.JPG "January 2, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier © Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved") |
All photos on this page by South Beach Hoosier © 2013 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved.
July 26, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier.
Was at the city's public beach for a bit late Sunday afternoon after the downpours, walking around, observing, doing some writing and reading the NY Times and Post up at North Beach.
Things there are as bad and depressing as ever, if not worse.
From my point-of-view and that of many other Hallandale Beach taxpayers and residents I know and speak to regularly, folks who go to the city's public beach often, the change at the top at DPW, from William M. Brant to John Chidsey as Director the past three months has made ZERO positive difference for folks like us who want a nicer, cleaner and better-maintained beach.
He and his dept. still seem blind to the problems and clueless about how to solve them, even though many of the answers are entirely self-evident.
Why does this not surprise me?
Because my past experience here the past five years informs my trust level of the city's management and accountability, as this post today will show once again.
Perhaps the evidence will cause some of you who have yet to grasp the obvious, to finally see that it's not a matter of my opinions, rather it's a matter of the self-evident facts-on-the-
ground.
June 6, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Notice what's missing from the photo above?
HINT: It's not the first time it's happened, in fact, it's not even the first time this year it's been missing.
It was missing for MONTHS last year AFTER I'd already told HB Fire Chief Daniel Sullivan about it at a City Commission meeting.
Which was, itself, weeks AFTER I'd already told the HB Fire Dept., about it.
I've even written about this subject a few times before on my blog.
Here are some more hints:
Jan 18, 2008, photo by South Beach Hoosier
17 months ago
May 12, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier, 13 months ago
May 22, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier, 13 months ago
June 13, 2008,photo by South Beach Hoosier
And who was the City Hall genius who thought it was a good idea to okay nailing a city sign into a palm tree?
Yes, the correct answer is the American flag is what's been missing for weeks and weeks.
The version with 50 stars for 50 states, not Obama's 57-state version.
That would be the flag that flies on the flag pole right next to the empty public fountain, which, conveniently, has also been empty for many weeks.
The fountain in front of the so-called 'Beach community center' that you can't use unless you're from HB City Hall or one of their numerous back-scratching cronies.
 |
April 28, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier © 2012 Hallandale Beach Blog, All Rights Reserved
Looking east towards the Atlantic Ocean.
The beach-front facility which marked it's 22nd month in city hands on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twenty-two long months where you couldn't use something that already belonged to you because of City of HB incompetency and malfeasance.
May 22, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
13 months ago
Then as now, the city was so incredibly incompetent that they kept the old info on the front door, with nary a sign or flier to alert people passing by as to either its new owner or true
purpose.
May 22, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
13 months ago
Looking west from the beach.
June 22, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
June 6, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Shocker: Thirteen months after Mike Good's "promise" at the Budget meeting at HB City Hall, a promise he made to me, there is not one single light blue recycling bin (with a lid) on the public beach -where the people are!
Just garbage containers without lids at THE windiest place in the entire city.
April 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier
May 13, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
The photo I took at HB City Hall during their City Budget meeting, where Good promised recycling bins on beach.
Those are HB plastic water bottles tossed into the garbage can because at a public meeting at City Hall where everyone talked about being "green," there was not a single recycling box or receptacle present, even though there was food.
It's the perfect example of the city saying one thing and doing quite another.
May 22, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Looking north from The Beach Club property, seven garbage cans without lids and no recycling bins in sight.
Just like last year and the year before that and the year before
that and...
I have a very strong feeling that DPW Director John Chidsey is going to start feeling like a human piñata over the next few weeks at public events from all of the valid criticism thats going to stick to him.
In fact, I'm going to make sure of it.
June 8, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
How can I put this?
Dark green plastic bins on the beach specifically marked "Yard Waste Only" are NOT recycling bins.
You do know about tonight's citywide Transportation meeting at 6:30 p.m.,right?
Hm-m-m... a public discussion for an important report that was both past their original deadline and over- budget?
You'll understand if I don't really think that truth-telling is high up on HB City Hall's list of things to do on Tuesday.
Which, when you think about it, actually means that getting a good turnout of concerned and indignant HB citizens who will call them out for this should make the proceedings livelier and
quicker for those of us who attend.
May 28, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Sign on W,. Dixie Highway & N.E. 185th Street, Ojus.
Why aren't these signs present in HB in numbers even one-fourth their presence in next-door Aventura?
I'm especially interested in seeing and hearing people ask specific questions of Commissioners Julian, Ross and Sanders, and have THEM actually answer questions in detail and in complete sentences, not Good and his staff of minions, who do his bidding for such absurdly high salaries.
People need to specify that they want the Commissioners to answer, since that's why they were elected in the first place.
They were elected to represent all of us and THEY need to explain their lack of accountability or anything even close to resembling oversight, not to mention, their self-evident lack of familiarity with the subject, since they foolishly approved large development projects without there being a single real and understandable plan for the construction of a working
S.E. 2nd Street (now Hibiscus) from U.S.-1 to S.E. 14th Avenue.
That, of course, is desperately needed to relieve the enormous traffic flow that will come from the Hallandale Square project and the Oasis project that would otherwise all go onto HBB,
making that EVEN WORSE!
Ask them why they went ahead and approved it without a sensible plan in hand.
Jun 13, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Future site of Hallandale Square
June 8, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Future site of Oasis
Hibiscus, i.e the future SE 2nd Street?
May 12, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
13 months ago
The only thing on Hibiscus now when you turn right from U.S.-1 is a yellow warning sign in the middle of the block that has been twisted and bent for over FIVE years.
A sign that you can't see when you turn onto the street because it is completely obstructed by foliage.
June 22, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Once again, the city has shown itself unable to do even that simple thing.
And why isn't it closer to the intersection so you can see it?
This obstructed sign has dozens of cousins all over the city, but one I've chronicled in particular is this speed limit sign next to the old City Hall on West Dixie Highway and S.W. 3rd Street.
June 2, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Looking south on West Dixie Highway,& S.W. 3rd Street, next to the old HB City Hall.
What's the speed limit?
It was even captured for posterity on Google.
From December 2007.
June 2, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Looking east on S.W. 3rd Street towards S.W. 1st Avenue
Another Mike Good success story!
This afternoon, after the downpours, I noticed this sandwich board sign on the median of Hallandale Beach Blvd. & 16th Avenue, for left-hand turns into the Winn-Dixie parking lot, advertising it. (Actually, the sign was on the shrubs!)
June 6, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Taken from one foot away.
What can you really say about the genius of this particular effort?
It's the city in a nutshell!
June 6, 2009 photo by South Beach Hoosier
Naturally, this being the backward Duchy of Hallandale Beach, the type was FAR TOO SMALL for anyone sitting in a car to actually make sense of, plus, the rain made everything on the board bleed.
I have not seen another sign anywhere in the city this weekend, which is not to say they don't exist, only that I haven't found one.
But what I do know for a fact is that there isn't one at the city's busiest intersection, HBB & U.S.-1, or anywhere along U.S.-1, or at the busy intersection of HBB & A1A.
Why no HB Police Dept. electronic board message?
Oh, that's right, it's not related to the Hallandale Beach PAL!
May 28, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
S.E. 1st Avenue & S.E. 3rd Street
City truck full of signs to put up.
So why is the HB Park & Recreation Dept. responsible for putting up signs for City Hall, but they aren't allowed to put up Parks & Rec. signs for sports registration and kids activities throughout the city, while PAL is allowed to put signs up everywhere?
June 2, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
June 8, 2008 photo by South Beach Hoosier
On median in front of HB City Hall.
