The Downtown Neighbors Association will have a public safety town hall Wednesday with Miami Police Chief Manny Morales to discuss some “recent high profile incidents” in the urban core, talk about the homeless crisis and look at the 2025 downtown public safety action plan.
DNA President James Torres has been very vocal recently about what he says are a series of failures by the city to provide services to the downtown. He has also been critical of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, which has a $13.5 million annual budget — through a special levy on properties within its district boundaries in downtown, Brickell and Edgewater — and recently gifted $100,000 to the UFC for its events at the Kaseya Center. The UFC is worth about $12 billion, according to Forbes.
Read related: Effort to dissolve Miami DDA cites ‘bloated’ salaries, redundancy, UFC gift
“We’ve seen the videos. We’ve felt the concern in our community. It’s time to come together and talk about what really matters: feeling safe where we live,” Torres posted on social media Monday. “That recent assault in Brickell wasn’t just a headline — it was a wake-up call. Let’s make sure our voices are heard!”
Torres, who has called for a ballot question on the dissolution of the DDA, was referring to a video posted by Only In Dade of a woman who said she was physically assaulted on a walk to Brickell Key. “Bring pepper spray with you at all times no matter if it’s sunny, daylight, in the middle of the week,” the woman says in the video, calling it a public service announcement. “I was literally chased down the street and there was a ton of people around and I was screaming for help.
Since her first video was posted, she recorded a second one about “an outrageous amount of people come forward who have experienced the exact same thing, with the exact same guy.”
The same day the DDA granted the UFC that $100K, the 15-member board also voted to allocate $550,000 for additional police services in the Central Business District and Brickell areas. According to their social media statement, the board plans to fund expanded, additional police patrol services to Edgewater and has committed $1.2 million to this effort.
The town hall from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at 50 Biscayne Boulevard will also be shared on Zoom.

The post Downtown Miami group has public safety forum for residents post assault appeared first on Political Cortadito.

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The Miami Downtown Development Authority, an entity that was formed in 1967 to promote the urban core and bring development, has a budget of $13.5 million through a special tax levy on properties within its district boundaries in downtown, Brickell and Edgewater. About a quarter of that is on salaries, some of which seem excessive and redundant.
This has some people talking about dissolving the agency and one downtown activist calling for a November referendum if the city commission won’t do it.
One example of redundant salaries cited is a total of six people working in-house marketing and public relations functions for a total of more than $640,000 in salaries and benefits:

Head of marketing and communications — $157,091
Marketing advisor — $123,203
Marketing department “collaborator” — $53,539
Content contributor — $82,195
Public information officer — 91,957
Brand integrity expert — $134,662

And the DDA also has one of the state’s top public relations firms on retainer for another $175K a year.
Isn’t that a little redundant?
Read related: Miami DDA gives UFC $100K for event, despite protest from downtowners
That’s more than $800,000 on marketing and communications, a lot of investment in PR. And, yet, Ladra has never seen any promotion to bring suburbanites downtown, which seems like low-hanging fruit.
What’s a “brand integrity expert” anyway? Why is that needed for downtown redevelopment advocacy?
The redundancy seems to be a theme.
There is a head of urban planning pulling in $177,143 and an urban planning strategist making $107,261. But all urban planning and zoning decisions are made by the city commission through the planning and zoning board. And there are two “enhanced services coordinator” positions — one at $100,692 and another at $89,787 — as well as a head of enhanced services and government affairs making $116,711. There is also a business and grants expert ($104,425), an “office and finance expert” ($106,137), a business development advisor ($107132), a “strategic partnership specialist” ($121,567) and a chief of economic and development strategy ($205,326).
These seemingly redundant salaries are one of the arguments being made by Downtown Neighbors Association President James Torres, who did a public records request for the budget and salaries (posted above) after the agency gave $100,000 to the UFC for events at the Kaseya Center next month. The taxpayer giveaway is what set Torres off and led to his push to dissolve the agency he says is taking advantage of downtown property owners.
At the very least, Torres says, the residents should stop being taxed. The city commission could establish a business district, like in Wynwood, where only the commercial property owners would be taxed for the DDA services. “The residents are paying 58% of this tax,” Torres told Political Cortadito. “If it was truly for the benefit of residents, okay. But there are no discount cards. We have to hire a third party contract for our trash pick up.
“Residents want a divorce,” Torres said.
Read related: Op Ed by DNA President James Torres: Miami doesn’t need a DDA anymore
But DDA Director Christina Crespi says the marriage is strong and that the DDA has evolved over the years.
Fresh from a meeting to discuss efforts to mitigate the upcoming Ultra musical festival — coordination of traffic, communication to residents, working with the county to have the MetroMover open later — Crespi told Political Cortadito that the agency does a lot for the residents and businesses of the area. She cited the freebie circulator, the permit clinic, the downtown enhancement team of former homeless individuals staffing bathrooms at the park, the graffiti clean up (850 incidents of graffiti just this month, she added), the landscaping additions, pressure washing, the urban planning on Flagler Street, which included getting the law changed so bars could stay open longer, and a host of events.
They raise federal dollars, she said, adding that they secured $31 million for the Flagler Street project. And the agency is about to propose a design for a pedestrian bridge under I-95 to connect the the museum park to the north side, the former Miami Herald property. They’ve launched a 3D development pipeline interactive map on their website to keep people informed of construction projects in real time, Crespi said.
But “the real focus is economic development,” she added, justifying the large PR staff and outside contract. “We are marketing downtown globally,” Crespi told Ladra, adding that there are 65,000 followers on their Instagram account. “We provide day-to-day info to residents, create content to promote businesses, incentivize new businesses,” she said.
Of course, she gets paid $265,150 in salary and benefits to say that.

