At a precipice
Greetings, Stetters. Today we turn to Riviera Beach: so much potential, so much in-fighting, so much to lose; meanwhile, Mac Fabrics sews up a milestone.
📎 The Tradrick McCoy papers
When Tradrick McCoy got reelected to the Riviera Beach City Council in March 2022 he celebrated after midnight by burning rubber outside the campaign headquarters of Shirley Lanier, a fellow council member who had backed his opponent.
"I Wonnn," he shouted from his white Ford Crown Victoria before getting out, doing a dance and yelling "Who got something to say?"
The account is from a police officer’s body cam footage, reported in one of eight complaints against the two-term council member released last week after Lanier went public with her concerns.
Lanier reminded the council that McCoy had carried a gun to council meetings and said she feared for her safety following the fight between McCoy and Council Chairperson Doug Lawson after a Jan. 24 meeting. She recalled the 1978 murders of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk by a former supervisor.
Many residents viewed the complaints as politically motivated attacks to silence a council member who has fought on their behalf, recently over the city’s failure to report a contaminated well, and five times since 2019 by suing the city.
The council voted, with McCoy absent, to send complaints from several city employees, including Lanier and council member Julie Botel, to the governor’s office and the Florida Commission on Ethics. The governor can remove City Council members.
Among those complaints released last week: The police report that resulted in no charges over the events outside Lanier’s campaign headquarters at 2701 Obama Highway after midnight on March 9, 2022.
Riviera Beach police officer C.D. Tate wrote his account after reviewing the body cam footage.
"Anybody got something to say!?!" and “You mad?" McCoy yelled.
A woman responded, "Yeah, I`m big mad."
McCoy began playing Tupac Shakur’s “Hit Em Up." He sang along with the opening lyrics, substituting Riviera for “West Side.”
"First off, f*** your b**** and the clique you claim — Riviera."
McCoy approached the campaign office yelling, "Is that all you got? I pay 67,000 dollars! F*** you mean, y`all going come for me? Y`all want a job? Come see me, man, I`m hiring $15 an hour."
He walked back to his vehicle and continued to repeat the lyrics of the Tupac song, the police report said. As he left, he said, "I`m out here, they love me bruh!"
There’s more. Read “Did you just sigh” and other complaints against McCoy here.
🏛️ McCoy sues city, again
By Elisabeth Gaffney
Riviera Beach Council member Tradrick McCoy’s most recent lawsuit against the city he is elected to lead would block a referendum to raise money for park improvements.
McCoy claimed the city violated public meeting laws by allowing a council member to vote remotely to put the referendum on the ballot. For all he knows, he wrote in his Dec. 18 complaint, the appearance of Council member Shirley Lanier, who cast one of three votes in favor but did not appear visually, could have been “a phantom voice” created by artificial intelligence.
Yes, but: That sparked an affidavit from Lanier: “Contrary to Councilman McCoy’s allegations, there was no AI or other artificial voice voting,” she wrote. “IT WAS ME.”
Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Bradley Harper didn’t find merit in McCoy’s arguments. On Jan. 10, he ruled that the March 19 referendum could go forward seeking $55 million to build an athletic complex, pool and park improvements.
The city also is asking voters to support $35 million to build a police station at the Blue Heron Boulevard site of Barracuda Bay Aquatic Center and $25 million to rebuild a fire station on Singer Island.
It wasn’t the first time McCoy sued the city — it’s the eighth since 2017. And the fifth time since his first election in 2019.
At the Sept. 6 meeting, then-City Clerk Tawanna Smith announced that Lanier was attending virtually. No council members objected. She did not appear on a screen.
After the vote, McCoy objected to legal sufficiency but did not explain. In his complaint, McCoy said Lanier’s vote violated Florida’s public meetings law, which had been changed during the pandemic to allow virtual votes — a revision that had expired.
McCoy claimed that by allowing Lanier to vote and not properly addressing his objection, Smith had “defiantly ignored her duties.” Smith resigned two months later.
Juan-Carlos Planas, representing the city, wrote in a Jan. 22 response that McCoy “makes absurd allegations” and that he is “incorrect on the law.”
“Ultimately, McCoy seeks a court action to defeat a legislative item that he did not have the votes to defeat in the City Council,” Planas wrote.
Judge Harper shared those sentiments: “The public interest is best-served by the referendum remaining on the ballot at this time,” he wrote.
