Grove crime update: Positive change, but there is still room for improvement
Residents, police officers and community volunteers all strive for Coconut Grove to be a safe and thriving neighborhood; however, crime in the Grove is as various and divided as the neighborhood itself.
“The biggest concern in all City of Miami NET areas is minimizing person crimes, such as battery and assault,” said Coconut Grove NET Area Commander Jorge Colina.
Overall crime percentages have decreased in the Grove. Assault and battery crimes had a 21 percent decrease with 37 taking place in 2009 and only 29 so far this year. Burglaries have also decreased 32 percent with 135 burglaries last year compared to 91 as of June 21.
In terms of crime, Coconut Grove also compares favorably to neighboring South Miami. According to the South Miami Police Department 2009 Annual Report, the city had four homicides and two rapes. For the same year, Coconut Grove had one homicide and two rapes. In the robberies category, South Miami experienced 42 robberies compared to 38 in Coconut Grove.
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‘Cirque du Grove’ offers free fun for the Fourth
Will Soto takes a deep breath and perfects his footing trying not to look down at the dozens of people who watch him as he balances a slack rope and the 7 feet of air below his feet.
The energetic wire walker from Key West has been mesmerizing crowds from the Caribbean to Europe with his ability to walk the tight rope, the tight wire and what he calls “the hardest of them all” – the slack rope. And over the Fourth of July weekend, Soto brought his stunts to Grand Avenue and Virginia Street for Coconut Grove’s first-ever “Cirque du Grove: A Busker’s Carnival.”
“We wanted to create an all-weekend celebration for the Fourth of July,” said Richard Issa, special events coordinator for the Coconut Grove Business Improvement District, the producers of the free event that heralds Great Britain’s 1860s when “buskers” – performers and musicians – entertained audiences for tips or just to socialize.
“With new stores, restaurants and the new movie theater opened, we wanted to take this opportunity to invite people back into the Grove and show them all the great things we have to offer,” Issa added.
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Lack of Funding Causes Dance…Just Beautiful Dance Theater to Close
Dance…Just Beautiful (DJB) Dance Theater, which featured a child and adult dance company and offered adult dance classes, wellness classes and free dance classes to children, has closed due to a lack of community funding.
In an email to parents, friends and community members, Artistic Director Dennis James Breedlove wrote that DJB Dance Theater, located at 3686 Grand Avenue, would remain closed. Breedlove had been looking into other methods of funding or relocating but was unsuccessful.
“The company will not be re-opening its doors in Coconut Grove nor in the city of Miami,” Breedlove said.
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Sailing Camp scholarships available
The Coconut Grove Sailing Club is providing 15 sailing scholarships during the week of July 26 through August 6th. The scholarship acceptance is based on the first 15 applications received which meet all criteria. A swimming test will be required on the first day of camp.
The Summer Youth Sailing Instruction Camp is for both sailing Club Members and Non-Members. Student Sailors will be classified as either Beginner, Intermediate, or Racing Level. A US Sailing Certified Instructor and several Junior Instructors supervise the classes. Campers must be between the ages of seven to fourteen years old. Camp will begin weekdays at 9:00 am and end at 4:00 pm each day and will be held rain or shine.
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Goombay Festival 2010
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Bahamian Artists Offer Honor, Beauty and Revitalization
Bahamian and local artists will transform Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts gallery into a tropical paradise in celebration of The Miami/Bahamas Goombay Festival.
Through collaboration between Miami Bahamian Consul General Gladys Johnson-Sands, Executive Director of the Miami Host Committee Cornelia Dozier and artist AnnaMaria Windisch Hunt, Bahamian ceramic sculptor Joann Behagg is displaying her work at Windisch-Hunt Fine Arts until June 7.
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Junkanoo is being displayed at the Windisch Hunt Gallery in preparation for the Goombay Festival
Photo taken by Anna Windisch-Hunt Submitted by Renita Samuels-Dixon
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Preparations on their way for the 34th annual Goombay Festival
The streets of Coconut Grove will be flooded with traditional Bahamian food, arts and crafts, entertainment, and plenty of Junkanoos at the 34th annual Goombay Festival the weekend of June 3 – 6.
The festival, named after the traditional Bahamian drum music, was brought to the Grove in 1976 to commemorate the Bahamian people who had settled the area in the early 19th century and as an effort to keep the culture in the area alive.
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Club gets kids on the right track (and field)
The Miami Coconut Grove Track Club has provided a start for many kids in the Coconut Grove area. Roscoe Parrish went on to become a wide receiver for the Buffalo Bills football team and Rafeeq Curry competed for the U.S. Olympic team in the triple jump.
Parrish and Curry are only two of the many Track Club alumni who went on to high school or college teams, breaking records in Florida and the nation.
This track club, however, places an emphasis not just on reaching the finish line on the track, but also in the field of education and all other aspects of kids’ lives.
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Dance…Just Beautiful Dance Theater may ring down final curtain
Dance…Just Beautiful (DJB) Dance Theater, which offers free dance classes to children in Coconut Grove, could close their doors on May 31 as a result of countywide budget cuts.
Founded in 2005 by Dennis James Breedlove, who serves as artistic director, DJB offers adult classes, such as Pilates, West African dance and boot camp, and free classes for children.
Through collaboration between Breedlove and the City of Miami Police Department’s Miami Police Athletic League (PAL), 3686 Grand Avenue was established as a dance studio for DJB and Miami PAL dance classes, which Breedlove taught voluntarily. However, because of budget cuts, the city manager will not renew the lease on the property.
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