Above, my September 2019 photo of Hollywood Beach, looking east on Johnson Street towards the Bandshell, the Hollywood Beach Broadwalk, and, on the right, the Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort. Looking at it now, it seems like 100 years ago, not 7-8 months ago.
now,
NBC6 South Florida You Tube Channel
The Hollywood Beach Broadwalk is expected to open with limited hours for exercise only starting Wednesday. NBC 6’s Amanda Plasencia reports.
Uploaded May 7th, 2020. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrUNTxqS7eM&t=7s
"Hello Broadwalk my old friend. I've come to talk to you again..." - #HollywoodBeach's #Broadwalk to reopen with limited hours tomorrow, and I'll be there. Will you? 🏖️🌴🌊
But the beach remains CLOSED for now! :-(
@CallMeCilia @LolaAkinmade @magnusswede @niklassvensson 🏖️🌴🌊— HallandaleBeach/Hollywood Blog (@hbbtruth) May 8, 2020
3 miles E. of me, #HollywoodBeach's #Broadwalk to Open -w/Limited Hours- on Wed., and I'll be there😊, via @AmandaNBC6 @nbc6, a savvy #SoFL reporter who Follows me.😉 #HollywoodFL #FL #beach https://t.co/aLmbUOf3PW
"No one goes there nowadays, it's too crowded"☀️ Weegee goes to the beach. The ultimate summer shot from the one and only, Weegee the Famous. ☀️— ICP (@ICPhotog) June 22, 2019
📷 Weegee, [Afternoon crowd at Coney Island, Brooklyn], 1940 https://t.co/jOi8RDgHes pic.twitter.com/IZvVsOYg8n
-Yogi Berra.
Marilyn Monroe On The Beach With Her Mother In 1929 - Flashbak https://t.co/cYdoflXMqk pic.twitter.com/AeD9nht3cC— Flashbak.com (@aflashbak) May 7, 2020
I miss the beach!
Some people you run into at the beach are friendly, nice, and Kara cute.
Some are not, of course, but in South Florida, the odds are that occasionally you can run into someone who is nice and Kara cute and prefers Chicago Deep Dish-style pizza, Ibsen and Strindberg, and peace, like me!
So why would you want to to be in the desert or in a canyon when you could be with someone like Kara at the beach?
The question answers itself.
End of lesson.
Now that I have your attention, in case you didn't know -and not many do- the City of Hollywood is interested in extending the city's iconic Broadwalk south to city line with Hallandale Beach.
(Or, should I say, pre-COVID19 they did.)
Hardly anyone in HB seems to know anything about it.
So far, despite hearing about everyone's general sense of malaise and boredom, alternating between simmering and overdrive, whether in my own neighborhood in Hollywood Hills or via local, national or British TV newscasts, I have not yet personally seen anyone walking around South Florida with shrubbery to hide behind in order to get somewhat closer to some area that's currently prohibited.
As is ACTUALLY happening in the UK -like something out of "Gilligan's Island"- as you can see from my tweet Saturday night to the ever-adorable Amy Kaufman, film and entertainment reporter at the LA Times, long one of our personal favorites, and best-selling author of "Bachelor Nation."
@AmyKinLA Hours after hearing abt head of #CDC going into #quarantine, I spotted this real headline in Sunday's @thetimes re #CORONAVIRUS:— HallandaleBeach/Hollywood Blog (@hbbtruth) May 10, 2020
"Calls grow for release of restless twentysomethings"
Apparently, breaking the lockdown w/shrubbery is a real thing. https://t.co/y5NHvXnVNp
As more Southern California beaches and parks reopen, it's 'like being set free' https://t.co/t46KrBE2H1— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) May 10, 2020
Which of these Beach personalities are you, via Cameron Dallas and his girlfriend Madisyn Nenchaca.
Last Friday, this was the not-so-happy state of affairs a week ago when my friends and I turned on local South Florida TV newscasts and saw something that lots of people in Hollywood, whether civic activists or regular citizens alike, were NOT at all happy about.
Correct, having to wait for Hollywood parks and recreational areas to reopen this past Wednesday when Hollywood re-acted AFTER many other local cities had given the okay for similar facilities under on their turf.
Trust me, I've received LOTS more angry and negative emails and phone calls from people I know and even from some new readers of the blog or my Twitter feed, than you'd know from what I've been tweeting about recently, including the bad, near-Ghost Town situation in Downtown Hollywood, sometimes even at 6:30 pm.
D-E-A-D.
"Why wasn't the City of Hollywood ready to go?," I keep getting asked over-and over.
