Posted on Tue, Sep. 27, 2011

UM student leaves Grove Council, heads home to New York

By Julio Menache

When University of Miami sophomore Stephen Murray first moved to the West Grove in 2008, he was saddened by some of the issues plaguing the area: poverty, high unemployment, lack of after-school programs for kids.With only $185 in campaign funds, the 20-year-old went on to win a seat on the Coconut Grove Village Council seat in 2009. He is believed to be the youngest person ever to win a seat on the elected board.Murray — known by some in West Grove as ‘The Kid’ — directed his attention to issues facing the West Grove, such as affordable housing, while also becoming a vocal critic of Miami City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff.Now, after two years in office, ‘The Kid’ is saying his final goodbye to South Florida.

Murray abruptly resigned from the council this month to return to his home state of New York to tend to his grandfather, who has terminal cancer.

Murray visited his family back in July, where he learned that his grandfather only had a few months left to live, and decided it was time to go home.

“My grandmother passed a couple of years ago,” said Murray, now 23. “I wasn’t able to be there for her. I didn’t want the same thing to happen this time.”

Murray, who juggled going to school full-time while serving as a councilman, says the move back home will also give him time to think about life after college.

“I was under a lot of pressure,” said Murray, “I’m thinking a lot clearer now that I’m back home.”

Michelle Niemeyer, chairwoman of the Village Council, said Murray was mature for a person his age.

“He backed up what he said with action. When he said he’d so something, he’d do it. To me, that’s mature and responsible,” said Niemeyer.

Niemeyer said Murray’s legacy will be his work on a subcommittee that monitored FPL’s proposed installation of high power transmission lines along U.S. 1. Residents were concerned about the electromagnetic fields emitted from the lines. The issues still lingers today, as plans to build the proposed lines have been delayed.

“Steven developed relations with all politicians relative to that issue,” said Niemeyer. “He did a very good job representing the council. I know he cared very much about it.”

Council member Kate Callahan said that Murray was a “whiz kid” when it came to technology.

“He’s so computer literate and savvy. Just the way he facilitates things on the computer is amazing,” Callahan said.

Callahan, who is running for a City Commission seat, tapped Murray to be one of her campaign advisors. The 59-year-old, who holds a master’s degree from Harvard University, still calls Murray for guidance.

“I call him up for advice. He’s still a great resource. Smart as a whip,” said Callahan. “He wants for this city the same thing I want, which is righting its moral compass.”

J.S. Rashid, CEO of the Coconut Grove Collaborative Inc., which advocates for affordable housing in Coconut Grove said Murray was a “prodigy”.

“He was bold, brash and young,” said Rashid. “He was an excellent voice for the West Grove. He made a sincere effort to make a difference.”

Rashid worked with Murray on the Grand Avenue Kiosk Project, a proposal which looked to build 10 retail kiosks along Grand Avenue in West Grove, which would sell Caribbean-style goods and foods. Rashid says the economic activity would create jobs encourage people to come to West Grove and help decrease criminal activity.

“There’s a vicious cycle of unemployment in the West Grove that predates the recession,” said Murray. “It doesn’t allow young black males to get real work. There needs to be some sort of brainstorming as to what to do to solve it.”

Murray and Rashid also worked on a proposal called the Thelma Gibson Community and Educational Center that looks to build 54 units of affordable rental housing at 3629 Grand Ave., with an educational center staffed by students of the University of Miami’s School of Education.

In June 2010, Murray wrote an open letter to then-County Commissioner Carlos Gimenez, asking for Gimenez to approve funding for the project.

“Without the advocacy of Murray and others we couldn’t have gotten where we are today,” said Rashid.

While the kiosk proposal failed, the Gibson project is currently looking for approval from the county.

Back in 2010, Murray, along with two other staunch critics of City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, complained to city officials that the commissioner had violated the scope of his permit to run a law firm in his home at 3000 Shipping Ave. The permit allows for a quarter of the home to be used for the office. It also must have only one employee.

Murray, along with Mr. Moes owner John El-Masry and activist Al Crespo, who runs the blog Crespo Gram, claimed that Sarnoff was using the entire home for the business and that both his wife and law partner Neil Bayer worked at the house.

On Aug. 26, the commissioner was served with a notice of a code violation stating Sarnoff failed to follow the requirements for a home occupation business.

While the city code enforcers later inspected the house and found Sarnoff was in compliance with the city code, the trio filled an ethics complaint against Sarnoff and the city’s code enforcement director Sergio Guadix alleging that Sarnoff used his official position to influence the investigation of the code violation.

