Saturday, January 16, 2021

Bryant Park Neighborhood Newsletter 01 16 21

 Friends and Neighbors,

We hope you're all having an excellent start to the new year! There are many concerns over a wide variety of topics surrounding our neighborhood so let's get to it:

Upcoming Bryant Park Neighborhood Association Meeting: Monday, January 25 @ 7:00pm via Zoom. Please mark your calendars. Invite to follow.

Upcoming March Elections For Mayor And Commission Seats In Districts 1, 2 and 3:

It's Election Time again in the City Of Lake Worth Beach.

Debates with the candidates will be held soon by the NAPC, (Neighborhood Association Presidents Council)  in 4 separate presentations. To maintain the secrecy of the questions, all 4 will be presented publicly through the NAPC YouTube channel after they have been recorded.

It is also traditional for the various neighborhoods throughout the city to hold their own debates, forums, and Neighborhood Association meet and greets with the candidates. Bryant Park, being the first neighborhood association many years ago to hold their own debates, will be doing so again this year. As there are quite a few candidates this year, 13 in all for Mayor and Commissioners for Districts 1, 2, and 3, the debates will have to be broken into 2 or more sessions, and will be held via Zoom at the end of February, dates to be determined.

Neighborhood members are asked to submit your questions for the candidates via email in advance of the debates. 

Also NAPC related:

The NAPC has extra money in their coffers and are asking for ideas on how to spend it. Please let us know if you have any ideas!

Gulfstream Hotel: 

Due to the pandemic situation, the buyers are still trying to secure all the necessary financing, so for the time being there is not much new to report unfortunately. The city is helping and working with them.

A City Parking study for South L and South M Streets and the downtown area, has been paid for by the city, but no results are yet available. Due to the concerns from residents in the Gulfstream Condominiums regarding costs to continue parking on the property owned by the Gulfstream Hotel, a lawsuit has been started involving the City of Lake Worth Beach. The condos will be meeting with the City soon.

Historic 17 South M Street House Tentatively Being Moved to Bryant Park:

Voted on 4 to 1 at the last commission meeting with no input from the residents of the city or neighborhood. Herman Robinson was the one dissenting vote. What does this mean for us?

The City Manager has secured the needed funding to begin the initial plans to move this historic and recently refurbished structure. However, specifically where it will move has not yet been determined. The City Manager has suggested Bryant Park, in the area near the jetty to be used potentially for community events and organization activities. However, he has been made aware that our Neighborhood Association has not been included in any conversations about this proposed move, and that we would expect such an opportunity.

Our District 4 Commissioner, Herman Robinson, is concerned with this very significant and noticeable move that would be seen by all city residents and visitors alike. He has brought those concerns to the full commission to ensure that an appropriate location selection is considered to maintain neighbors' views and to be best utilized and appreciated.

Is this concerning to you? If so, please reach out to us.

Ocean Breeze and North Ocean Breeze:

There has been some concern among neighbors this week about the street name of Ocean Breeze being changed to South Ocean Breeze largely due to a new sign that has been erected at Lake Ave and Ocean Breeze that has added "S" before the street name. This is not an official or city sanctioned change.

An authorized change by the city and subsequently with the post office requires an official vote. The city commission had conducted a vote to change North O street to North Ocean Breeze, as the result of the Parrot Cove Neighborhood Association requesting it.

However, the idea of changing Ocean Breeze to South Ocean Breeze has not been requested by our Neighborhood Association, nor brought up by the City Commission. According to District 4 Commissioner Herman Robinson, the city has no plans to put it up for a vote.

If anyone is still concerned, the BPNA Board members voted unanimously to send a letter to the city commission clearly stating our opposition to any name change. Our neighbor, Jane Thomas, is also working on a petition and if you'd like more information on that please contact her directly- therealjanethomas@gmail.com

Birthday Cake Castle: 

You may have noticed the large event held at the home in early December, and you may have also seen commercial grade catering equipment on the property. Be assured, the city is aware of what they have been up to. While the owners of this home intended to run a destination location for outdoor events, this property is located in a Residentially Zoned area, they Do Not have a business license, and the city says they have no plans to grant them one. 

To even be considered, they would have to receive a zoning variance to Commercial Zoning by way of the Historic Preservation Board and city staff recommendation, and then finalized by a City Commission vote with public and neighborhood association input and support...all very unlikely.

The home is on our neighborhood border with the South Palm Park Neighborhood, and they too have notified the city of their concerns including noise, traffic, and parking. If this is concerning to you, please attend a commission meeting and take the opportunity to speak at the public input portion of the meeting or consider writing to your commissioners.

Next Regular City Commission meeting Tuesday, January 19, 2021:

Neighborhood Improvements and Safety Updates-

Your Neighborhood Association asked, and the city responded. More sidewalks are being repaired! However, traffic issues continue as we've heard new concerns over increased speeding and wrong way driving on 5th Ave S & S Lakeside. The city says they will be erecting new reflective poles and other traffic calming devices in this area to reinforce the single direction flow of traffic. 

We feel that we have noticed an increased Sheriff's presence in the area, again, because our local neighborhoods have let the City and PBSO leadership know, which is helpful, but we know many of us have seen more wrong way driving lately and there is still room for improvement.

Road Improvements are still a challenge, regarding 1st and 2nd Avenues surrounding the Gulfstream property as the city plans to make upgrades there once redevelopment has begun and not before then. Still, we have been asking for those and other nearby areas to be reconsidered for a sooner update.