But then I remind them that's more of a question for the Hollywood City Commission to explain and rationalize, no?
Because I have a very good knowledge of how so many of the decisions and judgments around here are usually made, who and what gets considered, early on, I gave the benefit of the doubt to Hollywood city employees being extra... something.
What, dutiful?
Paying more attention to detail to make sure everything was as clean as could be before opening up?
But in this particular case, thus far, I have yet to hear any elected Hollywood official or anyone in the City Manager's office give a credible explanation for why it's taken Hollywood so much longer to get going on recreational sites.
And for those of you who don't live in the area, the context for all of the discontent here in Hollywood is that it opened some of its most popular parks on Wednesday MANY days after other nearby cities like Aventura and Fort Lauderdale did.
Class-conscious Aventura, typically, made people show ID, and only allowed Aventura residents into its parks, while Hollywood is not requiring IDs.
I'll be posting something here on the blog in the near-future based on those emails, phone calls I referenced earlier, plus many face-to-face talks with Downtown Hollywood stakeholders who, in some cases, feel like they've been abandoned and left to fend for their own, given how little they have seen from the Hollywood CRA and Hollywood Chamber of Commerce that was anything more than fluff and dross.
No, clearly not everyone is as calm and measured about this matter as my friend, Cat Uden, celebrated Stand Up Paddle Board aficionado and Hollywood civic activist for increased recreational activity along Hollywood Beach, and, not least, the South Florida Campaign Organizer for Oceana, focusing on ocean and coastal conservation.
And as you regular readers of the blog would know, articulate and enthusiastic Cat has been a subject of several fact and photo-filled blog posts the past two years, starting here:
http://hallandalebeachblog.blogspot.com/2019/01/so-proud-of-two-of-my-newer-friends.html
Here's an excerpt from Cat's interesting April 1st Instagram post that I thought of a lot the past 5 weeks, as one person in Hollywood after another told me of their personal displeasure with what was going on here, whether about the lack of access to the Broadwalk for exercise purposes, the closed parks, or what they feel is the city's short-sighted ideas/plans for rejuvenating Downtown Hollywood.
(I will be blogging about that subject later this week, as businesses in that part of the city have literally fallen off a cliff, with many concerned stakeholders I've spoken to the past two months saying that, even more than usual, they believe the Hollywood CRA and the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce has behaved more like incurious spectators than active participants.
Lots of people are angry and not afraid to point fingers at the people they hold responsible.
And in an election year, that can have tangible consequences.)
Cat's full Instagram post is below this excerpt.
"I miss going to the beach in the mornings. I had accepted that it was necessary to close the beaches (because people were idiots and took advantage). Last week, I made the mistake of looking at the beach webcam, and when I saw the ocean was blue and flat and glassy and beautiful, I admit I cried for a good half hour. But I’m not going to sit around and whine about my beach closure on social media or bug my elected officials. They have much bigger problems right now...."
Out and about #hollywoodfl pic.twitter.com/1TeI192S5v— Lorenz (@HollywoodLgee) May 2, 2020
Beach-side cycling access differs from Fort Lauderdale to Hollywood.
Reporter: Hatzel Vela. Uploaded May 1st, 2020.
https://youtu.be/6AUgzSLXMTc
On Friday the City of Hollywood posted information to their website regarding recreational activities, i.e. what's opening and what -besides the public beach- is STILL closed. Here is the updated info as of today, Monday the 11th.
Like it or not, it's what's permissible, even if not optimal for keeping residents content, if not happy.
My emphasis below in red.
Limited Reopening of Broadwalk and Additional City Parks and Recreational Facilities Wednesday, May 13th
Select City Parks and Recreational Facilities Now Open
In the continuing effort to protect the safety and well-being of our community, those visiting parks and recreational facilities must follow the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Florida Department of Health, including wearing facial covering and social distancing. Detailed information on those restrictions can be found here.
City-operated parks and recreational facilities will remain open contingent upon visitors’ compliance with these recommended guidelines.
Provided the data continues with a downward trend, and we have compliance with social distancing and capacity restrictions related to existing park/recreational facility re-openings that started on Wednesday, May 6th, another phase is set for Wednesday, May 13th that may include the Broadwalk.
Parks Currently Open for Passive Activities
The following parks are open for passive activities only. Passive activities include walking, biking, running and individual enjoyment of the natural surroundings. No courts or playgrounds are open at this time.
