Life in the City
By Bari Auerbach

Sunny Isles Beach celebrates diversity – yet residents all have something very special in common: The experience of enjoying life in the city also known as “Florida’s Riviera.” There are countless perks associated with being a local taxpayer – and now, these enviable attributes will be featured in a new column being introduced in your Sunny Isles Beach Sun newspaper, with the apropos title “Life in the City.” Here’s a sampling of the sort of subjects that will be explored in weeks to come...

Who is the Mayor?

If you randomly picked 50 people of all ages from various communities within city limits, gathered them all together in a condo card room and said, “Raise your hand if you know the name of the Sunny Isles Beach mayor” – what do you think would happen? Those in the know would accurately answer, “Mayor Norman S. Edelcup” – but odds are the majority would be more likely to know the name of the city’s landmark restaurant with the “best pastrami sandwich.”

Seems many people only get involved with their city governments when “all is not going well” and they feel compelled to march down to City Hall to voice their concerns. But in Sunny Isles Beach, there is an open forum at every City Commission meeting providing citizens with an opportunity to voice their opinions and participate in city government.

At these productive public forums, most often, people only have good things to say like: “It’s ok if that building blocks my view – after all, when they built mine it blocked someone else’s!”- or - “I really don’t mind if it rains every day since the city is investing so much in storm water drainage projects!”

Going back to the condo card room, an even more challenging question is, “Who knows the name of your mayor, vice mayor and city commissioners?” OK let’s not have all those hands go up at once! Maybe what the city should do in order to help everyone quickly ascertain who’s who on the elected official dais is publish “City Commission Cliff Notes” (i.e.)…

Mayor Norman Edelcup was a commissioner, then a vice mayor, then an interim mayor and then a mayoral candidate – elected unopposed along with Roslyn Brezin, who was originally an appointed commissioner and now has the rotating vice mayor title, previously held by Commissioner Lewis Thaler, who unseated an incumbent shortly after Commissioner Gerry Goodman also beat an incumbent, subsequently winning his bid for reelection by receiving more votes than his opponent – which Commissioner Danny Iglesias didn’t have when he was automatically reelected unopposed…Feel free to read all that a few times!!

So now when you least expect it, if someone comes up to you and asks, “Who’s the Mayor of Sunny Isles Beach?” you’ll know the answer – but what will you do if they ask you who serves as city manager, city attorney and city clerk??* (Hint: You can always visit the city’s website www.sibfl.net and find out everything you need to know about who’s working at Government Center to ensure “life in the city” always runs smoothly!

In The Zone

LDR’s, FAR’s, TDR’s, MUR’s…sitting in on a zoning hearing at a Sunny Isles Beach Commission meeting, you just might need an interpreter to help you decipher the meanings of all the acronyms. But don’t get frustrated – just get busy making up your own original building and zoning terms like these:

*ITH (it’s too high)
*ITH (it’s too wide
*DBMV (don’t block my view))
*DIU (design it upscale)
*MBA (more beach access)
*NUG (no ugly garages)
*PLP (pretty landscaping please)
*BFC (ban fluorescent colors)
*NCN (no construction noise)
*HPM (hurricane proofing mandatory)

If you ever do attend a Commission meeting, there will most likely be a zoning item on the agenda since the renaissance of Sunny Isles Beach is continuing to make “groundbreaking” progress. But will you be prepared to decode the “zoning code” lingo? If the conversation turns to front setbacks and side setbacks – don’t be taken aback because when it comes to controlled development, the City Commission always has your back. Just one more reason quality of life in the city is perpetually on the rise!

Un-Pack Your Bags

Would you rather be waiting on a long airport screening line – or lounging on a beautiful beach virtually right outside your door? There’s really no need to ever leave Sunny Isles Beach to take a vacation since enjoying “resort-style living” year-round is everyone’s good fortune. So if anyone ever asks why you prefer not to venture far from “Florida’s Riviera,” just answer by posing the following questions:

*Do you want to spend a fortune on gas taking a long drive to a vacation destination with the kids in the backseat whining “Are we there yet?” every two seconds - or walk across the street for a weekend getaway at a luxurious Sunny Isles Beach resort with world-class amenities including a camp program for the kids?

*Are you looking forward to long lines, crowds, expensive tickets and inconvenient parking – or taking a leisurely stroll to one of the Sunny Isles Beach parks with open green space, where there’s always free admission and special events like Sunny Serenade concerts and Family Fun days?

*Would you like to lug your luggage (that will probably get lost) to the airport – or enjoy swimming, boating, jet skiing, fishing, shopping, dining and dancing, jogging on the beach, sightseeing, visiting culturally enriching venues and applauding entertaining shows - all without venturing far from the comfort of your Sunny Isles Beach home?

When you stop and think about it, there’s really no viable reason to ever leave the kind of enviable life in the city of Sunny Isles Beach others travel to from all over the world to appreciate just for a brief time…So unpack your bags and just for fun, send yourself a postcard that says, “Everyone else wishes they were here!”

Suitable For All Ages

Used to be life in the city of Sunny Isles Beach was mostly for retirees and snowbirds - but now the greatest proof of the younger, less seasonal population is the fact a K-8 public school will soon be built. Today, there really is “something for everyone” to appreciate all along Collins Avenue and interior neighborhoods…for example:

*For seniors who just couldn’t live without “early bird specials,” there are still some great Sunny Isles Beach restaurants catering to the “before six” dinner crowd – and some still even accept coupons!

*For moms and dads with baby strollers, Sunny Isles Beach parks are the perfect place to congregate – and soon there will even be a bathroom at the Town Center Park so they can keep coming back even after junior grows out of diapers!

*For young professionals, trendy Sunny Isles Beach venues like Bice at Le Meredien, Il Mulino New York at Acqualina and Timo on 176th and Collins are among hip scenes to be seen – but not in Bermuda shorts or flip flops…Today, trendsetters in the city are wearing Prada, Armani and Rolex.

*For tourists, there are still some classic bikini and sundry shops, but these days, it seems the most sought after souvenir is a second home in Sunny Isles Beach…Just think how many T-shirts, key chains and “sunny” snow globes would have to be sold to match the price of all the new oceanfront condos worth millions!

*For business people, now there’s an Aventura/Sunny Isles Beach Chamber of Commerce that regularly hosts networking events…A sure sign the city has transitioned from a “retirement” to a “vibrant” commerce environment – and who knows? Maybe in the not so distant future, the Chamber will be nicknamed “RK” – standing for “Renaissance King.”

Name Dropping

From Donald Trump and the Trumps of Williams Island – to Turnberry, Fortune International, the Related Group and J. Milton & Associates – some of the biggest names in the development industry have landed on Sunny Isles Beach. But ultimately, the most notoriety is being garnered by the city itself – as beautification, revitalization and capital improvement projects keep progressing almost faster than you can say, “Sunny Isles” – (Oops!! Saying the city’s name and dropping the word “Beach” could cost you a $5 fine).

If you’re one of the proud property owners privy to relishing life in the city on a daily basis, then put down the paper for a minute, stand up, state your name and take a bow – for there’s tremendous merit to what the great American poet Walt Whitman once said: “The genius of the United States is not best or most in its executives or legislatures, nor in its ambassadors or authors or colleges, or churches, or parlors, nor even in its newspapers or inventors, but always most in the[un]common people.”

Look for upcoming Life in the City columns in the Sunny Isles Beach Sun. To submit positive suggestions for city-related topics to highlight, email zauerbach@aol.com

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