2019-10-31

Hello Key Biscayne!

This is not a funny edition of the Rag. This is a sad edition. You are expected to cry at the end, or at the very least feel the same emotion you do when you scroll past a Facebook post of a person trying to save a sea turtle. 🐢

This is one of many versions of the old ski dock (map). It was built by a bunch of 15 year old key rats. Keep that in mind for later.

The ski dock c. 2005

Jesus he knows me Remember when St. Paul wrote in one of his letters that the bigger and better your church, the more likely you’ll get to heaven? Parishioners at St. Agnes have already pledged $10m for an $18m project which will build a new church, gym, and more. The press release has some great images and a flyover video, but the 45 minute presentation on the extra-plush, corinthian leather kneelers seems a bit much.🇻🇦

(St. Agnes)

New hue Key Biscayne Shopping Center (Winn Dixie, Novecento) is changing its colors. They’re switching out the green lettering for blue. All the shops will switch to blue letters on the off-white background, while Winn Dixie will have it inverted, if the zoning request is correct.

This is how the signs will look, except instead of 'Whole Foods' it'll say 'Winn Dixie.'

(Village KB)

On Tuesday the Council voted to officially ban fishing from the Mashta bridge. The writing had been on the wall since they instituted the need for a fishing permit, but for a while it did seem like it might survive.

With the ban, there’s the immediate loss for anyone who wanted to fish there. But while over 100 people signed a petition to stop the ban, only a handful of key rats actually had a permit.

No, the loss here is a loss of another unsanctioned Key Biscayne activity. Back in 2005 you could still drive a few cars with your friends to an empty lot on Mashta point and hang out all night listening to music. Up until a few years ago you could putt-putt your boat to Nixon beach and sit on the sand, then head over to the ski dock to watch the sunset.

For those of you who never partook in these activities, we can look to the current Beach Park. You can go out there right now and have a barbecue with all your friends, or organize a birthday party on a whim. Yet it’s not hard to imagine a future where that becomes an attractive nuisance, and then you need permission and there’s strict rules for any kind of gathering.

This ain’t a plea to nostalgia. Change is inevitable and we gotta move on. This is a plea for more free spaces. The answer to feeling like it’s now too dangerous for key kids to play in the street isn’t to box them into a community center, it’s to fight for those streets.

The fishing bridge is really just another loss of unsanctioned space. You see how sad that is? Alexa play “Despacito”.

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