OPRA Executive Director Mark Lesniak Featured on WLRN

OPRA is pleased to announce that our new Executive Director Mark Lesniak has been featured on the radio by Miami's WLRN in conjunction with the Miami Herald.   

 

Mark explains the concepts of Weed Bombing and "Tactical Urbanism"

 

You can listen to the story live on the Miami Herald website currently.

 

Downtown Miami's weed makes you see colors (ARTICLE)

 

On WLRN's blog post:

Weed Bombing in Overtown

 

The podcast and permanent link is below:

 

Downtown Miami's weed makes you see colors ( PODCAST)

"Building by building, block by block, we can implement low cost ideas to improve this city." - Mark Lesniak

Follow us on twitter @gcparkmiami and @weedbombing

Miami street artists participate in “weed bombing”

Miami street artists are beautifying a dilapidated neighborhood, one weed at a time.

Miami, FL September 12, 2011 — In an area mostly devoid on any color except for black asphalt, Miami street artists are brightening one of the most dilapidated areas of Downtown Miami, one weed at a time.

   Weed bombing is the act of converting overgrown weeds into works of street art by painting them various colors, thus adding a vibrancy to the neighborhood that did not exist before.  Bradley Knoefler, founder of the Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Association (OPRA), which organized the event stated “we used to cut the weeds ourselves, but it’s much more beneficial to beautify them and convert them into street art.  Unlike traditional graffitti, weed bombing doesn’t damage private or public property and has immediate benefits to our quality of life.”

“The idea is gaining traction among local street artists,” said Gregg Rivera, one of the participating artists “Wynwood has its graffitti walls, and Downtown we have our weeds.  They both are a blank canvas that street artists can use to practice their art.”  Knoefler hope the idea will catch on and traditional taggers will paint weeds instead of buildings.  “This way we can beautify the neighborhood through street art as opposed to degrading it.”

Follow: @WeedBombing and www.WeedBombing.com for more information

Letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald

The Grand Central Park project will beautify nearly five-acres of blight for a multi-year period in less than 30 days.  Using private cash or in-kind donations exceeding $100,000 the Omni Park West Redevelopment Association, a not-for-profit 501 (c)3 corporation, has already cleared the 5-acre site and planned.  The project will create a climate where civic pride and entrepreneurship becomes possible.  Our efforts will restore a site that for many represents broken dreams.  Grand Central Park’s impact on the thousands of surrounding residents will be enormous. 

Downtown residents are in dire need of public green space for the thousands of existing residents, which includes 3,000 new residents in nearby condominiums.  Surrounding local city parks are frequently closed to the public due to events or construction of new venues.   We hope to use our project as an example for other temporary parks on the vacant lots littering our fair City.  Though the park’s existence is finite in term, its impact on the neighborhood, its residents and perception of the area will certainly be lasting.

The stated purpose and legal mandate of the Community Redevelopment Agency is to reduce slum and blight.  Visible improvement to the area is needed to reverse the negative perception caused by empty lots in disrepair.   Redevelopment money is being spent on large projects or on a piecemeal basis.  Few of these projects improve the appearance of the neighborhood to residents or visitors by reducing slum and blight.  However, with the recent replacement of the Executive Director of the CRA and support from our elected officials like Commissioners Sarnoff and Dunn, we are positive that there is finally change on the horizon.

             The “broken window theory” has been proven time and time again in cities around the world.  Improving the streetscapes and providing park space can lure new life, as well as business into the area.  Activity and people create demand, which translates peripherally into investment and job creation.  Although the primary purpose of the park is quality of life and “urban activation”, we envision economic activities such as food concessions, new restaurants opening in adjacent buildings, and jobs created though events and other activities.

Under former Mayor Manny Diaz, the City of Miami attracted a world-class development boom to the Downtown and Brickell districts of Miami.  Three existing high rise residential towers and four new mega-condominiums along Biscayne Blvd. have added nearly 3,000 housing units to the Park West neighborhood since 2007.  With the ongoing construction of Museum Park – expected to last for years – there’s no green space within walking distance of these many thousands of residents. 

To our critics we must quote the Miami Heat’s LeBron James when he said, “"You’re always going to have people who love you and who hate you, I have enough motivation but I can always use a little more.".  The neighborhood’s largest tenant, the Miami Heat, is attracting crowds of up to 20,000 people into Park West.  Many of these visitors haven’t been to the Downtown Miami area in years.  Unfortunately, their first impression of the “new” Miami is blighted empty space and parking lots. 

Though there have been scant incidents of trouble, it isn’t unusual to hear Miami Heat patrons complain of fear for their safety walking through Park West.  The roughly thirty remaining dates represent the neighborhood’s best shot at reversing negative perception today, now. 

Our city of Miami, especially the poorest neighborhoods, needs drastic change, quickly.  We ask you to give us – who have resided in Park West for years now - a chance to change our neighborhood simply one step at a time.  If we try new ideas, we can change this City. 

Response to Ms. Sousa's Article in the Miami Herald

Thanks Ms. Sousa for your opinion piece, and for reaching out to Mr. McKnight for his thoughts. I agree that job creation has to be what we focus on every day in the redevelopment area. Something that your article could leave readers thinking is that Grand Central Park is another "mega project" or "white elephant" - which by definition it is not. Grand Central Park is a non-profit venture by a 501(c)(3), the Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Association. It's temporary, economically self sufficient, and a grass roots effort rather than a top down mandate. It's also important to point out that Miami has one of the lowest rates of park space in the U.S. and one the highest rates of vacant lots (most of them concentrated in the redevelopment area). Grand Central Park is a light weight (i.e., inexpensive) way to generate activity in the neighborhood and improve Miami's image around the country which today is as a city full of vacant lots and devoid of parks. Let's show people that we are innovative and will get behind new ideas!

The park eliminates a large swath of blighted land replacing it with a greenspace that will improve the quality of life for residents. There are dozens of vacant lots in the redevelopment area that collect trash and debris and this could also be a model for low-cost "gap fillers" to beautify the neighborhood (an effort that will generate jobs) between economic cycles. It will also bring activity to the neighborhood -- it's up to the community to take advantage of that. It's a tough nut to crack - there are no jobs, and almost zero economic activity in Overtown. If a relatively modest investment can bring people WEST from Biscayne Blvd and into the redevelopment area, that activity will support new local businesses. Mr. McKnight is right to point out that this project is not going to create hundreds of jobs, but it will create some and will generate activity that could support new businesses. Finally, the non-profit behind the project, Omni Parkwest Redevelopment Ass'n is also working with local community leaders to incorporate apprenticeship programs and encourage hands-on job training for local residents at the park.

At the end of the day decades have passed and Overtown has only gotten worse. This is an innovative idea that incorporates a lot of modern contemporary thought on sustainability, community building, and economic revitalization. I think its one of the smartest investments that the city could make and encourage people to learn more about it and ask questions or make suggestions.