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soflagaynews // Sou thFloridaGayNews // SF GN.com // 6 . 17.2015 / / 37

Page 2Bike Gangs

Abound

Page 3Real Estate

Geek

Page 4Stonewall

Drama

Page 4GablesParking

Twice-Monthly Neighborhood Outlook

1 • June 17, 2015

GazetteWilton Manors Volume 2 • Issue 12

June 17, 2015

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Business

In an historic vote, commissioners chose unanimously to hire the city’s fi rst female city manager.

Assistant City Manager Leigh Ann Henderson was hired June 9 to replace outgoing City Manager Joseph Gallegos, who submitted his resignation earlier this year. Gallegos, who has served as city manager since 1999, will step down in October.

Henderson, who has been assistant city manager since 2003, has been with the city since 1999 when she started as a part time employee with the Public Works Department.

“I believe we’ve made some unique history tonight,” Commissioner Justin Flippen said.

Mayor Gary Resnick said the city was going to be handed off to someone with “great skill and vision.”

Resident Paul Kuta said choosing Henderson represents “continued professional stability in our city government.”

Henderson said she was honored to be chosen as the fi rst woman to lead the city. “Women have traditionally been underrepresented but that’s shifting. Wilton Manors has a commitment to inclusivity and equality and the commission is just another example of that.”

As for Henderson’s replacement, she said fi nding the next assistant city manager will be one her top priorities. “It’s going to be very important.” Henderson said the search for the next assistant manager would begin this week. The city commission chooses the city manager and city attorney but all other personnel decisions are left up to the city manager.

When she becomes city manager, Henderson’s salary will be $162,000. Gallegos’ salary is $163,000. Her compensation also includes a $500 per month transportation allowance. WMG

Commission Hires Henderson as New City Manager By Michael d’Oliveira

Community

In an eff ort to better defi ne and market the city, offi cials are in search of a tagline.

To come up with one, Conceptual Communications, the city’s public relations fi rm, will be asking residents and non-residents for their input.

Laurie Menekou, president of Conceptual Communications, said residents can vote on the tagline multiple ways: the city’s e-news letter, social media, paper ballots, at city facilities and through the Town Crier. “We’re going to leverage all the city communication platforms and have people get involved,” Menekou said.

She said the key is to come up with a tagline that is not too broad and not too narrow.

Once the voting is over focus groups will be formed to help pick a fi nal tagline and the top two choices will be presented to the commission, which will make the fi nal decision. “In 30 days we’ll have this done,” Menekou said.

Mayor Gary Resnick said a tagline could benefi t the city in multiple ways, including increased tourism and higher quality job applicants, but warned the choice needs to be made carefully.

“We don’t want to dilute the brand.” WMG

Wilton Manors The ______ City By Michael d’Oliveira

Photo: WiltonManors.com

City searches for tagline

New CityManager

38 // 6.17.2015 // SFGN.com // soflagaynews // SouthFloridaGayNews

JUNE 17, 2015 • VOLUME 2 • ISSUE 122520 N. DIXIE HIGHWAY • WILTON MANORS, FL 33305

PHONE: 954-530-4970 FAX: 954-530-7943

PUBLISHER • NORM [email protected]

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER • PIER ANGELO GUIDUGLI

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER / EXECUTIVE EDITOR •JASON PARSLEY

[email protected]

EditorialART DIRECTOR • BRENDON LIES

[email protected]

ONLINE PRODUCER • DENNIS [email protected]

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT • JILLIAN MELERO

[email protected]

NEWS EDITOR • MICHAEL D’OLIVEIRA

CorrespondentsCHRISTIANA LILLY • DENISE ROYAL •

NATALYA JONES • JOHN MCDONALD •JAMES OAKSUN

Staff Photographers J.R. DAVIS • POMPANO BILL • STEVEN SHIRES

Sales & MarketingDIRECTOR OF SALES & MARKETING • MIKE TROTTIER

[email protected]

SALES MANAGER • JUSTIN [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • EDWIN [email protected]

ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE • CINDY [email protected]

ACCOUNTING SERVICES BY CG BOOKKEEPING South Florida Gay News is published weekly. The opinions expressed in columns, stories, and letters to the editor do not represent the opinions of SFGN, or the Publisher. You should not presume the sexual orientation of individuals based on their names or pictorial representations. Furthermore the word “gay” in SFGN should be interpreted to be inclusive of the entire LGBT community. All of the material/columns that appears in print and online, including articles used in conjunction with the AP, is protected under federal copyright and intellectual property laws, and is jealously guarded by the newspaper. Nothing published may be reprinted in whole or part without getting written consent from the Publisher, at his law offi ce, at [email protected]. SFGN, as a private corporation, reserves the right to enforce its own standards regarding the suitability of advertising copy, illustrations and photographs.

Copyright © 2014 South Florida Gay News.com, Inc.

Associated Press

GazetteWilton ManorsOpinion

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On a beautiful Sunday morning in New York City back in 2013, a tragic series of events left an innocent family scarred for life, the young father severely beaten, a gang of motorcyclist rampaging through city streets, one motorcyclist run over by the fl eeing family’s SUV, and the real chance that others could have lost their lives.

This gang of ATV and motorcycle riders would regularly meet on a Sunday and drive recklessly along city roadways causing mayhem, accidents to other drivers and pedestrians, traffi c snarls, and creating an environment for tragedy.

Now a similar circumstance is happening right here in Wilton Manors practically every weekend, beginning in Fort Lauderdale and cutting right through Wilton Manors streets and neighborhoods. Despite continued complaints from residents, no one has been stopped, and the mayhem continues. Strangely enough, this mayhem takes place on Sundays, similar to the New York story. I wait to hear similar news one Sunday soon, that tragedy has occurred and that innocent bystanders have been seriously injured.

Westside residents have been complaining for months about the regular Sunday occurrence along Powerline Road. One resident describes the mayhem as a bunch of outlaws riding illegal vehicles right through Wilton Manors, some crossing over into lanes of oncoming traffi c and over medians. Last weekend, this gang of off -road vehicle drivers decided to terrorize Wilton Drive. Where does the lawlessness end? What is our Police Department doing to stop this madness before tragedy occurs?

A recent press release from the WMPD states that the on-duty police offi cer attempted a traffi c stop of the 50 - 75 reckless riders, but was unable to pursue them after they failed to comply and pull over.

Yes, you read that correctly! The offi cer could not chase these outlaws for recklessly

driving illegal unlicensed vehicles along our roadways and

creating a dangerous public safety situation. How can this be? According to the WMPD, the police are not authorized to chase these lawbreakers unless their actions consist of a “forcible felony.” Thus, our police offi cer had to terminate any response action.

A “forcible felony” entails a list of specifi c felony crimes, but also includes any felony that involves the threat of physical force or violence against any individual. Well, if such a large group of reckless riders doesn’t involve the threat of physical violence, I can’t imagine what does! If I were overtaken by this group, I certainly would feel threatened, afraid for my safety and that of my friends/family, my vehicle and my property!

I guess we will have to wait for someone to be injured, some innocent resident attacked and beaten or run over before action can be taken against these thugs. So we wait for history to repeat itself. We wait for another beautiful Sunday when an innocent family’s life will be changed forever. Who will be the unlucky victims this time?

I guess we can all stay off the roads on Sundays, hide in our homes, and let the lawlessness continue along our roadways and throughout our city. We can just hide behind our doors and wait for the sad news that some innocent family was injured in a vehicle accident or that a pedestrian was struck by an ATV motorist who lost control while popping a wheelie and driving into oncoming traffi c.

