some scheme that could possibly allow this to happen without changing
the zoning. As the village attorney
described it to the council, I understood him to say that, if they chose
to, he would
have to look into it because it would
be the FIRST to his knowledge of ANY community doing this.
Swell. Thanks again Rabbi. I hope your 22 parishioners appreciate this.
In a sweeping move to please every one
in the room, all but one council being voted 'Yes' to the first reading
of this mess.
I think that this is the ole Rope a Dope
that Cassius Clay (Mohammed Ali) used on his opponents. He would
let them
wear themselves out and then he would
move in and knock them out. One council member asked a sensible question,
but I think
that he should have gone with his instincts
and voted NO. He asked if a No vote now would allow this issue to
stay open while
the council investigated the options that
are available to the Village of Key Biscayne. The Village attorney
said that it was
possible, but easier to work together
if the matter was left open.
I believe that this will prove to be costly and incorrect advice.
This is the Rope a Dope. The Village
can be in such a flurry to try to please everybody, and not to offend anybody,
that it will wear itself out and become
mentally overburdened. This is EXACTLY where the PROFESSIONAL
mind twisters from the high powered law
firm knock these part time politicians on their rears.
Wake up guys (and Pat Weinman) and stand
firm and tall. This is zoning. This is residential. Let the chips
fall.
We the community will support the integrity
of our Master Plan and our Island. Don't pander to every applicant
that
comes over the bridge. Just say
No. Rules apply to all or not at all.
A strict system is an orderly system.
I think that the council should have said
NO, but, will promise to work together to find a solution as this
is a real and pressing issue
but were too fearful of the meek little
ole Rabbi with high powered attorneys flanking his every side.
This 'yes' vote does not mean that it
is approved, but rather, approved on this first read and that the real
decision will be made
on March 15. In 3 weeks. This
gives the council some time to grow some. If you know what I mean.
This also means that the Village attorney
has 3 weeks to pull a rabbit out of his hat and please everyone.
Someone is going away defeated.
I just hope it is not the future generations
of Key Biscayne. It is frighteningly close. A real fear of
power in the wrong hands.
Council being Leidman wanted so bad to
vote yes for this he was practically lobbying the Rabbi's cause from the
bench. It was pathetic.
What a sellout. He had the non presence
of mind to point out that while he hears numbers in the hundreds and thousands
of
people on the Key that may attend the
Rabbi's Educational Center, the number is really only in the 20's and that
parking and
traffic would not be a problem.
What a work of art this guy is. All he had to do was to look out
of his window and see that
if half of the people at the meeting were
going to attend the Rabbi's house, it would be a parking problem.
Parking for
this event of zoning filled ALL of the
parking facilities at the village, the community center, the village green,
down West McIntyre,
and over to Winn Dixie. No problem.
He had his spot. Common sense is not so common anymore.
EXCUSE ME>>>>>>>but would somebody stop
long enough to look out the window? Parking for this Rabbi is a problem
now and he is not even open for business.
This brings up my point that what IF he IS a big hit on Key Biscayne?
Then what? Buy another Harbor Drive
House? Another Variance? HELLO????!!!!
How does he plan to survive with a congregation
of 49? (tops allowed by institutional zoning for that lot)
OK, let's take it to the other extreme....What
if nobody shows up and he decides to move back to wherever he came from?
He can now SELL an institutionally zoned
lot? An Institutionally zoned building?
What happens if Rabbi Caroline is called
home by the Rabbi in the Sky? Then what?
Can the Seventh Day Adventists buy it?
The Christian Scientists, The Hari Krishnas? The Baptists?
Think about this in generational terms
and the answer is simple. NO.
Our rules did not provide for everyone
in the world and we all have to deal with it. This is residential.
If you do not like it, then find another
island and move there. We have to accept it too.
NONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONONO
No.
By the way, I have to drive off of the
island to worship with my family. Every week. For years.
The Village Council has requested that
the village attorney come back to them with their options, but by the sound
of it,
it sure sounds a whole lot like any step
in the direction is a step down a slippery slope.
Buzz Vernon had it right when he said
that his father taught him that if you play by the rules that you will
not get into trouble.
The rules do not discriminate he pointed
out, and the rules say that this is residential.
He then voted Yes to the first reading.
You should have killed it Buzz. Let's see some cajones out there.
You can still keep us old time Rats proud
to have you up there by killing it on the second read.
*******
For all of you screaming anti-Semitic,
get a new act because playing the Jew card is so last generation.
Nobody buys it. That is why you
see it on the "History" channel. Now go home and quit whining.
Thank you.
Zoning Issue polarizes community Article - Just say No!
Bite Me
Rabbi Article - Click here
Hotels in: Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, Miami/ Brickell, The Florida Keys, and South Beach (Miami Beach)