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It’s time to dissolve the Miami Downtown Development Authority
Op-Ed by James Torres, President, Downtown Neighbors Alliance
The Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA) was established 58 years ago in 1967, when Lyndon B. Johnson was president and Robert King High was Miami’s mayor. That’s right—this agency was created before Miami even had air conditioning in most buildings, let alone the skyline we have today. Back then, Downtown Miami was struggling with urban decay, and the DDA was pitched as a way to breathe life into a fading city core.
Now, it’s 2025, and Downtown Miami is booming—not because of the DDA, but in spite of it. Yet this outdated agency insists it’s still needed to “attract businesses,” “bring in events,” and “support economic development.”
Read related: Miami DDA gives UFC $100K for event, despite protest from downtowners
Let’s be real—Miami sells itself. We already host Ultra Music Festival, Formula One, world-class concerts, major marathons, and international conventions without the DDA cutting corporate welfare checks. Businesses and investors aren’t choosing Miami because of the DDA’s bloated budget—they’re coming here because Miami is one of the most desirable destinations in the world.
Yet instead of shutting down after long outliving its purpose, the DDA has become an expensive, wasteful bureaucracy, taxing residents to fund itself and hand out corporate welfare to billion-dollar companies.

We have long been sounding the alarm about the DDA’s reckless spending, but their latest move—a $100,000 taxpayer handout to a $12 BILLION corporation, UFC—was the final straw.
A Pattern of Waste and Exploitation
This isn’t the first time we’ve had to step up and fight against the DDA’s blatant disregard for downtown taxpayers. Last year, we successfully led the effort to stop their tax increase, forcing them to reduce their budget by $1.2 million and lower the millage rate. This victory came despite the DDA’s attempts to downplay their $13.5 million tax extraction, with Commissioner Damian Pardo shamelessly dismissing it as “just $2-$6 per household”— a tone-deaf and dishonest attempt to minimize the real burden on our community.
Where Is Our Money Really Going?
Downtown, Brickell and Edgewater residents pay over $13.5 million in additional taxes each year to fund the DDA. Yet instead of prioritizing real issues like crime, homelessness, and cleanliness, the DDA squanders our money on luxuries for itself and unnecessary corporate handouts.
According to the DDA’s own financial disclosures from its February 28, 2025, Board Meeting Package, this is how our money is being spent:

$3.85 million is spent annually on salaries and benefits.
Over $566,000 on office rent and parking.
$425,000 on “communications and promotion” instead of actual services.
$1.19 million on sponsorships that do little for residents.
$3.35 million on vague “special initiatives” with no clear benefit.