Obviously this is no way for a society to live. Our police department better have a plan of action in place to stop this soon. I hope they are working with Fort Lauderdale PD and Broward Sherriff ’s Offi ce to formulate a regional response to this cross-border menace. We cannot just sit and wait for some “forcible felony” to occur before they are stopped. Let us not wait until the blood of innocent victims stain our roadways before we see action taken to bring this lawlessness to an end. WMG

Motorcycle Gang Threatening Residents’ Safety

By Sal Torre Authorities ignoring complaints and concerns

soflagaynews // Sou thFloridaGayNews // SF GN.com // 6 . 17.2015 / / 39

Our friends at Trulia (now part of the Zillow/Trulia dinosaur) recently issued a news release describing changes in “Gayborhood” real estate prices since 2012. Of local interest was their inclusion of Wilton Manors, which ranked us some distance down the list compared with other areas.

Their basis of comparison was zip code, and they called zip code 33305 “Wilton Manors.”

First, zip code 33305 isn't Wilton Manors. While a good chunk of Wilton Manors is included in 33305, most of that zip code is Fort Lauderdale, and includes parts of South Middle River, Middle River Terrace, Poinsettia Heights, Coral Ridge and even part of the beach!

But consider the larger claim – that values in “Wilton Manors” are up 18 percent since 2012. Sure enough, when you consider all of the city of Wilton Manors, that's not right either!

The median sale price of a single family home at the start of 2012 was $230,000. And what's the price today? $360,000! That's a 57-percent increase, not 18.

Because valuations vary across Wilton Manors I also considered the three neighborhood associations. Valuations everywhere are up signifi cantly since January of 2012.

The bottom of the market in the Island City was the second quarter of 2011. Those who had the foresight – or perhaps bravery – to buy properties here in that time frame made a great deal of money.

But let's be conservative. Assume someone bought a typical home in the center of town in January 2012 and made a 30 percent down payment.

Their total return on equity over three and a half years (before taxes and expenses) is 194 percent. That's 36 percent per year compounded. Compare that to the one percent per year you got by buying a certifi cate of deposit.

While I commend Trulia for an interesting story idea, their general stab at this issue missed the ground level particulars in our community and perhaps others. Only a local market expert, or someone with a particular mindset and data access, can make a true assessment.

James Oaksun, Broward's Real Estate GeekSM, is

a Realtor with the Wilton Manors offi ce of RE/MAX Preferred. In addition to having degrees from Dartmouth and Cornell, he is a graduate of the Realtors Institute (GRI).

A Beautiful Day in the Gayborhood

Real Estate Geek

By James Oaksun

3 • June 17, 2015

The bottom of the market in the Island City was the

A Beautiful Day in the

The bottom of the market in the Island City was the

A Beautiful Day in the

Photo: Facebook.

40 // 6.17.2015 // SFGN.com // soflagaynews // SouthFloridaGayNews4 • June 17, 2015

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Business

Drama Engulfs Stonewall

By Michael d’OliveiraDespite being $26,000

short of sponsorships for the June 20 Stonewall festival, two publishers accused Stonewall organizers of not asking them to help sponsor the event.

At the June commission meeting, Peter Clark, publisher of Hot Spots, and Norm Kent, publisher of South Florida Gay News, said they were not given the opportunity to sponsor the stages available and the total sponsorship opportunity was capped at $25,000.

“We just got screwed,” Kent said.

“My sponsorships in a lot of cities is greater,” said Clark, who added that there’s not enough time for him to join now. “We’ve been blocked on all four stages.”

They accused organizers of favoring Multimedia Platforms, which owns Guy Mag and The Agenda, by giving that publication stage sponsorships.

Kent also criticized the choice of Billy Bean as grand marshal. Bean, a former Major League Baseball player, came out as gay in 1999 and was named as MLBs fi rst Ambassador of Inclusion. He also serves as a national spokesperson of Multimedia Platforms.

Kent, who calls Bean a friend, said it “looks insulting” to have a Multimedia Platforms representative serve as grand marshal. In an email, Kent brought up the ties of Jeff Sterling, executive director of the Stonewall event, to Multimedia. Sterling, who owns a small number of shares in Multimedia Platforms and who once leased offi ce space to The Agenda, said no one received special treatment.