Despite the ruling, McCoy told Stet Palm Beach that he remained “cautiously optimistic” that the judge eventually will rule in his favor.
➡️ Developers wanted
In one of the nation’s largest redevelopment projects, Riviera Beach is inviting builders to develop 40 acres along the Blue Heron Boulevard heart of the city while helping to build a new city hall and athletic fields.
The city’s ambitious pitch:
Propose redevelopment of the old City Hall site and athletic fields straddling Blue Heron just east of the railroad tracks with residential and commercial uses.
Build a 150,000-square-foot center that includes a city hall, library and parking garage on city-owned land between 22nd and 23rd streets west of Broadway.
Construct athletic fields and an aquatic center on 38 acres next to Inlet Grove Community High School, which the city wants to share with the school district. The city is asking voters to approve a $55 million bond that will help pay for those improvements.
Flashback: Joel reported last year that Riviera Beach had a contract with OHLA USA to take on this project. But the city ended that agreement.
At a public workshop last month for interested developers, City Manager Jonathan Evans painted a bright picture of Riviera Beach’s prospects with $1 billion in projects and at least 1,200 residential units in the pipeline.
The city’s real estate consultant, CBRE, agrees.
“This is one of the largest redevelopment projects in the U.S. in terms of mixed-use,” said Michael McShea, a CBRE senior vice president. “Municipal projects take a long time. The city is positioned to move.”
What they’re saying: Rick Gonzalez, president of REG Architects, took in the city’s presentation from a front table. Gonzalez has already designed the Waterway, which is 785 condos, a restaurant, marina and commercial space in three towers planned east of Broadway.
“It’s Riviera Beach’s time,” he said.
🥫The juice
Don’t miss a beet.
🗞️ The death after less than a year of Jimmy Finkelstein’s The Messenger, the West Palm Beach-based national news startup we wrote about here, was borne of a failed approach and a poor strategy. (Nieman Reports and Axios; also click here for a 40-minute podcast from several insiders, including no-holds-barred former Palm Beach Post reporter Marc Caputo.)
🦢 Palm Beach ties abound in the new FX series “Feud: Capote vs. The Swans,” including author Laurence Leamer and socialite C.Z. Guest. As Jan Tuckwood writes, “You may need three martinis to get through an episode: two to drink and one to throw in someone’s face while shrieking ‘How dare you?!’” (The Palm Beach Post $$$)
🎙️ Three WLRN staff members were laid off after "Sundial" show was canceled. (Axios Miami)
💎 “The Palm Beach Show: Jewelry, Art, Antiques, Design” is coming Feb. 15-20 to the Convention Center. Reporter Joe Capozzi took us on a visual walkthrough last year’s show. (ByJoeCapozzi.com)
🎉 561 insider: Mac Fabrics wraps 65 years
By Hannah Spence
In 1959, when Mac Fabrics opened on Clematis Street, Sandy Castello was a 12-year-old junior high school drum major in Murray, Kentucky, who sewed her own band uniforms with the help of her seamstress grandmother.
That experience carried through her life as she launched multiple design businesses. They sold decorative pillows, luxury baby bedding and custom draperies.
Along the way, she moved to West Palm Beach.
In 2018, she acquired Mac Fabrics from the founding family.
Today, Castello, 77, is marking Mac Fabrics and Design Center’s 65th anniversary with a community celebration.
Flashback: When Mac Fabrics opened, Palm Beach County had a population of just 230,000, and there were no other fabric stores within a 100-mile radius, according to the company.
When Castello took over, national brands including JoAnn Fabrics, Calico Corners and even Walmart had entered the market.
What they’re saying: “The first thing I had to do was locate it differently off of Clematis Street so I would have parking. And I had to add revenue streams,” says Castello, who employs 15 people.
How it’s changed: Castello expanded beyond bolts of fabric to include furniture, lighting, rugs and collectibles in a one-stop design center business model.
Castello also moved business operations to 535 24th St. in the historic Northwood District.
Mac Fabrics’ endurance is distinctive. A Cornell University report noted that the average lifespan of a family business is 24 years.
What’s next: A cocktail reception and celebration is planned from 5 to 7 pm Thursday at the design center. All are welcome. RSVP to epalmbeach@gmail.com.
🎉 This week marks the completion of our first year and we’re still Stetting along. Thanks for taking part in an incredible ride. We’re glad you’re with us. Here’s to more stories, and more surprises, in Year 2. 🥂
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