little haiti - Haiti Observer Blog

How many people thought that the problem of gentrification currently faced by the residents of Little Haiti has anything to do with climate change and sea level rise in Miami? Probably, not too many. This is the reality my friend, Little Haiti is a prime land in Miami because it has higher elevation and thus less prone to long-term effect of sea-level-rise. And as a consequence, developers are buying up land in areas such as Little Haiti like crazy. As sea levels continue to rise, investors in Miami are buying up land with higher elevation, often displacing low-income residents

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Paske yo te ape fè fas ak pi wo lwaye, moun nan Ti Ayiti nan Miami ap di ase se ase. Nan Jedi, 3 Desanm, 2015, yon gwoup rezidan, pwopriyetè biznis ak aktivis kominotè te mete ansanm nan yon katye nan Ti Ayiti pou te pwotèste kont chanjman sa yo kote prix kay yo ape monte e yo oblije so nan yon kominote ke yo renmen anpil. Gen kèk nan devlopè ki enterese nan zòn nan yo te akize ki sèvi avèk arasman, entimidasyon pou fòse rezidan yo ak biznis lokal yo soti. Gen kèk moun kpote siy ak deklarasyon sa yo: "Nou vle rete", "non pou jantrifikasyon", "Little Ayiti se pa pou vann" ak plis ankò. Anpil moun nan zòn nan santi ke si yo pa aji, byento Little Ayiti pral disparèt.

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Miami's downtown boom and rising price for the space are pressing and threatening Little Haiti's longtime residents and business owners to move to some affordable places. Another big concern for the local Haitians is related to self owned properties.

About 85% of the Haitian owner rent their properties and sign their agreements without understanding what they are signing, and most of them sign without the presence of their lawyers. On December 3rd, they gathered in Miami's Little Haiti neighborhood to deliver messages about the rapidly changing neighborhood and its preservation:

"Little Haiti is not for sale, Say no to gentrification, We want to stay." However, as per the statement of the Northeast Second Avenue Partnership (NE2P) authority, it is attempting to revitalize the area while preserving (?) authentic Haitian culture, art and history -- and the people who produce them.

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The Wynwood Art District, in the neighborhood of Miami was founded in the early 2003 by a group of art dealers, artists and curators. Once it was a home of over 70 galleries and museums and was a haven for local artists in the early 2000s.

Gradually, Wynwood district became the epicenter of new Miami. The sudden surge in the real estate price, gentrification and higher rent forced many artists and gallery owners to migrate to some other nearby affordable locations while the art loving community kept moving towards Little Haiti. Unlike the art people of Wynwood, the artists and gallery owners of Little Haiti had preferred buying spaces instead of hiring.

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An advise to all Haitians owning a property in the Little Haiti area in Miami, do not sell. There is a chance that your current property in Little Haiti will value much more in just a few years. According to the New York Times, signs of Little Haiti's impending transformation are everywhere. As the real estate market is exploding in Wynwood, the next neighborhood the artists are moving in for art and real estate is Little Haiti. In just a few years, rent has tripled in price in the Wynwood area. As the artists are being priced out, many have turned to Little Haiti. One particular point is that the artists are more interested in buying properties than renting. As Art Basel is scheduled for December, you can expect to see lots of activities in the Little Haiti neighborhood.

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If you are a renter in Little Haiti in Miami, you are probably feeling that rent is going up and up and up and that there is nothing you can do about it. You also feel that there are almost no places available. I want to reassure you that this is not just an illusion. Rent is in fact going up in Little Haiti. According to the latest report, rent continues to soar in Little Haiti, which is currently in the process of gentrification in Miami.

What is gentrification?

According to Wikipedia: "Gentrification is the buying and renovating of houses and stores in deteriorated urban neighborhoods by wealthier individuals, which in effect increases property values and displaces low-income families and small businesses".

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Miami's Panther Coffee is about to expand its operation in South Florida in a new 4,000-square-foot location in Miami's Little Haiti where the majority of the company's roasting will be done since January, 1, next year. The new location at 59th Street and Northwest Second Avenue will serve as the company's world headquarters, and it will triple the company's present weekly output of thousands pounds of roasted coffee beans, which is marketed through about 135 worldwide wholesalers, mostly (about 85%) based in South Florida.

Presently, the company has been operating in a 1250 square foot space at its flagship location in Miami's Wynwood neighborhood where it does all the roasting works in a 12-foot-by-12-foot space, curated from small farms such as Grupo las Cuchillas in Nicaragua. Panther Coffee in Wynwood has a small interior, often very crowded, might take a few extra minutes to get your coffee-- but the coffee is fantastic, and so are their bakery treats. The cold brew would be some of the best that you would ever have.

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In Haitian tradition, 'Rara' is a brilliant and colorful music festival that takes place throughout the Easter Week, following the Easter Sunday. The songs are always performed in Haitian Kreyòl that speaks about the African ancestry of the Afro-Haïtian masses and it blends the Voodoo and Christian influences with rhythms that vary across the Caribbean country. This tradition started when French colonization was still strong during the later part of the 17th century, and while the African-Haitian sugar plantation workers were riling up to gain independence. During the slave revolution, the Haitian slaves also fought culturally against their ruler with their new art, music, and dance forms. Today, Rara is a part of Haitian life; it is where you can hear all the latest gossips and happenings in Haitian life.

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Little Haiti in Miami will continue to be a reference for the Haitian community. This connection will be more obvious in the near future as the Miami Mountains Foundation plans to transform a Little Haiti median with its "Ayiti, Land of High Mountains" public art display.

Miami-Dade County just approved the funding for a project to transform an underused road median in Little Haiti area on NE second Avenue with vibrant public art demonstrating Haiti as a land of high mountains. This public art display will be one more reason to make Little Haiti a tourist destination, will be there on a permanent basis

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The Magic City Park in Little Haiti was a collection of historic tourist cabins along with a number of trailers. It was architecturally significant as a remarkably intact example of an early twentieth century tourist court in Miami. The manager's office, originally known as the Mikado Inn, was noteworthy for its detail, materials and craftsmanship. This 86- year old, 6.5-acre mobile-home community, surrounded by old oaks and a variety of other trees, is located in the section of Miami that is called Lemon City, also known today as Little Haiti.

This site of mobile homes for working-class families at 6001 NE 2nd Avenue in Little Haiti has been officially shut down on March 31, 2015. Now only the families of park's maintenance workers live there as the rest of the Magic City has been cleared. The property consists plenty of oaks and other trees like the variety of palm and avocado trees, strangler fig trees and other numerous "Category 1" invasive species, which are protected by the City of Miami's strict tree ordinance.

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