“Everyone got the same sponsor book,” said Sterling, who added that no sponsorships were capped at $25,000. “We only control the center stage. Anyone can buy a stage. There are still two more stages not going up because no one bought them.” He added that it might look like Multimedia Platforms got special treatment but “they

were just shrewd. They worked faster than anybody else. We feel bad that there’s this perception but there’s no grand conspiracy.”

Kent shot back.“That’s the problem. The contract wasn’t

supposed to be awarded to someone being shrewd. The contract was to provide equal rights to all media entities, and this they did not do,” he said.

Before the June 9 commission meeting, an email was sent out off ering a $3,000 co-sponsorship of the center stage.

After the June 9 commission meeting, City Manager Joseph Gallegos, in an email to Kent, apologized “for not notifying you earlier of the opportunities for sponsorship of the subject event.” He also informed Kent that exclusive sponsorship of the parade, and with it the choice of parade marshal, had been off ered to Clark. Other sponsorship opportunities were highlighted as well.

But both off ers were declined.

UPDATE: It was learned just before press time that HotSpots will now sponsor the city parade with Clark stating he is “happy” that the community worked together during Pride week. WMG

Gables Begins Enforcing Parking, Brings Out the Boot

By Michael d’Oliveira

A “battle” for 10 retail parking spaces at the Gables Wilton Park has its roots in the city’s decision not to require parking for Wilton Drive retail establishments.

Randy Welker, economic development coordinator, said the city has been lax on requiring retail parking because it’s trying to encourage retailers to locate to Wilton Drive. It’s part of the eff ort to draw more people to the city’s most popular commercial area during the day. “We did this because [Wilton Drive] is a special area.”

Welker added that there was plenty of parking right across the street in the city parking lot at Hagen Park. “We have a parking lot right there. You’re literally right across the street from a parking lot.”

Although the city didn’t require the Gables, which has 145 residential units and 19,000 square feet of commercial space, to provide more parking for the businesses there, Tom Rossetti, owner of Rossetti Fine Art Gallery, said it’s ridiculous that the Gables hasn’t done so on its own.

Most of the spaces, he said, are “hogged” by employees and that forces the business owners to compete with their own customers for a parking spot. He said he often has to park in a residential spot and wait for a retail one to open up. It’s not a problem before 6 p.m. but after that the Gables starts booting.

“I’ve been booted twice behind my own gallery. If we’re renting, why can’t [the business owners] get a spot? We pay more than these [apartment] renters.”

Infi nty lounge customer Craig Hobberman said he’s very careful not to park in the wrong spot. “It gets very crowded.”

At the entrance to the complex, a sign

warn visitors that unauthorized vehicles will be towed or booted. Inside the complex, 10 parking spots are designated specifi cally for retail customers and have corresponding signs. Two of those spots are for 15-minute parking only. But no signs exist designating spaces for residents only, leaving it unclear if customers can park there. In addition there are no signs inside the complex warning potential parkers that they may be towed or booted.

John McDonald, a South Florida Gay News writer, said he was parked directly behind Infi nity Lounge and had his car booted.

Richard Wexler, owner of Richard’s Men’s Hair Shop, and Michael DaSilva, manager at Scarfone’s, said they understand why Gables’ management is exercising stricter control over the parking spaces. “How would you feel coming home and not having a parking space [because it’s taken up by a customer]? This is someone’s home,” said DaSilva, who added he thinks it’s pretty clear where customers are allowed to park.

Up until recently, parking wasn’t strictly enforced. That’s possibly due to Gables only recently fi lling up most of its commercial space. Before, with few businesses bringing customers in to take spots, residents never had to worry about their spots being taken. This past spring though, said Gables resident Carl Cappuccio, parking started to become a problem.

But, once residents started voicing concerns to management “the situation greatly improved,” Cappuccio said. “I and several residents are pleased with the ample parking.”

Calls to Gables management were not returned in time for publication. WMG

Community

Two sponsors furious over City’s handling of this year’s event

6/17/15 v2i12

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