Waterfront Defense

We let this blog go quiet for a while, in fact, for quite a while, last October 25 to be exact.

In view of the current brouhaha about the erroneous overpayment and allegations of fraud, duplicity and other potentially unethical or criminal behavior, it's time to set the record straight. We began doing that with a press conference on Thursday, May 7th, that is now showing up in the Key West Citizen and the Keynoter

Readers are invited to read the articles and the comments attached to them, and to then return here to ask any questions they may have. Thoughtful and polite comments will be accepted anonymously, but we encourage readers, especially Bahama Village readers, to give their names and to become involved in the defense of the waterfront, including the Bahama Conch Village. Questions raised by readers will be answered as expeditiously as possible and in this forum.

Any one who wants to meet with a board member, for any reason, can call the BCCLT office, (305) 294-0884, and ask for an appointment or a call back

Robert Kelly
BCCLT Board Member

The Deputy Director's "Citizen Column" #3

From today's Sunday Key West Citizen...

The voices of this community’s past could be a compass to our future

The streets and buildings of Bahama Village speak to me. I was told by a friend that the spirits around the cemetery are more active after midnight, and that I should go there then and the ancestors will speak to me. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that I hear the voices of the streets and buildings speaking out and their voices are louder in certain places.

My recent work with the historic institutions of Bahama Village has made me aware of the buried and interesting — but ever-present — past that surrounds Bahama Village. And if I’m attentive with my eyes and ears, I can hear and see the voices and visions of the past speaking out, sometimes shouting.

When I walk past Cornish Memorial AME Zion, I hear the voice of Sandy Cornish, a former slave who mutilated himself to reduce his value to his slave owner, shouting “don’t give up, stand up for your people, God has not forsaken us.” And they, former slaves, built with their own hands in 1864, one year after Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, a church at the corner of Angela and Whitehead streets. They built the rafters and other parts of the church’s interior using wood from the slave ships that brought African slaves here.

Maybe that’s why the church was the location of choice for Douglass High School (which was displaced when the Navy took the land that it sat on), a health clinic, AA and NA meetings, Cub Scout, Girls Scout and Boys Scout groups. Maybe that’s what Mrs. Ruby Bain was hearing that pushed her to keep those snotty-nosed Boys Scouts together. And Girls Scouts.

That makes sense, too. That’s why we have so many leaders from that era, because they were taught to memorize and practice the Scouts’ oath and laws. You know, like duty to God and country; helping others; staying physically and mentally strong, morally straight, trustworthy, loyal, helpful, reverent, etc. Hats off to Mrs. Bain! May her tribe increase.

Maybe that’s why the church is packed and everyone so enthralled when Roosevelt Sands Jr. recites the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream” speech.

Maybe that’s what drew the Rev. James Thornton to come to such a remote location to a then-struggling church — even though he has earned master’s degrees in clinical psychology, mathematics and sacred theology.

Maybe that is what pushed Mr. Charles Major Sr., the oldest living member of Cornish and president of the NAACP, to push through on the integration of the Navy yard bathrooms and Monroe County schools.

Walking down past Petronia Street, I turn the corner onto Emma and I heard another voice saying: “No one is free until we all are free.” I look up and I am standing in front of the William Weech Post No. 168, the American Legion hall built in 1952. Maybe that’s what Mr. Weech thought when he went to serve his country during World War I; even though, as a black American, he did not have the same rights as his fellow soldiers. He knew that we are all one with a linked destiny.

This voice of a linked destiny drew the founding fathers together. Samuel Donzel Leggett, Charles Major Sr., John B. Knowles Sr. and Alfred Allen, elder statesmen of our community, labored together with others to get the building completed. Mr. Allen was a carpenter and supervisor of the job. Mr. Knowles was a carpenter and mason. Others heard and responded to that voice, like architect C.B. Harvey, who provided free services for the building. He was mayor at that time.

With 10,000 Navy personnel, and few places for blacks to go outside of the churches, the VFW was the place to go, with over 100 members. Their walls echo with sounds and voices of the past. The great black performers such as James Brown and BB King all played there because blacks could not go to anyplace else in Key West at that time.