The ethics panel declined to hear the complaint, claiming that Sarnoff fixed all code violations in the allotted time.

Murray claims that the panel didn’t even read the detailed 100-page complaint.

“It wasn’t so much the illegal use of the law office; it was how the commissioner handled the issue,” Murray said. “The crux of the complaint was misuse of power. The ethics commission just threw it out.”

Crespo, who calls himself a ‘20th century guy’, said Murray’s tech savvy was instrumental for the case.

“He did some very good research for me,” said Crespo.

As for what lies ahead for Murray, he is still a few credits short of his college degree. He is planning to finish soon, then he’ll decide between attending law school or graduate school. But he doesn’t see himself returning to Miami.

Best Regards,
Stephen Murray

First of all, I really appreciate all of the kind words of support I have received in the last few months. I can’t express enough how humbling it is that people would take the time out of their busy days to write me letters of encouragement.  It means so much to me. It has been a busy year for me between juggling full-time school, my job as a Teaching Assistant, my work on the Council and as an activist, taking care of my wonderful dogs, and spending time with my amazing friends.  I am so grateful and consider myself very fortunate to have such caring friends, loving parents and dedicated supporters.

While I have faced criticism from some in our community over the ferocity of some of my actions, I remind those few that politics is unfortunately an ugly sport. The cesspool that my new position has allowed me to witness in the ten months since the election makes me sick to my stomach and has resulted in many sleepless nights. I will admit that given the recent letters I have written, it does not seem that I have retained my optimism and positivity about the future of our community, however I would argue that sometimes hope for a positive future means confronting the many sources of greed and corruption that plague our society.

The most difficult struggle for me has been against the cynicism that is attempting to creep into my heart, trying to convince me that one lone voice can no longer make an impact in an inherently flawed political system. There is some truth to that notion –  one voice can be silenced by the whispers that a select group of cowards, those who stand to lose from any change to our corrupt system, quietly utter out of the public eye and under the cloak of anonymity.  But as more and more people take notice to the injustice of our system — one that political and business elites have perverted in such a way that enables them to divert public resources towards the depths of their own personal fortunes — the growing choir of the disenfranchised is beginning to find the courage to drown out those whispers and demand action.

And as a side note to those who wish to silence me by spreading lies to people that I’m doing this for my own personal financial gain — you can spread your baseless gossip and attempt to assassinate my character, but remember that in the end the facts always speak for themselves. As this situation unfolds over time, the evidence continues to mount on a daily basis on just how much you are profiting from this system.  I spend substantial amounts of my own personal time and resources to wage this fight on principle because unlike you, I actually care about the future of this community and am willing to make sacrifices and risk my own personal safety to protect that future.

Like I said earlier, politics is an ugly sport, and the experience that the voters of Coconut Grove have afforded me has provided quite a lot of insight into exactly how ugly it can be. While it has emboldened me as a citizen, that insight has all but deterred me from trying to become an ”athlete” when I grow up. Regardless of which path I do end up charging down as my life moves forward, I will always be one loud voice amidst the choir that demands responsible and ethical governance.  A lot of brave men and women in our nation’s history have fought and died to protect the freedom for people to stand up for what they believe in, and that freedom is not one I plan give up without a fight of my own.

With all of the love and optimism that gets me out of bed in the morning, I remain most humbly yours.

-Stephen Murray

“MDT [Miami-Dade Transit] met with the security contractor and stressed the right of the public to photograph in the common areas of its public facilities. To that end, all contracted security officers have been retained on the appropriate manner in which to enforce Miami-Dade County Code of Ordinances, Part III, Chapter 30B-5, governing photography on the transit system, and a copy of the aforementioned code has been placed at all MDT Metrorail security kiosks.”

I had specifically asked for retraining of the security officers who were involved in the incidents, and was very happy to hear that all MDT security contractors had been retrained. This is a small but significant victory in the fight to protect our First Amendment rights, and I applaud the professional handling of this complaint by the County Manager’s office. You can read the entire letter here.

