Wednesday April 16th, 2008
11:45 p.m.
Just got back from spending four hours at the Hallandale Beach City Commission meeting.They took a breath and a break at 11:30 after a long night and that was my cue to come home. Am currently watching ABC News' Nightline's review of the Clinton-Obama debate, which I'll probably watch in its entirety some other time on C-SPAN, and will soon be rewinding my videotape that caught tonight's new episode of longtime TV favorite Criminal Minds., which I LOVE! http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/Don't mind telling you, I was greatly concerned when it became clear that the wonderful Mandy Patinkin was leaving the show, but what better way to try to replace a great character on a show that requires great ensemble skills than getting a great and talented professional like Joe Mantegna, who makes everyone look better -just like Dan Marino and Michael Jordan.See http://www.cbs.com/primetime/criminal_minds/ , http://www.mandypatinkin.net/cd.html and http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001505/ )Given those wonderful skills, the show's producers were genius casting his character as someone who'd previously been a 'lone wolf' while creating the BAU team at Quantico.That's right -casting against type!Some times, it really works!Not that I don't still find myself singing or humming Patinkin's particular versions of great American standards, since I went thru two copies of his great eponymous album while living in D.C., often listening to it over and over -and over -while walking, running or biking along The National Mall on way over to Reagan National Airport or Arlington National Cemetery. See http://www.mandypatinkin.net/cdmp.htmlWill have more to say on Thursday about the HB City Commission meeting, including fireworks in afternoon session, and some other things, but these are the two main points I wanted to leave you with until manana:1.) For the presentation on the Oasis project on the 11oo block of East Hallandale Beach Blvd., Joseph Geller filled-in and took over first-chair for brother Senator Steve Geller who was still up in Tallahassee.2. The Oasis project passed the city commission's first reading, along with an amendment by Comm. Keith London that would ensure that the project's flex units would revert back to the city if there were no progress on the ambitious project within 48 months of pulling the first permit for phase one, which will be the five-story retail and commercial office development along HBB -153,000 square feet- and the four-story garage behind it.The 27-story residential building, which would border a future and absolutely necessary S.E. 2nd Street, will be the second phase.This particular amendment is the city learning the painful lessons of The European Club on HBB and Three Islands, which failed colossally and is still an empty and ugly area eyesore after all this time.Judging things by a PowerPoint presentation, of course, is no way to judge anything so large.What I saw actually looked pretty good, but...That particular lesson was learned the hard way by current and former members of the Hollywood City Commission -Comm. Richard Blattner?- who lamented out loud two weeks ago tonight, when comparing how great Radius looked on Young Circle -on paper and against the city commission wall- and the sad current reality, where it creates a canyon effect, albeit a curved canyon. See http://www.radiuscondo.com/ and
http://localism.com/article/186587/Desperately-seeking-a-Seller-Radius-CondoWell, it's not like there weren't critics of Radius, witness the very last breaths of Beth Dunlop's impassioned 2004 column in the Herald, "Razing of history may bust Hollywood's boom" which pondered whether the City of Hollywood would be as wise and prescient as the hard-working man who had founded the city decades ago, Joseph Young.The excerpt below comes from the smart, savvy and civic-minded folks at Balance Sheet Online, a Hallandale Beach Blog linked fave since Blog Day One.http://www.balancesheetonline.com/bdunlop.htmCAMPED OUT
When Radius opened its sales office, potential buyers camped out overnight to be first in line -- reminiscent of old photos of the 1920s land boom. Radius has great slogans -- ''Once you've gone round, you'll never be square again'' and ''Don't be square. Live the circle.'' -- but perfectly unexceptional architecture, blocky buildings on the usual podium, with a half-hearted tower at the corner where Tyler Street and Federal Highway meet Young Circle. It does not set any standard.
And those standards are all-important.
Downtown Hollywood could fulfill the vision of Young, or it could end up looking just like another suburban office park. The first step is to stop the Great Southern project cold and determine to preserve the city's tiny historic core; without it, there's no identity. The second step is to exact high standards of design for every new building that will line the rest of the circle, making sure that each one contributes rather than detracts.
Young's ''City Beautiful'' endured the tribulations of the decades, and today, it's still possible to see his dreams and ambitions in three dimensions, as a city. But now we're in a new boom, and far too little seems sacred any more, putting the ideals that created Hollywood, created Florida, at risk. Wouldn't it be a crime if it is this boom that leads to the real bust?
Which reminds me, I wonder if that Starbucks downstairs on the U.S.-1 side finally opened yet?Must check that out in the next day or so when I see if all that junk on the northeast Circle opposite the Radius, south of the Papa John's, has been cleaned up after all these months of it festering and mocking eager visitors to the Arts Park.