I believe that voice of a linked destiny drove the members to donate to local churches, offer the hall to families who fell victim to fires and to sponsor Scouting troops.

That’s it. Now I know the source of the voices I hear when I approach the areas of Southard, Angela, Emma, and Thomas streets, now a part of Truman Annex. I hear the voices of the children who used to attend Douglass Junior and High School there prior to their demolition. That area used to be a part of La Africana, the predecessor to Bahama Village and the first place settled by liberated African slaves, Bahamian settlers, and Cuban exiles.

Let’s listen and learn from the voices and our history. Let’s get our kids back to Scouting. Let’s stand up and not give up. Let’s remember that we are not free until all are free, and God has not forgotten us.

Wheeler Winstead is a community development specialist and deputy director of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust. His column appears here every other Sunday. Contact him at wwinstead@bahamaconchclt.org

The Deputy Director's "Citizen Column" #2

From today's Sunday Key West Citizen...

Key West residents should band together to improve Bahama Village

The idea of a harmonious village of diverse peoples from various cultures living together is the dream, vision and desire of many in Key West and America. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. described it in his “I Have a Dream” speech.

But today I call it Bahama Village and today I call it forth. I call forth a village working together, taking care of one another, enjoying the diversity of cultures. Enjoying and celebrating the food, music, art, language, smells and sites.

One can see glimpses of it throughout the community, glimpses of how a community can take care of, support and protect itself. Bahama Village, come forth.

I see it being born and rising ever so slowly. I see it coming forth in Ms. Millie, sewing and chatting with all who come through her open door. I smell it coming forth in the great ribs Kenny serves up every Saturday in front of the Coral City Elks Lodge and Venda’s conch fritters being cooked outside on her porch and Gena’s wonderful cakes, which she makes just for the asking.

Recently, I saw a wonderful manifestation of it rising on Geraldine Street. There was a small fire outside a building at the 100 block of Geraldine Street. The resident accused an acquaintance, to whom I’ll refer as Mr. X. I was there investigating and decided to go to the corner store for some water for the firemen to cool off. While there, I heard the owner, Mr. Acosta, talking to Mr. X. He explained that he was being blamed for the fire and urged him to go there and straighten it out. Mr. Acosta then offered to go with him.

They both walked back to the scene together and Mr. X went to the police, who were now there investigating the incident. Mr. Acosta stayed there the entire time. That’s neighbor taking care of neighbor. Bahama Village is coming forth.

And then there was the incident when in front of Mr. Acosta’s store I was looking for a Sunday paper. Mr. Acosta was talking with one of the young men from the Major family. I thought he was the state wrestling champion and congratulated him on his accomplishments. He corrected me and said it was another family member and he was a bouncer at Rick’s Bar. He had a Sunday paper.

Mr. Acosta and the young Major were talking about young people these days. And Mr. Acosta was giving him counsel on how he would have handled a certain situation that the young Major encountered at the bar. I joined right in. We all talked for a minute before I resumed my search for a paper. I checked the two paper machines near the store and they were empty. Coming back to the store, young Mr. Major saw me empty-handed and simply offered his paper to me. Bahama Village is coming forth.

Bahama Village rises in the strangest place among apparent unsuspecting persons. Take, for example, the recent reggae concert at the Southernmost Hotel. There I saw Rick Rossi seated at the VIP table with Ms. Barbara Sands and a guest.

Or better yet, my chance encounter there with Mayor Morgan McPherson. I happened to be smoking a cigar when we ran into one another. We had a very friendly greeting and he commented on my cigar. He said that he had one that was really nice, a CAO Mx2. He pulled it out of his shirt pocket and immediately offered to me. Seeing that this was his last, I refused to take it. He insisted.

I took it only with the commitment that I could return the favor someday and buy him a drink. He agreed. I brought him a drink and sat down to enjoy the rest of the concert. By the way, that was an excellent cigar. Thanks, Mayor. Don’t forget about your promise.

No birth happens without some pain and struggle. No rose comes without thorns. No great triumph without a great battle. This dream for Bahama Village will not come forth without struggle, pain and hardship. I see the thorns and pain, too. But I see more, much more.