-Stephen Murray

September 15, 2010

ETHICS COMPLAINT FILED WITH MIAMI-DADE ETHICS COMMISSION AGAINST MIAMI CITY COMMISSION CHAIRMAN MARC DAVID SARNOFF AND MR. SERGIO GUADIX, DIRECTOR OF THE CITY OF MIAMI’S CODE ENFORCEMENT DEPARTMENT

In response to the alleged illegal efforts of Miami City Commission Chairman to influence the imposition of a Notice of Code Violation against the Commissioner’s use of a house at 3000 Shipping Avenue in Coconut Grove as the location of his law firm, Sarnoff & Bayer in August, John El-Masry, owner of Mr. Moe’s in Coconut Grove, Stephen Murray, a young local activist in his senior year at the University of Miami and member of the Coconut Grove Village Council, and Al Crespo, an award-winning photojournalist, author and activist, jointly filed an Ethics Complaint against the Commissioner for “exploiting his official position,” in an effort to thwart the imposition of the Notice of Violation, and against Mr. Sergio Guadix, the Director of Code Enforcement for using his position to thwart the complaint from being investigated in a timely and impartial fashion leading to an unjustified voiding of the Complaint, which in turn has led to a reversal of the decision to void and described in the last paragraph of this release.

The complaint which details with great specificity, including a detailed narrative of the numerous meetings that took place between Mr. Guadix and Mr. Crespo and Mr. Murray, along with 27 Exhibits which include the Memorandum and supporting documents that Commissioner Sarnoff wrote in an attempt to ward off the Notice of Violation and inspection, along with 14 separate documents, including annual reports from the Florida Secretary of State’s office, and the Florida Bar which detail the listing of the 3000 Shipping Avenue property as the location of the law firm, by Sarnoff and his cousin and law partner Neil Bayer.

Mr. Bayer now faces his own Code Enforcement problems with the city of Coral Gables for transferring his corporate registration from 3000 Shipping Avenue to his home address in Coral Gables the day before Mr. Guadix and others from the Code Enforcement department finally conducted an inspection of the Shipping Avenue property.

An illustration of how ineptly this process was handled by the Code Enforcement Department is revealed in the issuance of a NEW Notice of Violation that was issued by the Code Enforcement department yesterday, September 14. 2010, resulting from several scathing letters written by Al Crespo, with evidence of how Commissioner Sarnoff and his cousin Neil Bayer flagrantly lied to Mr. Guadix at the time of the initial inspection.

For further information contact:

Al Crespo, 305.759.4788 al@alcrespo.net
Stephen Murray, 484.716.5052, stephen@stephenmurrayactivism.org
John El-Masry, 305.778.6153, johnmasry@yahoo.com

TO REVIEW A COPY OF THE COMPLAINT GO TO:
http://web.me.com/alcrespo1/Site_13/ETHICS_COMPLAINT.html

ATTACHMENT:
City of Miami, Code Enforcement Violation, 8.14.2010

Dear Mr Collins,

This email is an amendment to the Public Records Request I submitted earlier this afternoon. I would like to broaden Bullet Point 2 to state the following: “Copies of all memos, text messages, instant messages, emails, and letters between yourself, Commissioner Sarnoff, Ron Nelson and your staff where the content of the correspondence includes mention of the Virginia Street Closure.”

I look forward to your prompt compliance with this request.

Respectfully,

Stephen Murray

——————————————-

David Collins
Executive Director
Coconut Grove Business Improvement District (BID)

Mr. Collins,

In a post on the Coconut Grove Grapevine, Tom Falco has offered some new details about the proposed Virginia Street closure at Grand Avenue. This fast-paced movement comes as a surprise to me. From my understanding, this was something that has not been discussed at length, nor have the residents that live in the surrounding streets been notified, myself included. Since this seems to be on the fast-track, let this email serve as a Public Records Request for the following:

1. Copies of all relevant plans related to the creation of the Virginia Street closure including maps, traffic studies, review by the City of Miami Fire Department, and budgets.
2. Copies of all emails between yourself, Commissioner Sarnoff, Ron Nelson and your staff where the content of the correspondence includes mention of the Virginia Street Closure.
3. A transcript of the BID meeting where this project was discussed.

Given the time-line of this project, it would be wise for your office to comply with this request in a timely matter or provide me with any reasons you cannot.

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen Murray

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Dear Mr. City Manager,

Almost a week ago, I wrote a letter to City Attorney Julie Bru alleging blatant abuses of power occurring in the City of Miami. It was my mistake to direct that letter to her. Now it has become obvious to me that you should have been the recipient. I understand you are a public service rookie, so I’d like to take the time to explain something critical to you. Unlike in the private sector, where you have a clear-cut executive, Board of Directors, and stockholders who need to be answered to, as the City Manager you are a public servant. A public servant has one real boss – the public. You, as a public servant, took an oath to protect the residents of the City of Miami. You did not take an oath to allow yourself nor your subordinates to protect crooked politicians who believe they are above the law.

