More and more Surfside residents are asking the question that grows louder by the day: why has this commission sold out Surfside to developers right under our noses? Driving six blocks through town can now take more than twenty minutes. Simultaneous construction on both sides of Collins Avenue has blocked lanes, sidewalks, and common sense. The previous commission required the Kushner project to stage construction from 94th Street. This Commission reversed that decision, allowing the shutdown...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Surfside has once again become an embarrassment as the dysfunction of our current Commission was on full display last month. In a reckless and stunning move, Commissioner Tina Paul moved to fire Town Manager Mark Blumstein without any plan or qualified replacement in place. What followed was a humiliating moment for our town: Commissioners looking out to staff in the audience and begging, “Will someone help us out?” At that point, one by one, employees declined to step into the leadership...
2 months ago • 1 min read
Surfside is in the middle of a full-blown leadership crisis. Our Town employees are leaving in waves, and the silence from our elected officials is deafening. Just last week, three key staff members abruptly resigned. Adrian Hernandez, who stepped in as Parks & Recreation's new Director after Tim Milian’s August departure, quit less than a month into the job. Deputy Public Works Director Frantza Duval resigned shortly after her Director, Randy Stokes, walked away earlier this year. In perhaps...
4 months ago • 2 min read
Reprinted from an open letter posted on NextDoor – August 11, 2025 - - - - - - - From: Shlomo DanzingerFormer Mayor, Town of Surfside, FLTo: Charles W. Burkett, MayorTina Paul, Vice MayorRuben A. Coto, CommissionerNelly Velasquez, CommissionerGerardo Vildostegui, Commissioner August 11, 2025RE: Formal Notice of Legal and Personal Liability Regarding Proposed Undergrounding ProjectDear Mayor and Commissioners,I am writing to place each of you on formal notice regarding the proposed Utilities...
5 months ago • 4 min read
Photo credit https://shlomoforsurfside.com/ Reprinted from an open letter posted on NextDoor – July, 27, 2025 - - - - - - - Dear Neighbors, Tomorrow night, Monday, July 28, there will be a special meeting at Town Hall where two critical issues will be voted on: the undergrounding project and the Abbott Avenue drainage project. These are not routine agenda items. The decisions made tomorrow could shape Surfside for decades, and it is critical that residents fully understand the stakes. The...
6 months ago • 2 min read
We’ve all heard the saying: Elections have consequences. Nowhere is that more painfully true than in Surfside — where voters, distracted by empty slogans and finger-pointing, handed power to activists posing as leaders. Now, we’re all paying the price. Case in point: the Commission’s reckless war with our neighbors in Indian Creek Village. In recent years, Miami-Dade County has mandated that cities abandon septic tanks for modern sewer systems — an environmental no-brainer which the State has...
7 months ago • 6 min read
Last week, we exposed a shocking and unprecedented move by Surfside Town Manager Mark Blumstein: a secret gag order issued behind the backs of elected officials, muzzling town staff and forbidding them from speaking directly to commissioners. This directive was a blatant violation of the Town Charter — but it didn’t end there. Sean Kelly of the Florida State Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) has now fired back, issuing a formal warning to Blumstein, declaring the gag order a direct violation of...
7 months ago • 2 min read
A bombshell email surfaced this week from Surfside’s overpaid and increasingly embattled Town Manager, Mark Blumstein — one that raises serious legal and ethical red flags. In the message, sent directly to all town staff and department heads, Blumstein explicitly forbids employees from communicating with any elected officials unless they first receive his personal approval. That’s right: the unelected Town Manager is attempting to cut off your elected leaders from the very people they were...
7 months ago • 2 min read
It’s been four years since 98 lives were tragically cut short in the Surfside building collapse — one of the deadliest structural failures in American history. Every June 24th since, families, survivors, and residents gather here in Surfside to mourn, remember, and honor those we lost. And yet, this year, Surfside’s own leaders couldn’t even be bothered to show up. Town Manager Missing — "More Important Things" Surfside’s incompetent Town Manager, Mark Blumstein, was on vacation during the...
7 months ago • 1 min read