Spotlight 190-2600313

Good morning. What we’re covering in today’s Spotlight:

New Development on Grand Avenue
E-Bike Legislation in Tallahassee
City Honors for Two Grove Women

West Grove Development Rekindles Displacement Debate

A long-dormant stretch of Grand Avenue in the West Grove is alive with the sights and sounds of development activity, renewing community concerns about the loss of the neighborhood’s Black identity and culture.

By Don Finefrock & Jenny Jacoby

Construction noise rang out last week along both sides of Grand Avenue in the West Grove as a new five-story apartment building climbed higher in the sky while a smaller, dilapidated building across the street with 14 post-war apartments came tumbling down.

After years of desolation, there’s a surge of development activity along a three-block stretch of Grand Avenue at the center of a neighborhood battle over affordable housing and the displacement of Black families in the West Grove.

Three community organizations are fighting to preserve a formerly segregated neighborhood that many long-term residents can no longer afford. As part of that effort, the organizations filed a Fair Housing complaint against the City of Miami in 2023.

Florida Legislature Approves E-Bike Legislation

The Florida State Legislature has approved new statewide rules for how e-bikes may be operated when sharing a sidewalk or pathway with pedestrians. The Florida House voted 112-0 this week to approve legislation previously passed by the State Senate. Under the new law, which is expected to take effect on July 1, anyone riding an e-bike on a public sidewalk or shared pathway would have to slow to 10 mph or less when a pedestrian was within 50 feet. In addition, the proposed legislation would create a state task force to study the issue of e-bike safety, and require local law enforcement agencies to track and report all crashes involving e-bikes that they investigate.

Two Coconut Grove Women Honored

The Miami City Commission honored two Black women from Coconut Grove on Thursday, voting unanimously to name a portion of Franklin Street in the West Grove for Thelma Gibson and her husband Theodore, and a new aquatic facility at Elizabeth Virrick Park for Verneka Sturrup Silva.

The Rev. Theodore Gibson was a civil rights leader who served on the Miami City Commission for more than nine years. Thelma Gibson, who died last month just 10 months shy of her 100^th birthday, was a pioneering surgical nurse and a leading advocate for public health care in the community.

The City Commission recognized Silva, a former president of Coconut Grove Cares, as a trailblazer in education for her leadership at Coral Gables Senior High, her efforts to desegregate Miami-Dade County public schools, and her appointment as the first Black female assistant principal at a predominantly white school. The new swimming pool on Plaza Street in the West Grove is expected to open later this month.

Letters to the Editor

Readers React: The history and culture of the Black Grove is being erased by new development. It’s time to act, two readers say.

Where We’ll Be – A Grovite’s Calendar

Try not to whisper: “That’s the Grove”

Don’t make a scene when you elbow your partner and whisper, that’s the Grove! Ethan Bloom, directed by local filmmaker Herschel Faber, follows a 13-year-old who is supposed to be preparing for his bar mitzvah but instead finds himself drawn toward the Catholic church. Along the way appear a patient priest, an unconventional rabbi, a complicated father and a girl in cowboy boots who can put him in a headlock (sound fun?) — all unfolding against a backdrop of quietly recognizable Coconut Grove corners. The story wrestles with the messy, beautiful pieces of who we are — which, come to think of it, sounds a lot like the Grove itself.

The week ahead seems to be about arriving. Sailors head to Shake-A-Leg’s hangar, Invasive Species frolic on the Barnacle’s lawn, and Wolverines are in the park. Tours open gates in Little Havana and the Grove’s Secret Gardens, while Mozart arrives in Rome before the youth symphony heads to Prague. Latin rhythms light up the Sanctuary of the Arts, St. Patrick’s takes over Miracle Mile, and a community debate begins over the future of Fuller Street. Candlelight and choral voices gather at St. Philip’s, a war correspondent wrestles with what she brought home, and a family at GableStage reminds us that history never quite leaves the table.

Recent News

No Contest: The Uneven Playing Field of High School Sports

Public school athletic programs across Miami-Dade are struggling to keep pace with well-funded private school rivals, as shrinking enrollment, limited budgets and transfer rules reshape the high school sports landscape.

Old Smokey Class-Action Hearing Begins This Week

After eight years of legal wrangling, a Miami-Dade County judge will decide whether the lawsuit over toxic contamination tied to the Old Smokey incinerator in Coconut Grove can proceed as…

Sunday in the Park with A.C.’s Icees

Alan Cohen, the A.C. behind A.C.’s Icees, celebrated his 80th birthday on Sunday in Kennedy Park, where he has been serving chilled icees for more than four decades.

Lucienne Sanchez-Resnik at 100: A Coconut Grove Life Rooted in Service

As she marks her centennial year, Lucienne Sanchez looks back on a remarkable life of global travel, humanitarian work and neighborhood leadership that helped shape the Coconut Grove she calls…

Advocates Say E-Bikes Should Be Better Regulated

State lawmakers in Tallahassee are weighing new rules for e-bikes on public sidewalks and shared pathways, but critics say the changes don’t fully address the dangers that e-bikes pose to…

Leafy Way Tree Plan Approved After Major Revisions

A new landscape plan for the construction of a new home on Leafy Way – a plan that developers claim will actually enhance the tree canopy – was approved after…

Cocowalk Janitors Allege Intimidation, Poor Work Conditions

The workers staged a demonstration this week with union leaders, supporters and a Mariachi band to call attention to their grievances.

The Grove’s “Murder House” Marks a Gruesome Anniversary

One of the Grove’s most lurid crimes happened 40 years ago this week on South Bayshore Drive when builder Stanley Cohen was shot to death in his bed. The home…

Coming to Grand Avenue: A Padel Sports Club

Construction has begun on the Ace Padel sports club planned for a stretch of property along Grand Avenue near Douglas Road where the Charles Barber Shop once stood.

A Playhouse Power Move Falls Short in Tallahassee

A state legislator has abandoned his effort, for now, to force Miami-Dade County to give up control of the Coconut Grove Playhouse project.

The Long Sad History of the Mariah Brown House

The historic house on Charles Avenue in Coconut Grove has fallen into disrepair once again, after an earlier effort to restore the structure stalled.

Preserving the Soul of West Coconut Grove

To the editor: Walk south from Grand Avenue into the quiet residential streets of West Coconut Grove and you will find something increasingly rare in South Florida: small wooden cottages,…

Try not to whisper: “That’s the Grove”

Don’t make a scene when you elbow your partner and whisper, that’s the Grove! Ethan Bloom, directed by local filmmaker Herschel Faber, follows a 13-year-old who is supposed to be…

Second Design Meeting Announced for Fuller Street, Kirk Munroe Park

A second community meeting on the proposed design plans for Kirk Munroe Park and Fuller Street will be held at City Hall on Thursday, March 19 starting at 6 p.m….

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