The scourge of COVID-19 has slammed the residents and the economy of Miami, but the resilience of its people has kept the Magic City vibrant, growing and moving ahead, Mayor Francis Suarez said in his State of the City address on Tuesday.
“Over the past year we have been tested, we have adapted, and we have overcome,” said Suarez, speaking at the city's Freedom Tower.
He said Miami is a beacon of hope to those around the country and the world because it has remained true to its core values — a commitment to personal, economic and political freedom.
“When other cities raise taxes, we cut them. When other cities penalized new industries, we welcomed them. When other cities defunded their police, we invested in them,” the mayor said. “And that is why I can report to you that the state of our city is strong.”
But, Suarez said, for the city to stay strong and build on its strengths it needs to act now. In the upcoming months, the mayor said, he will set up task forces on technology inclusivity, business relocation, regulation modernization, park expansion, and workforce. He is also creating an office called Venture Miami, which will incorporate the city’s existing economic development infrastructure.
“We are not New York. We are not Chicago. We are not San Francisco,” he said. “We are Miami and Miami we will stay.”
He said the
“When Cubans, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans fled oppressive Socialist regimes, they came to Miami in search of freedom and the American Dream. And they didn’t just find it, they built it for themselves and for anyone else with the heart and the grit to do it,” Suarez said. “And now when Californians, New Yorkers and other Americans flee states or municipal governments with oppressive taxation, censorship and the persecution of creative people, Miami offers them the same opportunity to share their dreams, their talents and their ambitions.”
Still as the Miami population grows and expands, the need for housing will continue to grow. The mayor talked about bond-financed affordable housing for city residents.
“We can’t have a growing economy without having an affordable housing market," he said. “Over the past year, we have finalized contracts for $10.1 million in Miami Forever bond funding for seven new housing developments that have started construction or will start construction in 2021.”
He said “we have leveraged those dollars to the tune of 20 to one, which will give us $200 million in projects for $10 million of government investment.”
When the buildings are completed, he said, there will be 722 new rental units for low-income and workforce households in the city.
Suarez added his administration would unveil an affordable housing master plan in the next few months that will ensure a free and fair housing market for all residents.
Working to deal with climate change is also a big priority for the city, along with environmental protections against water pollution. Next month, Miami will unveil its storm-water master plan and will release the city’s carbon neutrality plan by Earth Day 2021.
“The choice is no longer the environment versus the economy,” he said. “The environment is the economy.”
Suarez said Miami must serve as an example for all of America.
“From Cuba to California, from Nicaragua to New York Miami is more than a city. It is an idea, a dream and an opportunity for those feeling oppression” he said. “And over the past year we have welcomed the future unashamed, unafraid and optimistic. Miami has moved in a new direction and that is forward."