*Our commissioner Herman Robinson laid out his new year's resolutions and hopes for the city of Lake Worth Beach and it is definitely worth a read. Check it out here:  https://www.facebook.com/herman.robinson.9

PBSO Update:   

Heightened crime data during the holidays including a couple of shootings in other neighborhoods in LWB, plus unfortunately another shooting this week off of 17th Avenue North. According to Capt. Baer's latest update, "It was domestic violence where there was a specific victim." Also from his latest newsletter:

 "We conducted a prostitution operation yesterday. Five prostitutes were charged with offering to commit prostitution.

 *Community Policing: Hopefully you are seeing and interacting with our deputies out there. They have been doing more park, walk and talk activity and we have been using other vehicles such as bicycles and ATV’s which make us more approachable. Lt. Lavigna and I had a good meeting last night with local pastors from south end churches."

Trends include:

• Burglaries to Vehicles
• Robberies to Persons
• Shootings – In LWB and many other cities countywide
• Business Burglaries – Looking for tools

COVID-19 Vaccine: 

Via the City newsletter- "As we embark on the journey of a New Year there is long awaited news about the next step in our fight against COVID-19, the vaccines are starting to become available in Palm Beach County. To ensure that the vaccine goes where it is most needed first, Governor DeSantis has ordered (EO 20-315) that the first wave of vaccines will go to individuals in the following priority groups:Long-term care facility residents and staff.Persons 65 years of age and older.Health care personnel with direct patient contact.Persons deemed to be extremely vulnerable to COVID-19 by hospital providers.The Florida Department of Health will be distributing the vaccine by appointment only and strictly to those who meet the requirements in the Governor's order. If you, or a loved one, is in one of the priority groups you can make an appointment by emailing chd50feedback@flhealth.gov. In your email you must include the name, phone number, and date of birth of the person who will be receiving the vaccine. Questions about the vaccine should be directed to your primary care provider.

Further information about the vaccine can be found at these resources: https://discover.pbcgov.org/coronavirus/Pages/vaccine.aspx

If you have questions about COVID-19 you should contact 1-866-779-6121 or email COVID19@flhealth.gov.

The City of Lake Worth Beach will continue to work with our partners at Palm Beach County and the Florida Department of Health to ensure our residents remain healthy during this pandemic, however the City is not involved in the deployment and administration of the vaccine.

Although the deployment of the vaccine is the beginning of the end, COVID-19 remains a threat. Residents should continue to follow the guidance from the CDC for their own safety and the safety of those around them.

Continue to social distance, wear a mask, and wash your hands regularly."

MLK events:  Please see attached flyer for additional info 

Lake Worth Kiwanis Club needs help to get the word out about this year's events. Due to Covid, note that the annual breakfast is now a brunch, to be held outside at Bryant Park by the Bandshell at 11 am on MLK Monday (January 18th).

There is a Candlelight March at 4:30 pm.

No dinner is planned, but a Commemorative Program will begin at 5:30 pm at the Cultural Plaza.

Masks required for all events. Please see attached flyer and feel free to share and post. Keep an eye on the Kiwanis Facebook page for further information.

CRA Updates: 

Tax Workshop presented by the SBA & SBDC – Fort MyersNavigating Taxes during Unprecedented TimesWednesday, January 20, 2021 from 11:00am to 12:30pm 

Call for Volunteers:

Via an email sent to Lake Worth Beach NAPC- 
"In a partnership between The City of Lake Worth Beach and The School District of Palm Beach County, The Mayor's Education Taskforce is requesting citizen input and support for our LWB schools. The goal of this committee is to strengthen the connections between our schools, principals, city and community. Participants will have the opportunity to hear from the SDPBC leadership and work on developing additional supports for our schools and students. This taskforce is particularly important due to the impact that the COVID pandemic and distance learning/teaching is having on our children. We will meet virtually until it is safe to meet in person, once a month, beginning in February.
If you are interested in participating please email
Thank you very much. I am also available to answer any questions that you may have."

Erica Whitfield, School Board Member, District 4


New & Upcoming Events from Leisure Services: Please see attached flyers for more info

Via an email from the Department of Leisure Services head Lauren Bennett:
  • We are currently accepting registration for Adult Basketball, Youth Basketball Clinics and Flag football. Registration can be found at lakeworthbeachfl.gov 

  • Registration is also open for Youth Baseball and Softball. Please visit Phippsparkbaseball.com for more info. 
  • Season has started for Youth Soccer but we still have a few spots left. For more information please call Nick at (561) 221-1595 

  • Save the Date- City staff are working on a Family Date Night on Saturday, February 13th. More details to come soon. 
  • We will be hosting a socially distanced Kids’ Field Day on February 27th. We sure hope to see a lot of participation 😊 

  • The LWB Library is now renting wifi hot spots! Details below:

Check out a TMobile Hot Spot from the Lake Worth Beach City Library. If you have a City Library card you can check out a hot spot for 2 weeks to use at home or on the go.

Mobile hotspots can connect more than just a laptop to the web. They’ll work with a tablet, a camera, and pretty much any other Wi-Fi enabled device. With a mobile hot spot, you can bring Wi-Fi with you wherever you go.

A fully charged mobile hot spot’s battery can provide up to 17 hours of service. Video streaming and Zoom applications may drain the battery at a faster rate.

The Library’s mobile hot spots are provided through a 1 year grant from SEFLIN (South East Florida Library and Information Network).

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With all the changes going on in the neighborhood and the city we hope that you will join us in voicing your opinion and getting involved with local issues that matter to you. As always, feel free to reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for the neighborhood. Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,

Courtney Kline, Secretary and Marshall Pass, President
Bryant Park Neighborhood Association

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Bryant Park Neighborhood Association