Commentary
A Tale of Two Parks
In December 2022 Commissioner Joe Carollo as chairman of the Bayfront Management Trust (BMT) unveiled his controversial Dog and Cat Walkway Sculpture Garden. By Michael Feuling.
The project has been surrounded by controversy since its inception, including the resignation of a BMT board member for the way the project was rushed through for approval of the $896,000 no competitive bid for the fabrication of the sculptures. It was also widely reported that the Perez Museum was in opposition to the concept and was allowed no input into the project which leads up to the entrance of the Herzog de Meuron designed museum.
Just last week numerous workers and a cement truck were seen extending the project. Carollo continues to ignore the park’s master plan which specifies that foliage and landscaping in the park be native to South Florida. The landscaping chosen by Carollo is more reminiscent of a Home Depot Garden Center than a professionally landscaped tropical garden.
As Carollo’s perfectly manicured Dog and Cat Garden expands, he ignores the rest of the 30-acre park. One only needs to walk through the park south of the Cats and Dogs Garden, which represents 90% of the park, the portion mainly used by Downtown residents, to see trash cans in need of replacement, broken sprinklers that have not been replaced or upgraded, resulting in brown and weed infested patches of grass and dead landscaping. Carollo’s neglect is not only confined to Maurice Ferré Park. Bayfront Park, the other Downtown Park that is managed (or mismanaged) by the BMT, suffers from the same neglect. One example: the park’s signature fountain has been inoperable for years.
Further adding to residents’ frustrations, phone calls and emails to report maintenance issues to the BMT go unanswered. What’s the solution? Our downtown parks should be managed by a Conservancy, not a politician who is attempting to turn our park into distorted Disneyland rather than the world class urban park it was envisioned to be.
Michael Feuling is a Park West resident.
