Editors Note: The Barbara Baer Capitman archives “Historic Threads” project is partly sponsored by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and the State of Florida.
More than 60 people gathered at Ocean Park in Miami Beach to protest plans to build a 200-space parking lot on a green space along Ocean Drive at Third Street. The protest, led by environmentalists such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas, raised concerns about the environmental impact, particularly the risks in the event of a hurricane. The parking lot plans were abandoned due to lack of support from city commissioners, according to Assistant City Manager Carla Bernabei Talarico. However, organizers of the rally, including Linnea Pearson, demanded a formal commitment in writing that the park would be preserved.
Excerpts and quotes from the article are highlighted below in blue.
Sharing their disdain for pavement was conservationist Marjory Stoneman Douglas, 98, author of The Everglades: River of Grass. “The people don’t seem to realize when they talk about a parking lot here how dangerous that would be in case of a hurricane.” Douglas told the crowd.
Beach Assistant City Manager Carla Bernabei Talarico said plans to build a lot at the park had been abandoned because of a lack of support among city commissioners.
Park supporters weren’t convinced. “They just started saying that when we started putting pressure on them,” said Linnea Pearson, a Unitarian minister and organizer of the rally. “We haven’t seen anything in writing. We want a promise from them that this will remain a park.”
