The City Beautiful pisses me off.
Zoning laws are enforced in Coral Gables by nasty code enforcement guys who seem to have it out for anyone without a boatload of money or power.
If you doubt it, witness this post on Coral Gables Confidential – a website populated by city critics – which shows a sign posted at the Youth Center to make room for Mayor Don Slesnick and Miami-Dade Superintendent of Schools Rudy Crew.
The writer, a guy who calls himself Bad Apple Syndrome and regularly posts on the site, makes a big deal out of the fact that they put this sign out. After all, it’s almost, kind of, sort of technically illegal under City Beautiful law.
I’m not infuriated by it….though you may be when you get a look. What I really love is the way the guy describes Slesnick, who once styled himself a man of the people but has drawn increasing criticism in recent years. According to Bad Apple-man, Slesnick “talks like a snake salesman, winces like a gutter snipe afraid of the light, and functions by stealth.”
So far, a message left at the mayor's office seeking comment hasn’t been returned. But I’m hoping.
