Nightclub bass strikes discord in Miami Springs
It is all about that bass in Miami Springs as locals grapple with earth-shaking beats, from miles away, that has caused lots of treble.
“Protecting our hometown bliss has become exhausting,” Ari Diaz wrote on Nextdoor.com. “We are the hole in the donut, but the donut is out of control.”
Miami Springs is a three-square-mile “hole in the donut” north of Miami International Airport that was founded in 1926 by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss. Since Thanksgiving, its residents have lit up police switchboards in five jurisdictions demanding that outsiders dial things down.
“Late Friday night, November 26th, over twenty noise complaints were called into MSPD advising of loud music in the west end of the city,” Miami Springs Police Officer Janice Simon said in a press release. “MSPD officers were able to determine the loud music was not within the City of Miami Springs but rather it was coming from a club located on Milam Dairy Road.”
Simon did not name the club or provide an address in her police advisory. A public records request seeking more information about the calls and venue is under review by the City Clerk’s office.
Milam Dairy Road, also known as Northwest 72nd Avenue, runs south from the Town of Medley through an industrial-zoned portion of unincorporated Miami-Dade County that includes a budding marijuana dispensary and the soon-to-be-expanded Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
“On Saturday, November 27th, the Miami-Dade Police Department, Midwest District responded to a few loud noise complaints in the aforementioned area,” Detective Lee Cowart said. “Officers finally discovered the source of the loud noise. The source of loud noise complied with the officers’ request.”
A move to annex more land
Miami Springs is currently seeking to annex a swath of land along Northwest 72nd Avenue, but locals remain wary.
“What should be of a concern is all the crimes occurring due to the crackheads and violent criminals on 36th Street living in all those motels and hotels,” Eve Gonzalez wrote on the Miami Springs Facebook page. “My family house had to be sold due to the crime increase!”
About 10 years ago, the city annexed land near Northwest 36th Street and created an adult entertainment district that permits sex shops, lap dances, bondage, and humiliating activities, the city ordinance says.
Around the same time, city leaders pushed for rapid hotel expansion along its Northwest 36th Street corridor with pledges it would result in lower property-tax rates. However, Miami Springs’ property tax rates remain among the county’s highest with its current rate set at 7.2095 for every $1,000 of taxable home value.
Rising in lockstep with property taxes has been noise levels. For example, Miami Springs built 8-foot fences along parts of Northwest 36th Street, last July, after residents complained about ladies screaming and “immoral behavior” near hotels.
“Y’all realize we live behind an airport right? Marvis Garcia wrote on Facebook. “Noise from a Hialeah concert? How about that train that honks at 3 a.m.?”
Just west of Miami Springs lies the Florida East Coast Railway yard and late-night engines, including those moving liquid nitrogen gas “bomb trains” are required to sounds horns as a safety measure.
‘Thump, thump’ of the bass from miles away
But the mother of all noise, locals say, comes from miles away.
“Goodness, that’s in Miami, not Hialeah,” Martin Crossland, of Miami Springs, wrote on Nextdoor.com. “It must be incredibly loud as I can hear the ‘thump, thump’ of the bass way over on the 900 block of Plover in the dead of night.”
Crossland was one of more than 100 residents who posted noise complaints on social media, leading the City of Miami Springs, on Monday, to issue another press release.
“Last night [Dec. 5], again our city experienced an unacceptable level of noise coming from the Factory Town at 4800 NW 37th Ave in Hialeah, the City of Miami Springs press release said. “The City of Hialeah issued a permit for this outdoor concert without restrictions on complying with any type of noise ordinance.”
Hialeah police and a representative for the warehouse space did not respond to a request for comment from the Herald.
Factory Town is in an industrial-zoned section of Hialeah, bordering Miami’s Brownsville neighborhood, which is 3.1 miles away from Crossland’s Miami Springs’ home.
The area has a rich history for music venues, and in the 70s was home to one of the most popular underground hangouts in Miami’s history called “The Tree,” a bar at 3737 NW 46th Street, on the Hialeah border.
Several hundred calls were made to police agencies by Miami Springs residents, last weekend, about music they say has rattled nerves and windows.
Going forward, the Miami Springs Police Department has issued guidelines on how it will process complaints about music.
“If you are unsure where the music is coming from call MSPD, so they can attempt to locate its source,” Miami Springs police said in a statement. “If you are aware the music is coming from outside the City of Miami Springs you can help us by notifying the appropriate jurisdiction such as Miami-Dade police, (305) 476-5423; Hialeah police, (305) 687-252; or Medley police, (305) 883-2047.”
Locals are invited to sound-off about noise concerns at the next council meeting at 7 p.m. on Monday, Dec. 13, at 201 Westward Dr. It will be broadcast live at https://www.miamisprings-fl.gov/meetings.
Theo Karantsalis can be reached at karantsalis@bellsouth.net.