…That the president of Haiti, Michel Martelly, a/k/a North Miami mayor Andre Pierre’s “Our President,” is coming to our shores on Monday? I bet you didn’t!
Apparently, it’s a huge secret since not one word of it was printed in the newspaper OR on our City’s website.
What’s that, you say? What does North Miami Beach have to do with this event? Glad you asked that question.
Instead of gracing the sacred ground of Andre Pierre’s Home Away From His Real Home with his presence, El Presidente is coming to North Miami Beach! Isn’t that special? And, he’s commandeering your library for the entire day!
If you take a gander on the NMB website, you’ll see a notice about our library stating simply, “The City of North Miami Beach Public Library will be closed on Monday, December 10, 2012. The Library will reopen on Tuesday, December 11th. We apologize for any inconvience this may cause.”
(No, I did not misspell “inconvenience.” Whichever genius posted this non-informational comment did.)
Well, now you know why the library is closed. The event includes seminars and speeches all about Haitians and Haiti. Andre Pierre (and his Pod-mate Frantzie) must be ecstatic! The public is not invited.
On top of that, I’m told that the city’s library employees were given a day off with pay. On top of that, I’m told that Monsieur Martelly will be also using the amphitheater on Monday night to give his “State of the County” address. WTF? I had no idea that the president of Haiti knows anything about the state of our County, which is still called Miami-Dade last time I checked. Even though I’m sure Andre Pierre would love to rename it Port au Prince County. I’m just saying.
In any event, the library is off limits to all residents of North Miami Beach on Monday, so don’t even bother trying to check out or return any books. If this “inconvience” causes you to incur any late fees, just put it on Martelly’s tab. I understand he’s running one, courtesy of Assistant City Manager Mac Serda.
What’s that you say? How much is this event going to cost the taxpaying residents of North Miami Beach? For starters, Mr. Serda received a check in the amount of $25,000.00 dollars from the Haitian Embassy, which I’m told is a 50% deposit for all our costs. I’m also told that the Haitian Ambassador was highly insulted that we had the audacity to ask him to pay any of it in advance. The very NERVE of us!
I’m also told that the cost to babysit, er, um, bodyguard Martelly is approximately $40,000.00. I’m guessing that means most, if not all of our cops will be on security duty. If that’s the case, don’t bother calling 911 unless your house is on fire, since our fire service is provided by the County and not the city. If it’s a little old burglary, purse snatching or car theft, well, that’s what the Second Amendment is for. Be prepared.
IF the $25,000.00 check clears, which we won’t know until at least Monday (when it’s too late to cancel and kick everyone out of the library), we’ll then have to wait and see if the Haitian Embassy will pony up for the balance due. If not, guess who will be stuck with the tab?
Considering that it was like pulling teeth just to get a deposit, I’m not holding my breath. Are you?
Stephanie Kienzle
“Spreading the Wealth”
Who is invited to the State of our county address? Are ALL costs, including police, covered by the Haitian Embassy? Will there be traffic problems in NMB on Monday? Will crowd control be a problem? WTF does the president of Haiti have to do with our county? WTF? I have to move the hell out of NMB. Is anyone from County government attending? Why is the Haitian president -or the president of any country – involved in local issues? Is Homeland Security aware of this? OH MY GOD!
To clarify, Mr. Martelly will be giving Haiti’s “State of the Country” address, even though the invitation emailed to council and dignitaries was misspelled as “State of the County.” Must have been the same expert speller who posted the library notice on the city’s website. I was just being snarky about it being the “State of the County.”
Aside from that, the Haitian president thinks nothing of involving himself in our local politics. Don’t forget that he got in the middle of the race between Congresswoman Frederica Wilson and her opponent last summer, which made her so angry she almost blew her lid. Hat and all 🙂
I’m also told now that NMB cops will not be the only police presence on Monday. Officers from the police departments of North Miami, Aventura, and FDLE, as well as the Secret Service, will be on hand. Hopefully, this show of force will stop any havoc from being wreaked. But the traffic should be horrendous. I was advised by a member or our police department to avoid the area if at all possible.
