Ilona Wiss: Most importantly, it does not seem fair that the residents of the Flamingo Park neighborhood should have to fight this battle again when we have spent years fighting for greenspace in our "Central Park",...

Dear Neighborhoods Committee Members:


It has come to my attention that you will be revisiting the approved Flamingo Park Plan at your meeting on February 16th, to consider further modifications and expansion of the tennis center. I am writing to express my opposition to the addition/expansion of any additional active-use features in our very busy park, including more tennis courts.

I have lived on Michigan Avenue, across from Flamingo Park since 1989. In the early 1990s, I began attending planning meetings hosted by various City departments and neighborhood groups to discuss and plan for the revitalization of Flamingo Park. It has taken all these years, many meetings, a lot of hard work, and a few false starts, to arrive at the point where we are today......ready to start the renovation of our park, in accordance with a plan that reflects the community's vision......improved recreational facilities and the addition of much needed greenspace.

The demolition of the tennis stadium and the relocation of the property maintenance facility offered us a unique opportunity.....to introduce passive-use greenspace to our neighborhood park. Anyone who knows the park and uses it knows that, until the demolition of the tennis stadium, there was no open greenspace that was not designated for sports activities. Flamingo Park is the heart of the densely populated South Beach residential community, and its residents need a place to picnic, lounge in the grass and enjoy occasional outdoor events.  The last thing we need is to expand recreational facilities that will attract even more people to the park. As it is, there is frequently insufficient parking to meet the needs of park visitors. Just today (Sunday), a car was parked on the swale in front of my house yet again, right in front of the No Parking Tow Away sign indicating that parking there is restricted to Zone 3 residents. Our historic, single family neighborhood has serious traffic congestion problems that will only be exacerbated by further expansion of the tennis center.

I strongly encourage you to focus on other options. In my view, South Pointe Park would be the perfect place to build additional tennis courts, if they are truly needed. Many years ago, there were active recreational facilities in that park....basketball courts. Further, there are many tennis playing residents in South Pointe who would be very enthusiastic about such an addition to their neighborhood park. It seems only fair that all our neighborhood parks have a balance of active and passive uses, so that no single park is over burdened. Flamingo Park truly needs the additional greenspace to bring it into balance....and South Pointe Park's serenity would not be diminished by the introduction of a few tennis courts.

Most importantly, it does not seem fair that the residents of the Flamingo Park neighborhood should have to fight this battle again when we have spent years fighting for greenspace in our "Central Park", just because the tennis community has initiated an intense lobbying effort, rekindling the issue. The previous commission understood our concerns and approved the Plan which is finally about to be implemented. Please do not undo all the hard work that we did before some of you were in office. If you are convinced that additional courts are needed to meet the high school's needs, please find another place to put them, and allow us to have the greenspace our urban neighborhood desperately needs.

PLEASE NOTE: MANY OF US ARE UNABLE TO ATTEND MEETINGS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DAY. IT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL IF YOU WOULD ADJUST TUESDAY'S AGENDA SO THAT THIS ITEM IS HEARD AS LATE AS POSSIBLE. THANK YOU.

Ilona Wiss, Esq.