ArtsPark at Young Circle - 1 Young Circle
Charles Vollman Park - 2933 Taft Street
Jefferson Park - 1501 Jefferson Street
Joe DiMaggio Park - 1001 Three Island Boulevard
John Williams Park - 6101 Sheridan Street
Oakridge Park - 5200 SW 35th Avenue
Zinkil Park - 5451 Washington Street
Park hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Boat Ramps
Hollywood Marina - 700 Polk Street
Boat Ramps open to motor-powered craft only. (One boat on a ramp at a time)
Holland Park - 801 Johnson Street
Boat ramps open for rowing boats, canoes, kayaks or stand-up paddle boards only.
Ramp hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
(If the parking areas reach capacity, the ramps may be closed.)
(Note: No other areas of Holland Park will be open on Wednesday the 13th, like the Observation Tower, one of my favorite places in all of South Florida.
It's a great place for taking photos that capture the wide variety of people, Stand Up Paddle Boards, kayaks, boats and yachts that one can see, to say nothing of the beautiful variety of shades of blue and green water under sunny skies on the Intracoastal and North Lake.
Without getting too far ahead of my story, with more details to come in the coming weeks, once that Observation Tower opens again, don't be surprised to see me over there a lot more frequently than I've been the past year. And this time with some... yes, models.
Hmmm... a mystery!
Stay tuned!!!)
Golf Courses:
Golf courses at Hollywood Beach Golf Club, Eco Golf Club and Orangebrook Golf Club are open for play with restrictions. View restrictions by clicking here.
Planning for the Next Phase on Wednesday, May 13th
Providing that the numbers continue to trend downward and compliance with social distancing and capacity restrictions are observed at current park/recreational facility re-openings, the City has another phase set for Wednesday, May 13th with restrictions.
Compliance with the restrictions is critical to keeping these facilities open.
Parks:
Bob Butterworth
Earl Crofford
Emerald Hills Lakes
Lions Park
Oak Street
Sailors Point
Three Islands
Harry Berry
Keating
Water View
Open 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. for passive use only.
No use of restrooms or water fountains.
Social distancing of at least 6 feet between individuals.
No groups larger than 10 people.
No active organized team sports allowed.
Facial coverings must be worn at all times.
The Community Garden at Oak Lake will require anyone working in garden to wear a mask. Allow Artist in residence return to work at ArtsPark. Artist studio work only.
No tours, lessons or private engagements.
Hollywood Broadwalk
6 a.m. to 9 a.m. for exercising only including walking, jogging and bike riding
No rollerblading, skating or skateboarding
No loitering
Social distancing of at least 6 feet between individuals
No groups larger than 10 people
Facial coverings recommended when social distancing is difficult to maintain
Beach remains closed
Skate Parks:
Hollywood West
Stan Goldman
Will require social distancing of at least six feet. Everyone in a skate park must be wearing a mask. One person per element. No more than 10 people in skate park at a time.
Tennis Courts:
Jefferson Park
Driftwood Community Center
Singles play only. Only two players per court inside court area. Must adhere to social distancing of at least six feet.
Pavilion Rentals:
Cathy and Bob Anderson Park
Eppleman Park
Holland Park
Jefferson Park
Oak Lake Park
Poinciana Park
Only parties less than 10. Must adhere to physical distancing and all parties must wear facial covering. Venues times will be limited 1 per day to allow for cleaning.
Limited Restrooms Available:
Jefferson Park
Sailors Point
Stan Goldman Park
Zinkil Park
Holland Park
Charnow Park
Johnson Street on Hollywood Beach
Harry Berry Park
Keating Park
Open facilities will be cleaned and sanitized twice daily, seven days a week per CDC guidelines. Please, only one customer at a time in the restroom facility.
Do you remember that time I was at the beach 🌴☀️, either down here in South Florida or out in California, and a drop-dead beautiful woman in a bikini was there but I didn't see her because her bikini was camouflage?
Nope!
Me either.
FYI: So, if you STILL haven't figured out the meaning of the headline of today's blog post, it's a riff on Simon & Garfunkel's Sounds of Silence, which became a breakout hit in part because it was used extensively throughout one of the most iconic films ever, The Graduate.
"Hello Broadwalk my old friend. I've come to talk to you again..." 🎶#HollywoodBeach's #Broadwalk will reopen tomorrow, with limited hours, and I'll be there. Will you? 🏖️🌴🌊— HallandaleBeach/Hollywood Blog (@hbbtruth) May 12, 2020
But our beautiful beach remains CLOSED for now! 🤨https://t.co/pDxDojIUwC #HollywoodFL #Broward pic.twitter.com/bmYyn4z7xS
Dave
Hallandale Beach/Hollywood Blog: http://www.
Twitter: @hbbtruth, https://
