“Despite being under no obligation to accommodate an onsite memorial, DAMAC has attended and partook in discussions with Surfside Commissioners and members of the Town’s Memorial Committee more than a year ago, to discuss the potential to incorporate a memorial on the property,” she wrote. In the email to WLRN, DeMaria−Kohne noted the judge’s actions in approving the sale and pointed out that “there is no condition of the sale requiring a memorial to be located on the site.” “DAMAC strongly objects to any inference of wrongdoing,” she added.ĭAMAC International originally purchased the 1.8-acre site for $120 million after a Miami judge approved the sale as part of a settlement with victims’ families and property owners. Miami Herald Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger outside Surfside Town Hall after his election in March of 2022. “This allowed them to meet for the first time and casually discuss the developer’s plan for 8777 Collins Avenue and how a memorial might be accommodated on site.” “During this stopover the Mayor of Surfside attended a meeting, suggested by senior management at DAMAC International, to meet with the DAMAC Chairman,” DeMaria−Kohne wrote. She said the stop in Dubai was part of the mayor’s planned trip “to Israel for his son’s graduation," which the mayor addressed publicly in a commission meeting in February, after the Miami Herald's story on it the month before. The developer “did not pay for any flights, accommodation or any other expenses incurred by the Mayor during his stay,” DeMaria-Koehne wrote in her email to WLRN on behalf of DAMAC International. Tensions have grown between families and the mayor since it was learned earlier this year that he had traveled last year to Dubai and met with the billionaire developer without letting families know about the trip beforehand or disclosing what they talked about.ĭanzinger’s Dubai meeting last October with the developer only became public after DAMAC officials last January confirmed the meeting to the Miami Herald. The Dubai-based developer, DAMAC International, bought the site last year and plans to build a luxury condo building. “The developer understands the unique and significant sensitivities involved with this property and remains committed to addressing concerns and to maximizing benefits for stakeholders while also ensuring privacy for future residents of its exclusive boutique condominium," she wrote. READ MORE: Critics question Surfside mayor's relationship with Dubai developer 3 email to WLRN, DAMAC spokesperson Sissy DeMaria-Koehne said the July 25 town meeting included “misinformation and misconceptions” about the developer's plans for the site and his talks in Dubai last year with Surfside Mayor Shlomo Danzinger. In exchange, he told the commission that the developer would get some additional footage.Ĭritics said they felt the mayor wasn't fully transparent in presenting the proposal, noting that he visited the DAMAC International headquarters in Dubai to hold talks with the development company chairman Hussain Sajwani without announcing the visit publicly beforehand.Ī spokesperson for DAMAC International told WLRN the developer did not plan or pay for Danzinger's visit. The final vote was 3−2 in opposition.Ĭommission opponents - Nelly Velasquez, Marianne Meischeid and Fred Landsman - cited lack of clarity, lack of support from families and concerns over potential benefits for the developer for, in part, voting against the plan at the July 25 meeting.Ī number of relatives of those killed in the 2021 collapse have called for a memorial to be constructed on the same land Danzinger had proposed a compromise to include part of the memorial on that land, and presented it at the last town meeting on July 25. The previous week, it had rejected the proposal advanced by Mayor Shlomo Danzinger to extend the Surfside victims' memorial from 88th Street onto the beachfront condo site where the building collapsed on June 24, 2021. A proposal before the Surfside town commission has failed - at least for now - to extend a memorial on the beachfront property where 98 people died when the Champlain Towers South condominium building collapsed more than two years ago.Īt its meeting Tuesday night, Surfside commissioners did not bring up the issue for a new vote.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |