After entertaining guests from out of town guests recently and seeing how dirty some areas of Miami Beach were, I left thinking that the mayor and commissioners should take immediate action. My guests had not been here since the late ’90s and they said that the Beach has lost all of its charm.
I usually stay on Lincoln or further north and do not frequent the areas of Washington Avenue, Fifth Street and Ocean Drive. There, the storefronts are dirty and display merchandise in an unappealing manner.
All of Ocean Drive, which my guests remembered as having so much charm, looked neglected. Besides a few properties such as the Tides, the Betsy and the Victor, which are expensive hotels, everything else needs some TLC — and a pressure cleaning.
At 11 a.m., there were a few drunken people sleeping on the Art Deco bus bench in front of the Loews hotel, empty bottles on the ground. The bench looked like it had not been cleaned or painted for years. The sidewalks could not have had more gum on them.
Miami Beach is the main attraction when tourists arrive. But it does not look like what they see on TV. The mayor needs to walk around the streets and see it for herself. It is disgraceful and embarrassing to have this area reflect the best the city has to offer.
Alex Borges, Miami
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