I call all men, women and children of Key West and beyond to join with me and the others in calling Bahama Village forth — to fight against our own fears, prejudices, misconceptions and those who want to destroy our unity and peace.

Bahama Village is coming forth. On Petronia Street again I see...

Wheeler Winstead is a community development specialist and deputy director of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust. His column appears here every other Sunday.

The Deputy Director's "Citizen Column" #1

From today's Sunday Key West Citizen...

Bahama Village — discovering a familiar character and sweetness

Citizen Editor’s note: The Citizen today welcomes Wheeler Winstead to this page. Winstead is deputy director of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust. He has three decades of experience in community development, and is former director of the Faith-Based Community Economic Development Program of the National Congress of Community Economic Development. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pittsburgh. His column will run every other Sunday.

I saw trees very different from my home town of Pittsburgh or my recent home of Washington, D.C. I also saw housing projects just like the ones I came from with people sitting outside. I saw a familiar site: an older woman with a young girl sitting in her lap with a frown on her face as the older woman pulled on the young girl’s hair while she talks to another woman sitting next to her and barely acknowledging her wincing victim. There was a character, a sweetness and familiarity that I felt in these streets similar to what I remember feeling in the “jects” where I grew up or my grandfather’s North Carolina farm community.

I saw older men and women old enough to be my grandparents riding bicycles. Not the slick 12- or 18-gear bicycles that the hip D.C. young people rode, but singlespeed, plain ordinary bicycles. And people nodded their head to acknowledge my presence, or spoke to me as if they knew me. That was it. I was not going to buy a car first, but a bicycle just like the first one my dad bought me when I was about 4 or 5.

Then I came down Petronia Street. I saw the arch announcing the entrance into Bahama Village, and then down to the corner of Petronia and Thomas. Now that is one interesting corner. There’s a wall painted by an artist, the conch shop across from Blue Heaven , the Lemonade Stand Art Studio, and then you have … Johnson’s Store. Now this is where I’ve been trying to take you.

So Johnson’s Store is painted all blue with No Loitering signs all around. And the door is not a door but heavy strips of plastic, the same kind you find in front of a freezer. So what do you think I saw on the inside? (I know you won’t believe me, so go inside like I did.) I entered the hallowed opening for the first time and am so shocked I have to stop. You know what I was expecting. I was expecting to see what I have seen many times in urban black neighborhoods. If you haven’t been in one, ask a friend who has.

First, the floors were spotless. The shelves were full, clean, meticulously arranged with all the products pulled to the front. Every product was in its place, all sodas, water and household items. Even the candy was carefully and meticulously arranged. There was no bullet-proof glass cage protecting the owner from the potential thief-robberlowlife-heathen-shoppers.

Today when I went in, there was Mr. Johnson ironing some shirts and his daughter waiting on their clients. Yesterday, Mr. Johnson was reading the Bible. So I inquired if Mr. Johnson was ready to iron my shirt. He promptly responded that I would have to get in line. Now I believed him because on a wall behind him were several shirts already ironed, and he didn’t look like he was planning on stopping anytime soon. This was especially true since he had his well trained, well mannered, all business-like daughter handling the customers like a seasoned veteran. I had been trying to convince Mr. Johnson to get involved with my community development work, but he says that he is too busy with church and family. But he said he would think about it. Actually he said he would pray about it. I believed he will.

So here we are, in one of the oases of Bahama Village. I feel that way not because of what I saw, but because of what I expected to see. Everything around me triggered images that were contrary to the reality inside Mr. Johnson’s store. They triggered prejudices, fears and negativity that set up a scenario that was just the opposite of the reality inside. I was surprised at some of things that I had to confront in myself. I prided myself on being a forward thinking, progressive kind of person; one who could see the potential greatness in most any thing, person or situation. But by confronting these things it freed me to see even greater possibilities. So why don’t you take this trip and tell me what you see — but before you do let me tell you what I now see when I walk down Petronia street. I see...

Wheeler Winstead is a community development specialist and deputy director of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust.

