Miami Gardens recall effort launches over Formula 1

Community members accuse city council members of selling out

A group of Miami Gardens residents celebrated a bittersweet win on Friday, after announcing they’ve officially gathered enough signatures on a petition to recall three city council members who voted to pave the way for Formula One racing at the Hard Rock Stadium.

As previously reported in The Miami Times, Miami Gardens will become the 11th location in the United States to host the fastest sport in the world – F1 racing. But nearby residents are largely opposed to the sport coming to Hard Rock Stadium, citing dangerous noise levels, potentially harmful air pollution, snarled traffic and an overall decrease in quality of life.

The Miami Gardens City Council initially voted unanimously in opposition to F1 in late 2020. A vote by the county commission overruled them, allowing Hard Rock Stadium and F1 to proceed with their plans.

F1 organizers agreed to a $5 million commitment with Miami Gardens over the next 10 years, in order to garner support. They proposed a community benefits package which includes priority hiring of Miami Gardens residents, the creation of a STEM program for children and other concessions to address residents’ concerns.

The council agreed to the proposal, passing it with a 5-2 vote, but therein lies the point of contention: Residents consider the decision “selling out.”

“We would not put a price on our lives,” said Karen Hunter-Jackson, chair of political action committee Miami Gardens Strong. “Our stance on [the community benefits package] was that the councilmembers should’ve been fighting with us, even if that meant we walked away with nothing.”

Hunter-Jackson also noted that the concessions F1 organizers made did nothing to safeguard children and the elderly from noise and air pollution.

Miami Gardens residents have mobilized to protest Formula One coming to their neighborhood, citing concerns about noise levels, pollution and traffic.(Selena Stanley for The Miami Times)

“The agreement stipulates that the promoter will monitor the noise levels and quality of air. If that’s not the fox guarding the henhouse, I don't know what is,” she said.

Miami Gardens Strong led the effort to remove Vice Mayor Reginald Leon (seat 2), Councilman Robert Stephens (seat 6) and Councilwoman Katrina Wilson (seat 4), who all voted to approve the $5 million deal, claiming that their votes went against the community’s interests. Mayor Rodney Harris and Councilwoman Linda Julien (seat 5) also voted in favor of the deal, but have not served long enough to have their elections recalled.

Miami Gardens Strong had 30 days to collect the signatures of 10% of registered voters from each of the city’s districts. During a press conference outside Norwood Elementary School Friday afternoon, the group announced that they’ve achieved this goal ahead of the June 9 deadline, and plan to continue fighting.

“Our elected officials have been given notice that the people will rise up, demand to be respected and demand that they represent the people’s will,” said Hunter-Jackson. “Not the will of the county, not the will of Hard Rock Stadium, not the will of Formula One or any other predators that come to our community.”

Early supporters of the recall effort include former County Commissioners Barbara Jordan and Betty Ferguson. The two protested outside Miami Gardens City Hall before the council voted in favor of the community benefits package, however, they were absent from the press conference Friday.

The next step regarding the recall is for Miami-Dade’s election supervisor to review the signatures on the petition. If certified, another petition bearing the elected officials’ defense of actions must be created. The group will then have 60 days to collect signatures from 15% of registered Miami Gardens voters. If that goal is reached and the petition is certified, a recall election will be held.

The three councilmembers facing recalls all expressed varying degrees of concern over the situation.

“I believe this is the first time that anyone has attempted to recall someone for expanding business opportunities, jobs and community funding in Miami Gardens,” said Leon in a statement to The Miami Times.

According to estimations by the F1 organizers, more than 4,000 new jobs, 35,000 local hotel bookings and $400 million in positive economic impact could result from the races each year. However, critics have raised questions about how much economic impact will trickle down into Miami Gardens compared to Miami-Dade County as a whole. F1 race attendees are usually the company’s higher-end clientele, who might gravitate toward businesses and hotels in Miami Beach and downtown.

“Formula One was coming to Miami Gardens whether we accepted the community benefits package or not,” Leon said. “The bottom line is that the race will help Miami Gardens, maximize the city’s exposure and create opportunities for local businesses to participate. I am proud that Miami Gardens will be the first African American city in the world to host a Formula One race.”

Indeed, Miami Gardens will be the first predominantly Black city to host the sporting event. However, residents have pointed out that the races don’t usually take place in residential areas, such as the neighborhood surrounding Hard Rock Stadium.

“The reasons that Miami Gardens residents do not want F1 in our community are the same reasons that the residents and businesses in downtown Miami and Bayfront Park didn't want F1 in their community,” Hunter-Jackson said. “According to experts, people could suffer permanent hearing loss as a result of the noise level. Communities of color also tend to have a higher rate of asthma, so we don't need anything else coming into our community that's going to impact the air quality.”

Early proposals to bring F1 to South Florida suggested a track in downtown Miami, surrounding the American Airlines Arena. Residents of the area greatly opposed the idea, which led the county commission and race organizers to turn their eyes toward Miami Gardens. Some have called this environmental racism.

F1 cars are among the quietest of all motorsport cars, and power-unit emissions represent less than 1% of F1’s carbon footprint as an industry, according to the company. However, Miami Gardens residents maintain that their concerns are valid, citing research by acoustical engineering firm Leider Acoustics that says F1 racing can produce noise levels of up to 106 dBA. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA), noise levels above 85 dBA are dangerous to hearing.

Councilwoman Katrina Wilson is facing efforts by residents to recall her election to city council.(MiamiGardens-FL.gov)

Meanwhile, Wilson said despite all of these valid concerns, residents’ efforts to recall city councilmembers are “misled.”

“It’s like an armchair quarterback at the game,” Wilson said in an interview with The Miami Times. “They could tell you from now until the second coming of Christ what the quarterback did wrong in the game, but they're not in the game. So they don’t understand the dynamics of what’s on the field."

“I don’t have concerns about the recall, because if the residents feel that this is strong enough of an issue that they feel that we didn’t act as good stewards, then they have a right … I’m gonna respect them when they vote against me like I'll respect them when they vote for me,” she continued.

Residents seek to oust Councilman Robert Stephens from office, because of his vote in favor of the Formula One Community Benefits Package.(MiamiGardens-FL.gov)

Stephens echoed the same sentiment in a statement.

“I stand firm on my decision to vote in favor of the resolution,” he said. “I encourage our community to continue to voice its concerns so that they can be properly addressed moving forward. Although there has been an effort to recall my appointment, I am committed to the City of Miami Gardens and my fellow residents that call this beautiful city home.”

Members of Miami Gardens Strong all agree that even if they fail to successfully oust councilmembers, they’ve already won because their voices have been heard. If nothing can be done to stop F1 from coming to Miami, residents are still committed to making sure the organization knows they’re an “unwelcome” visitor.

https://www.miamitimesonline.com/news/miami-gardens-recall-effort-launches-over-formula-1/article_c90dd410-c89d-11eb-9382-738fd7745ff1.html