After seeing what goes down in North Miami, it would not have surprised me at all if it was meant to be “State of the County”. Didn’t Pierre invite everyone from his homeland to move here? Nothing would surprise me anymore.
What sort of turnout does NMBPD expect? It is a congested area on a normal day.
I believe they expect an enormous crowd in the evening. I don’t think the daytime event will draw much of a crowd since it’s by invitation only, but the security outside the library might be problematic. All in all, it will be a good place to avoid. Which will be hard to do if you live right around there or plan to do any Christmas shopping at Walmart.
And why has this been such a secret? We get notice when the President of the United States comes to Miami. OMG it is a gosh darn conspiracy. If the President of Haiti is going to be involved with anything local, I would expect that the City of North Miami Beach has notified Homeland Security. STATE OF COUNTY? OMG, I have never heard of anything like this in my life! Welcoming immigrants from other countries is one thing, but welcoming foreign leaders to involve themselves in local issues is another. Where do we draw the line? OMG. I am floored. SHOCKED. And, if this is happening in NMB, why are not residents notified of possible traffic problems or crowd control problems? OMG what the hell is going on here? I need to follow the yellowbrick road to another city. Unfortunately, if we have this going on, many more may be on the way out of here. STATE OF OUR COUNTY? OMG!!!
See my comment above. Then again, go ahead and run with “State of the County.” That cracks me up.
Has the Superintendent of Miami Dade County Public Schools been notified that there may be a crowd control problem in the library area near the schools? God Forbid something happens to one of the school children because of a crowd control problem.
Haiti has received Federal Funds to put their country back together and people in our city want to send donations but the Haitian Government can afford to pay $40,000 to send their president to speak about the STATE OF OUR COUNTY?
I’m shocked! Did this matter go before the Council, or is this being done by order of King George of NMB? I mean I already got we don’t have a representative form of government here. Nothing but pure oligarchy.
I can certainly understand and respect that this is very exciting to the Haitian community but I cannot understand why it is being kept a secret from all of the residents of NMB. If there is a possiblity of a crowd control problem or traffic pattern problem on Monday, then we should be notified by the City of North Miami Beach. I can understand security issues for a foreign leader but what about the needs of the residents?
Then I’d bet you knew all about it! Of course you’d need to understand Creole. There is that.
Unbelievable and Anonymous, you should direct your questions and righteous indignation directly (and righteously) toward the council and city manager of North Miami Beach. E-mail addresses “conviently” located at http://www.citynmb.com, where you will NOT find an explanation for the library’s Monday closure.
https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/302801_552925855755_1660127954_n.jpg
Here’s the flier for the State of the Country for anyone who wants to go. I’ll be at work, but I’ll likely poke around the library to see what 40,000 and a promise buys someone.
Thanks for that link!
Are there going to be any protests? I suppose they will need some sort of permit.
I heard that rumor, too. Should be interesting.
Did you ever find out if there were any protests? I obviously “avoided the area” so I wouldn’t know.
It’s only fair that NMB would host and foot the bill for his latest visit. We, the City of North Miami picked up the check last time this guy came to town. We are sending some of our police officers to assist you. What more do you want? Permit? We don’t need a stinking permit! I feel your pain.
I’m glad you brought that up. Do you know if North Miami is going to be reimbursed by the Haitian Embassy for the use of its police officers? Just curious.
BREAKING NEWS: The Miami Herald finally got around to publishing this visit: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/10/3135303/haitis-president-visits-south.html
Make sure you post comments.
WTF – I have a question. Do the cities of North Miami and North Miami Beach now have there own independent STATE DEPARTMENTS? Just curious since I thought Washington DC handled such matters. I guess I’m horribly out of date these days, I guess I have to get up to speed on these matters.