Letter to the Editor (KW Citizen)

Today's Citizen newspaper ran a letter by Sloan Bashinsky, which can also be found on one of his own blogs. It's reproduced here for your convenience....

BCCLT a good model
for local governments

[A July 8] Key West Citizen
editorial was about Conch
Community Land Trust
(BCCLT). If you did not get to
read this excellent editorial,
you can do so by going to bcclt.
blogspot.com.
I have met Norma Jean
Sawyer and other dedicated
BCCLT members. They are
fighting tooth-and-nail to
restore Bahama Village inch
by inch, and wish to extend
that vision and progress to the
Navy land allocated to Bahama
Village in the larger conveyance
from the Navy to the city
of Key West.
I have written before that
Key West should use BCCLT’s
vision and progress as a model
for the entire city, and today I
extend that recommendation
to Monroe County. The way
to start doing that is to meet
with Norma Jean Sawyer and
other BCCLT members. Go to
BCCLT meetings. Look at their
plans. View some of what they
have already accomplished in
Bahama Village.
After doing that, you might
wonder, as I did, why it has
been such hard going for
BCCLT with the Key West City
Commission, which often
seems to lean over backwards
to approve development and
redevelopment projects that do
not seem to have any concern
for Key West, but only seem to
have concern for fattening the
pocketbooks of developers and
redevelopers.
You might also wonder about
what I once was told by a black
Bahama Village native I know
pretty well. Bahama Village
blacks are not Conchs. Only
white people born in Key West
are Conchs, he said. Say what?
He said it again. Native whites
do not view native blacks as
Conchs.
I have had native whites
dispute that, but my Bahama
Village friend’s words rung
true as well. Which leaves me
wondering if Bahama Conch
Community Land Trust would
have had smoother sailing if it
had left Conch out of its name.
Norma Jean Sawyer can be
reached at normajeansawyer@
bellsouth.net.
Sloan Bashinsky
Key West

Key West Citizen Editorial

In today's edition of the Key West Citizen, the following editorial was run.

Bahama Village should
benefit from waterfront

Key West Mayor Morgan McPherson recently came out with harsh criticism of the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust and its plans to develop a portion of the Truman Waterfront. In place of the BCCLT proposal, McPherson offered the idea of a water park on the Truman Waterfront property. As any nonprofit, the BCCLT has at times struggled financially. And as other nonprofits, it has wrestled with growing pains. The organization’s matriarch, Norma Jean Sawyer, should be commended for her dedication to the organization over the years. It is important to note that, rumor and innuendo aside, the BCCLT has been audited every year since its inception, and each time it has received a clean bill of health. Additionally, the organization has a new deputy executive director, Wheeler Winstead. Winstead brings with him a master of business administration and a background in real estate development. McPherson acknowledged that hiring Winstead would help carry the BCCLT to the next level. The BCCLT’s proposed development received strong support during the last election — the referendum passed overwhelmingly. The proposal also is integral to the conveyance agreement between the Navy and the city, as laid out in economic conveyance documents. For the sake of clarity, here are objectives outlined in the executive summary of the conveyance: • Enhancing the economic health and long-term viability of the city’s tourism-dependent business base; • Developing and protecting a vibrant multiuse port facility; • Creating and retaining high-quality employment opportunities for Key West citizens, and in particular for residents of Bahama Village, the city’s historic African- American neighborhood located adjacent to the site; • Preserving and enhancing the economic foundation of Bahama Village; • Providing needed affordable commercial sites for resident entrepreneurs and existing businesses in order to allow them to compete for

