By Susan Simpson, Cultural and Human Services Director

On a beautiful sunny Saturday morning of January 30, 2010, City of Sunny Isles Beach Mayor Norman Edelcup and the City Commission dedicated the Beach Access at 195th Street and Collins Avenue in memory of Sunny Isles Beach pioneer Bennett M. Lifter.

Bennett M. Lifter was one of the first developers in the area formerly known as Sunny Isles now Sunny Isles Beach. He developed landmark hotels such as the Marco Polo Beach Resort, which still draws visitors to the area today, along with the Waikiki Resort Motel.

Through his relentless efforts Mr. Lifter brought notability to the Sunny Isles Beach community donating his time, expertise and monies for the betterment of Sunny Isles Beach and its citizens. Mr. Lifter recently passed away and Mayor Edelcup and the City Commission wishes to honor him for his dedication to the City by naming the Beach Access located at 195th Street and Collins Avenue as the “Bennett M. Lifter Beach Access.”

Born in Philadelphia in 1925, the son of Daniel and Helene Lifter, he and his family migrated to Miami Beach in 1936, where Bennett's father, Daniel, partnered with Eden Roc owner Morris Lansburgh in the Versailles, Sans Souci, Sherry Frontenac, Flamingo, Gulfstream and Deauville hotels.

Mr. Lifter graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School in 1943 and enlisted in the Army Specialized Training Program. He was then transferred into the 86th Infantry "Blackhawk division" where he served in both the European and Pacific theaters of battle during the Second World War. He was awarded numerous commendations, including the bronze star for "Gallantry in Action" at the crossing of the Danube River. He studied at the University of Pennsylvania and later transferred to the University of Miami, where he earned his JD in 1950. While he practiced law for a short time, Lifter found his true calling in Real Estate and Land Development.

The son of a hotelier, he carried on his father's legacy with the construction and operation of the Marco Polo Hotel and Waikiki Motel, both in Sunny Isles. He was not only successful in his business endeavors, but in all aspects of life. He thought it important to contribute to society and penned several books, including "The Sky's the Limit", and was responsible for the authoring of "Miami Beach Memories". He was active in local civic affairs, serving on the Miami-Dade County Advisory Board, the South Florida Builders' Association, and was a founder and director of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. He supported numerous organizations including the University of Miami and the United Way. He was a founder at Mt. Sinai Hospital and a contributor to several Jewish organizations including the Greater Miami Jewish Federation.

He was a longstanding member of Temple Beth Shalom in Miami Beach. He was a stalwart family man and despite his professional achievements, took the greatest pride in his family and their accomplishments. He is survived by his devoted wife Bayla, son Aaron, daughters Nancy Wolin, Susan Zeitlin and Hilary Kates (Steven), grandchildren Samantha, Raquel, Leah, Jessica, Ben and Sam, and stepson Danny Bartell of Denver, CO. He is also survived by his sister Adele Rubin.

His family was present at the recent Bennett M. Lifter Beach Access Dedication. Below is the speech given by Mr. Lifter’s wife Bayla Lifter at the Beach Access Dedication ceremony.“This morning is a very special day for all of us. This morning we dedicate the 195th Street Beach Access in honor of a pioneer, Bennett M. Lifter.

If you’ll indulge me, take a look about three blocks south and see what was once the crowned jewel of Sunny Isles and Bennett’s greatest pride, the Marco Polo hotel. This 500-room hotel, built by Bennett and his father, Dan, truly put this little stretch of beach in our little corner of paradise on the map. Gaining worldwide recognition as a vacation destination because of the Marco Polo Hotel and other motels along the strip, including Bennett’s Waikiki Beach Motel, Sunny Isles became a favorite location for Western Europeans, Canadians and snowbirds alike. It is because of Bennett and his contemporaries that this City started down the path of growth, development and prosperity.

Decades after the ribbon was cut on the steps of the Marco Polo, Sunny Isles was incorporated into the City of Sunny Isles beach, and it is with much gratitude and recognition that I take the time to now recognize and thank the current leadership of that City. Mayor Edelcup and the other distinguished members of the City Commission, thank you for sponsoring and supporting this honorable memorialization of my husband. On behalf of the entire Lifter family, I thank you. But it is also important to remember others instrumental in the procurement of this honor; Rose Rice who was with Bennett for close to three decades and Ron Kent who traveled the world with Bennett promoting the hotel, motel, and Sunny Isles in general. Thank you both for turning this day into a reality.

As the fog lifts every morning from the beach, a new day begins. So too has the City of Sunny Isles Beach begun new days, time and time again. Like Bennett who could adapt and change with the tide, the current expansion began to shift in the early 1990s to condo development. Bennett knew he needed to make a metaphorical jib and catch the wind. So he did. But just as the fog lifts every morning, it is without exception the waves break on the sandy shore and similarly, Bennett was a stickler for continuity and sticking with it.

Having led the charge for gambling, Bennett maintained his adamant position and support of this venture until his final days, even when he had nothing to profit by it. Rather, he was a man of principal and believed that it would bring in more dollars and continue to foster the economic growth of South Florida. I bring this up only to point out the sort of man my husband was and will always remain a principled man, a rational man, a devoted man and a man who stuck with his ideals through and through; even when they weren’t necessarily the popular thing.

So today we dedicate this memorial to a man who would never ask for it, but who is certainly and without question deserving of it. We dedicate this beach access to a founding pioneer of Sunny Isles Beach, to an advocate for change and renewal, to a man who cared deeply beyond his own self, to a man pious about progress and growth.

Today we name this access in his honor; Bennett would be so very proud and thankful that the city decreed him worthy of such an honor. And so in his stead, I would once again express my gratitude, the gratitude of our son, the gratitude of our daughters and the gratitude of our grandchildren to the City of Sunny Isles Beach, Mayor Edelcup and the distinguished members of the City Commission for sponsoring and passing the resolution making this day possible and to Rose Rice and Ron Kent for being the catalyst that formed the precipitate you see behind me. But most importantly, I want to thank my husband, Bennett for being the man he was not only to me and his family, but as you can plainly see, for the man he was to the community at large; a finer man more deserving of this dedication there never was.”