In John El-Masry’s original complaint, dated August 4th, 2010, he provided significant evidence to the Department of Code Enforcement that Commissioner Marc Sarnoff was in clear violation of multiple zoning regulations. After receiving a complaint from a taxpayer, your Code Enforcement inspectors are supposed to investigate in a timely fashion to ascertain if the allegations made are warranted. Instead, the Department of Code Enforcement, headed by Director Sergio Guadix, stalled for weeks, allowing Mr. Sarnoff ample time to rearrange the furniture in his office, have documents removed (as evidenced by video we have of a document removal service truck being loaded out front), and craft a long Memorandum (addressed to you) where he defended himself before an actual violation had ever been served.

Can you provide any examples in which a resident has been afforded such a luxury?

The day after Al Crespo and I wrote to the City Attorney alleging an abuse of power, Mr. Sarnoff was served with a notice of violation. That weak violation only addressed one of many issues we had with the business being run at 3000 Shipping Avenue, missing many of the key pieces of evidence that proved there were multiple violations (such as operating with a partner, using the parking provided for dog park users as customer parking, and failing to obtain a valid Certificate of Use).

Today, an article in the online version of the South Florida Business Journal entitled “Sarnoff cited for city violation,” your Director of Code Enforcement, Sergio Guadix, stated on the record that he personally inspected Mr. Sarnoff’s home on August 27th and found no violations. It is my understanding that this violation has now been “voided.”

Can you provide any examples in which a resident has been afforded such a luxury?

In my original letter, I stated: “As the Commissioner and those who have deemed it their mission to assist him in avoiding this charge believe in their arrogance that this will fall below the wayside, they are absolutely, dead wrong.” Do you think that by voiding this charge, Mr. Crespo, Mr. El-Masry and I are just going to pack up our gear and go home? The actions taken by Mr. Guadix (under YOUR watch) just further prove the point that Mr. Sarnoff continues to receive preferential treatment.

Furthermore, as I wrote the City Attorney: “[you] are potentially opening yourselves up to becoming part of a wider ethics violation and investigation by the State Attorney’s office due to your blatant misconduct. Should this [behavior] continue, you will be setting a precedent that would allow all residents who violate zoning code to defend themselves before they are charged.”

You know as well as anyone that a Code Violation is not much worse than a parking ticket. It is a slap on the wrist and allows the alleged violator ample time AFTER the notice is served to correct the violation or fight it in front of the City of Miami’s Zoning Board.

Mr. Sarnoff has proven over and over again as he digs himself deeper into a hole that his arrogance prevents him from ever admitting guilt. However, you and Mr. Guadix have aided him in digging this hole. It is only a matter of time before the both of you get pushed in with him.

Do the right thing.

Stephen Murray

Chairman Marc Sarnoff
City of Miami District 2

Carlos Migoya
City Manager

August 6th, 2010

Mayor Regalado, Chairman Sarnoff, and Mr. City Manager,

Today, the well-known watchdog blog “Miami For Change” (http://miamiforchange.blogspot.com) posed six questions that were directed at Chuck Rabin from the Miami Herald but I feel would be better answered by any of the three of you. To quote:

1. “These will definitely not fall under the law I created,” said Miami’s Pieter Bockweg, who helped craft the city’s mural ordinance.

What educational or professional experience qualifies Pieter Bockweg to “create” laws?

Was there a city attorney assigned to this matter, and if so, who?

What qualifies Mr. Bockweg to give an opinion on a legal matter that will likely end up in litigation?

2. Bockweg had spent the past two years working closely with Sarnoff to create the city’s mural ordinance.

Is it common practice and / or a violation of the city charter for a city commissioner to work closely with a member of the city manager’s staff in creating laws?

3. The hires weren’t done in the dark. The agency called to tell The Miami Herald of the moves.

What leads you to conclude that the hires “weren’t done in the dark?”

Were the two positions advertised in the Miami Herald or another newspaper of general circulation?

Did the calls to the Herald take place after the two gentlemen were hired?

If the hires were done in the open as you conclude, then why is Chairman Sarnoff “shocked…” and admits that he “didn’t see it coming”?

4. David Karsh, paid $53,000 a year as Sarnoff’s communications director, began a stint Monday doing the same for the city’s three CRAs at $82,000 a year.

$82,000 a year is considerably more than the $30,000 a year public relations contract the C.R.A. voted to give Mr. Karsh’s firm.

Does the C.R.A. still plan to hire an outside public relations firm?

What additional work will Mr. Karsh be doing to merit nearly a threefold increase in pay?

And, in an agency supposed to combat inner city blight, what is the role of an $82,000 a year communications director?

