Monday, February 10, 2014

Neighbors to demand West Palm Beach shut down 45th Street Flea... | www.mypalmbeachpost.com

Here is an example of neighborhoods working together to address a serious issue. It is made more complicated by the fact that the property that contains the 45th Street Flea Market straddles two jurisdictions, West Palm Beach and Mangonia Park. Reading the article, click title for link, it seems as though the cities have problems regulating the businesses within the property. Some may be unlicensed. The property owner is pointing to the neighborhoods as a source of the crime problem. Mayor Muoio is wading through this thorny issue. From the article:
On Monday, residents of the Echo Lakes, Westfield and North Shore associations will meet with the mayor to outline “the damaging, deleterious and sometimes deadly impact the Flea Market has had on their communities for nearly a quarter of a century,” Jacqueline Smith of Concerned Residents of Westfield said in a release.
She said the residents also want “to vigorously counter the assertion of the Flea Market owners and manager that their neighborhoods are crime-ridden and need to be cleaned up.” Property Owner Sidney Spiegel had said at the Jan. 28 meeting it’s not his fault the market is surrounded by an area plagued by crime.