Editorial a share of Key West’s increasingly competitive retail/service trade; and • Expanding economic opportunities and training for Key West’s homeless and needy residents to help break the cycle of poverty. As these goals clearly show, it was the intent of both the Navy and the city for a large part of the transferred property to directly benefit Bahama Village, its residents and others in our community who are struggling. In thinking about water parks in general, we question the mayor’s rationale, and are curious to see the results of the study he says is being conducted to gauge the merits of such an attraction in Key West. A brief Internet search shows the top 10 water parks in America are in landlocked cities, with very few water parks located on the coast. We also question the simple matter of having enough land to support a successful water park. Most major water parks cover upward of 50 acres — Key West has a fraction of that available. There is also the question of water supply and use. Water parks have enormous water demands, and with the city facing permanent water restrictions, we must ask if this is the best use of resources. Some residents have sug gested — in jest — that the mayor’s water park concept be merged with an idea fielded awhile back by County Commission candidate Sloan Bashinsky — a clothing- optional pirate-themed park on Wisteria Island. If the city built a nude water park on Wisteria Island, it surely would have the only one of its kind and easily attract national attention and a niche market. Seriously, though, it’s time to make some progress on the Truman Waterfront property and follow the plans that have been in place for many years now — plans that were established through years of study and negotiation, and that have been publicly vetted. We urge the city to assist the BCCLT in moving its project forward so the entire community can all reap the benefits for years to come. — The Citizen

KeyNoter article about BCCLT

In today's KeyNoter newspaper, reporter Kyle Teal reported on how the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust provides affordable housing to the citizens of our city. The article can be found on-line, or for convenience is reproduced here....

For some, Land Trust is essential
By Kyle Teal, Photo by Kyle Teal, Posted-Friday, May 23, 2008 7:23 PM EDT

Affordable units make Keys possible

Bahama Village resident Laetryce Smith found an unconventional Christmas gift for her 14-year-old daughter this past holiday season: A new place to live.

Smith, a mother of three, packs up her work materials each night at Avis Car Rental at Key West International Airport and hops on her blue moped, back to a home she never thought she could afford.

Smith was staying with her sister before December, where the living situation was a little cramped. When she contacted the Bahama Conch Community Land Trust, the nonprofit made it possible for her to have a place to call her own.

“I was born and raised in Key West, but I ran into some difficulties,” she said. “I went to [the Land Trust] and filled out an application, and [Executive Director Norma Jean Sawyer] got me in a nice, roomy place.”

Smith pays $585 a month, and doesn't think it would be possible to live in the Key West if it weren't for the Land Trust subsidizing part of her housing cost.

Smith said the Land Trust will charge her according to her salary. If she makes more, her rent increases.

According to the guidelines of the nonprofit's agreement with the city, Land Trust tenants shouldn't pay more the 30 percent of their income not including utilities, which sometimes presents a quandary, according to Deputy Director Wheeler Winstead.

Tenants who start to make more money don't want to be evicted and the Land Trust doesn't want to do the evicting.

And what about the people who make very little money, if any?

“How can we can exist when we are charging less than our cost to operate?” Winstead said. “If we want to operate like a good business, we can't run it at a loss.”

Tenants cannot make more than 100 percent of the area median income; the 2007 median for a family of four in Monroe County was $61,000, and $42,958 for individuals renter or buying.

The group's bookkeeping is under scrutiny by Mayor Morgan McPherson and other city officials. Information from last year showed 13 tenants were out of compliance with renting regulations and that 12 units were vacant, pending renovation and other delays.

Sawyer said the figures are outdated and that new information will show most all of the units are filled.

Land Trust members say those critical of its actions should see their accomplishments in preserving the character of Key West and making affordable housing available to low-income residents.

“We could not live here without the BCCLT,” homeowner Jim Marquardt said. He shares a 1,000-square-foot home at 204 Olivia St. with his partner of seven years and Land Trust board member Norman Laurendeau.

Marquardt is concierge at Simonton Court and the president of the trust board. He bought his home with a 15-year fixed mortgage rate from Wachovia bank in 2001 for $96,000. The couple pays about $1,700 a month with insurance and should have it paid off “in just few years.”

Their carpentry skills came in handy, as the home wasn't much when they started out.

“It was basically just a house on dirt,” the Arizona native said. “We installed the deck, fencing, landscaping, and interior lighting.”

Knowing their deed-restricted house will stay affordable for 99 years is a comfortable feeling for the couple.

Jethons Williams, a 32-year-old TV specialist for Monroe County, pays $895 a month to rent his two-bedroom apartment. His cost of rent, originally $630, rose steadily with his salary.

He made sure he had a unit secured with the Land Trust before he moved to Key West from upstate New York.