After 11 years and counting, hurricane-damaged Upper East Side boat ramp to be fixed
A dock damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005, closed to the public in 2009 and ignored by the city of Miami since then is finally under repair. If you’ve been longing to launch a boat into Biscayne Bay from the Upper East Side, you need only wait until early next year — and what’s another year when it’s already been 11?
The Legion Park dock and boat ramp, dilapidated and unkempt yet so tempting as a beautiful bayfront access point, will be rebuilt by February 2021, according to the city’s Office of Capital Improvements.
The office assured residents the fenced-off property blighted by rotting seaweed and trash at the eastern end of Northeast 64th Street in the MiMo District will be nicer than ever, and will have a kayak launch eventually — a feature it didn’t have before.
The city had to ask for an extension on a $740,139 construction grant from the Florida Inland Navigation District that is due to expire in September. A previous $50,000 design grant from the district awarded in 2015 expired in 2018 when the city failed to submit a plan before deadline. Residents were infuriated by that lapse, which led to further delays in repairs.
“We hadn’t seen any quarterly status reports on the plan from the city since the grant was authorized in 2018,” said Spencer Crowley, Miami-Dade commissioner for the navigation district, which uses tax money to help fund Intracoastal Waterway projects. “They have now provided those reports and our board will consider an extension at our July meeting. Typically extensions are given but we try not to give automatic extensions. We want to make sure the money is deployed to improve public waterways.”
The half-submerged 12-foot dock, its three disconnected pilings and the fenced-off ramp are cited by the National Marine Manufacturers Association as a national example of derelict, deteriorating boating infrastructure “where people are struggling to get on the water.”
“How shameful and embarrassing,” Eileen Bottari wrote to the city on June 12. Bottari, a Friends of Legion Park member who has advocated for improvements for years, urged city leaders not to allow another grant to go to waste. “Where is the leadership? Where is the oversight and accountability?”
One vital piece of the plan that residents requested is still missing: A proper kayak launch. Hector Badia, interim director of capital improvements, said he would try to insert a launch into the plan, and would apply for more grant money to add two kayak launches on the shoreline in Legion Park.
“We’ve been clamoring for a kayak launch because kayaking is very popular. The launch would also serve canoes, paddleboards, windsurfers and small sailboats, and this is an ideal spot to launch into the prevailing wind,” said Elvis Cruz, a community activist who lives in neighboring Morningside.
“The city said it would make a good faith effort to put the launch into the construction plan, but how much faith can you put in a city that’s taken 11 years to fix this public asset?”
Mayor Francis Suarez weighed in on the dialogue by sending an email to Badia: “Kayak ramps are sorely needed and I’m totally in favor of it.”
The city agreed to remove the fence on the north side of the parking lot in order to connect it to Legion Park and will install picnic tables, grills and benches.
Why has it taken so long?
“This project was more complicated than typical as raising the elevation of the seawall and parking area were required,” Badia said in an email, explaining that the navigation district grant will cover half the cost. “Aside from permits from the State of Florida and federal government, Miami-Dade County requires formal approval by the Board of County Commissioners, thus requiring a lengthier than usual review process.”
But 11 years?
“Why has the Morningside Park swimming pool been closed for five years? Why were the Morningside picnic area restrooms closed for 10 years? Why have the Kennedy Park restrooms been closed for 10 years?” Cruz said. “Unless citizens are constantly pushing the city, its default position is to do nothing. I call it public sector minimalism. It’s abhorrent.”
The dock was first damaged by Hurricane Wilma in 2005. Then in 2009, a woman from the neighborhood, who does not want to be identified by name, was injured when she fell through a missing section of the dock while trying to maneuver her boat onto a trailer. She sued the city and won $54,000 in damages. The dock, ramp and parking lot were closed.