5. Bert Gonzalez, a senior staffer who dealt with business affairs at a $56,000 annual salary, is now the assistant executive director for Miami’s Omni CRA — which Sarnoff oversees — at $105,000 a year.

What qualifications does Mr. Gonzalez have to merit nearly a 100% increase in pay from Chairman Sarnoff’s staff to his new position at the C.R.A.?

6. Earlier this week [Bockweg] said he was still learning the CRA ropes, but already felt “the staff is too small right now for the work we’re doing.”

A six figure salary with benefits to “learn the ropes?”

What educational or professional experience does Mr. Bockweg possess to direct an agency that oversees hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars?

What leads him to conclude that he needs additional staff when he already has a staff of 14 people working at the C.R.A.?

At a time of unprecedented budgetary issues for the City of Miami and economic hardship for our residents, is it responsible for the City to be increasing salaries of its employees?

I eagerly await your reply.

Best Regards,

Stephen Murray
Coconut Grove Village Council

I’m writing today in reference to two incidents that have occurred at the Coconut Grove 27^th Ave Metrorail station in the last month. Carlos Miller, a nationally known photojournalist and First Amendment activist, was filming at the Metrorail station on July 1^st, 2010 and July 29^th, 2010 and both times was harassed by uniformed guards from 50 State Security (contracted by Miami-Dade Transit).

In the first incident, Mr. Miller  and Stretch Ledford (a Graduate Student at the University of Miami) were told that he had been “banned for life” after he had merely asserted his First Amendment right to film public spaces for non-commercial activities without a permit. In addition to the rude and aggressive behavior by private security, a sworn officer with the Miami-Dade County Police Department also joined in, proudly displaying his ignorance of the law in question.

The second incident, which occurred today, was far more severe. Mr. Miller’s camera, which is his private property, was confiscated even though he had not been formally charged with a crime. Mr. Miller was also allegedly assaulted by an employee of 50 State Security.

The actions taken by 50 State Security and the Miami-Dade Police Department are unacceptable. Therefore, I am requesting the following:

1. A complete and thorough internal investigation by Miami-Dade Transit and the Internal Affairs Division of the Miami-Dade Police Department of both incidents.
2. A review of policies and procedures followed by private security contractors in Miami-Dade County with regards to the handling of photographers. Language should be added to Miami-Dade County Ordinance Sec. 2-11.14 (2) explicitly stating that photography for non-commercial activities is legal and protected under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution.
3. Mandatory training for all employees of 50 State Security who were involved in the incidents.
4. Disciplinary action and/or removal of the employee who allegedly assaulted Mr. Miller.

I have attached Mr. Miller’s account of the first incident to this letter. I look forward to swift and decisive action by Miami-Dade County to rectify this situation for Mr. Miller and ensure his and others’ safety in the future.

Best Regards,

Stephen Murray
Coconut Grove Village Council

CC:
Sam Terilli, University of Miami

COPY OF LETTER

Elvis Cruz – Principal: Miami Neighborhoods United – $500
Grace Solares – Principal: Miami Neighborhoods United - $500
Joseph Serota and Tony Recio (Weiss Serota Helfman Cole) – Principal: Van Wagner Communications, amend sign code $2000
The Jose Fuentes Consulting Group (Principal: Outdoor Media of South Florida) – $500
John K. Shubin (Shubin & Bass) – Principal: ACS Solutions — $1500
Alexander Heckler – Principal: Marlins Stadium Parking — $1000
Felix Lasarte – Principals: Clear Channel Worldwide and Sunnybrook Offices (Murals) - $500
Brian May (Floridian Partners) – Principals: Red Light Cameras, Watson Island lease, Marlins Stadium Parking - $3000
Adrienne Pardo (Greenberg Trauig) – Principals: Ransom Everglades Appeal, The Related Group – $250
Lucia Dougherty (Greenberg Trauig) – Principals: Ransom Everglades, Fuel Miami LLC, Rusty Pelican, Marlins Baseball Garage, Pointe Group, Miami Art Museum, Miami Museum of Science, Mercy Hospital - $500
Santiago Echemendia (Tew Cardenas) – Principals: Outlook Media of South Florida, Coconut Grove Sailing Club, Grove Harbour Marina – $800
Andrew Frey (Akerman Senterfitt) – $250
Joel Maxwell (Akerman Senterfitt) – $250
Javier Fernandez (Akerman Senterfitt) – $250
Neisen Kasdin (Akerman Senterfitt) – Principal: Rickenbacker Marina Lease – $500
Francois Illas – Principals: Fuel Outdoor LLC, Worldwide Rush – $1000

As always, please email me with any questions.

Stephen Murray