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Representatives of homeowners in Downtown Miami, Brickell and Edgewater joined forces last week to respectfully ask the Miami Downtown Development Authority — an agency that focuses on promoting and strengthening the “economic health” of Downtown Miami — not to give $100,000 to the UFC for events at the Kaseya Center, formerly the American Airlines Arena.
The UFC has a reported net worth of $12 billion, according to Forbes, and do not need, nor should they be getting, any taxpayer handout, these leaders said.
And really, what is $100K when you have $12 billion?
“This is beyond wasteful; it’s offensive,” said a joint statement from James Torres, presidents of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, Ernesto Cuesta, president of the Brickell Homeowners’ Association, and Rick Madan, president of the Biscayne Neighborhoods Association, posted days before the meeting took place Friday.
But they were ignored.
In a post on social media, the DDA said that the resolution passed by the board of directors will “keep UFC 314’s Fight Week in Downtown Miami.” The events in April reportedly benefit local charities, offer free “family friendly” activities and deliver a big economic impact to local businesses.
Read related: Miami DDA Director resigns amid political power shift and chaos
Commissioner Manolo Reyes, who chairs the DDA, did not respond to calls from Political Cortadito, as usual. But a DDA spokesperson — and the agency has one of Florida’s top PR and crisis management teams on retainer — told Ladra this week that the UFC event in 2023 sold out at 19,000 fans and produced more than $47 million in economic impact for Miami-Dade. They apparently also were going to go somewhere else this year without the, er, um, incentive. Las Vegas was courting them, hard. But it’s difficult to imagine that another city wouldn’t pay $100K for a $47M return.
The $100,000 is to bring the UFC “fan village” so that people will have reason to hang out downtown — and spend their money — before and after the fights.
The DDA is governed by a 15-member board of directors — three public appointees and 12 downtown property owners, business owners, and/or residents. The board sets policy direction, which is then implemented by a multi-disciplinary team under the oversight of an executive director. “As an autonomous agency of the city, the Miami DDA advocates, facilitates, plans, and executes business development, planning, capital improvements, and marketing and communication strategies,” states the city website.

It has a budget of about $13.5 million through a special tax levy on properties within its district boundaries in downtown, Brickell and Edgewater. But those community leaders question the benefit they get in return.
“Instead of prioritizing real improvements, the DDA continues to waste taxpayer money on frivolous spending while ignoring the pressing needs of our community,” their statement last week read, recommending a dissolution of the agency. “The solution is simple: Downtown and Brickell residents should not be taxed at all for a redundant agency that prioritizes waste over the well-being of the people who actually live here.”
On Tuesday, Torres doubled down with an op-ed calling for the “outdated” agency’s dissolution and detailing some of the expenses reported most recently. That includes $3.85 million spent annually on salaries and benefits and another $3.35 million on “special initiatives,” with no further details about what those are. Close to $2 million are spent on sponsorships, like the UFC’s $100K.
Read related: Residents win rollback on ordinance for huge LED signs in Downtown Miami
The DDA also gave at least $80,000 in grants to businesses suffering the construction chaos on Flagler Street. Each business received a grant valued up to $5,000, which doesn’t seem like a lot. According to the agency, it has distributed $622,000 in grants to downtown businesses since 2021.
The $100K would be better spent on public safety, the neighborhood leaders said in their joint statement. They said aggravated assaults are up by a whopping 225% in Downtown Miami, while robberies have doubled, thefts have gone up by 61% and vehicle break-ins are up by 50%.
And that wasn’t completely ignored. The DDA on Friday also allocated $550,000 for additional police services in the Central Business District and Brickell areas. According to their social media statement, the board plans to expand additional police patrol services to Edgewater and has committed $1.2 million to this effort.
“But crime isn’t the only crisis downtown and residents are dealing with,” the joint statement said. “Rampant homelessness, overflowing garbage, and worsening cleanliness issues are degrading our quality of life while the DDA ignores these urgent problems. Instead of addressing the real needs of our community, they continue wasting money on corporate sponsorships, lavish offices, and bloated staff expenses,” the statement reads.
“Downtown Miami has no shortage of venues or major events—Formula One, Ultra Music Festival, marathons, concerts, and conventions flood our streets every year. Downtown sells itself—we don’t need to bribe global corporations to come here. That money should go to crime prevention, beautification, and public safety—not corporate welfare.”
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And wouldn’t that make her just like ADLP?

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If you’re following the District 2 race in Miami, you’ve likely seen incumbent Commissioner Sabina Covo‘s ads on TV.

This week, Downtown Neighbors Alliance President James Torres, who has a much smaller warchest and can’t afford a lot of network time, posted his first video web ad, a fast-paced 30-second spot that calls for new blood at City Hall and calls out the current state of dysfunction.

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