The recently elected Harbor Island Commissioner of North Bay Village, Miami, Andy Rotondaro, talks about the goals he has for his upcoming four-year term which begins in November 2022.
As a public figure, a leader must represent the people who elected them. Their roles and responsibilities include ensuring that they are working to meet their needs and improve the lives of citizens overall. A county commissioner is no different than any other public figure. They are elected officials in charge of overseeing county activities and ensuring that citizen concerns are addressed, federal and state requirements are met, and country operations run smoothly.
The real estate expert, Andy Rotondaro of The Daro Team, was recently elected Harbor Island Commissioner of North Bay Village, Miami. Andy shares what he has planned to better the lives of residents and improve the island community.
Improving Walkability & Developing The 79th Street Causeway
North Bay Village is a beautiful island city located in Miami-Dade county of Florida. Surrounded by water on all sides, it offers scenic beauty. Unfortunately, residents of the village do not enjoy the beauty of the city and have to drive from one place to another. To address this situation, a project to build pavements and sidewalks was launched about two years ago. Although the work began quickly, it was only half completed. Now, as the commissioner-elect of North Bay Village, Andy’s first objective is to improve the walkability of the community on the island. He plans to connect all the remaining sidewalks on Harbor island so that there is a 3-mile continuous waterfront sidewalk. This sidewalk would be open to the public who wants to take advantage of the city’s views.
Andy believes that adding a pedestrian walkway along the beautiful waterfront borders in the North Bay village would be an absolute game changer. The trail will be designed in a fashion such that it stretches from the southwest corner of Treasure island to the northwest corner of Harbor island in a loop. This will help to increase residential and real estate values, bringing more economic activity to the community.
This relates directly to Andy’s second objective which is to develop the 79th Street Causeway. He believes that North Bay Village is Miami’s most undervalued and underdeveloped island which lies in the heart of 79th Street and lacks a lot of fun places that people can come to. The street is a 6-lane highway that brings people to-and-from Miami beach. As a part of his goal, he plans to reduce the number of lanes from 6 to 4, opening up wider bike lanes and walkways. This would not only encourage more shops, restaurants, and businesses to make their home in North Bay Village but would also reduce the number of speeding and tragic accidents that have recently taken place.
Residents would no longer need to travel to South Beach, Downtown Beach, or Miami Beach because of the sidewalks. Opening more fun places within walking distance of the city will allow people to simply walk the distance and have leisure time or simply enjoy its beauty.
Enhance Community Health And Sustainability
The third objective on Andy’s list is to improve the health and sustainability of water, sanitation, and the community. He plans to organize monthly cleanups with the help of various organizations and North Bay Village’s sustainability & resilient task force to bring people together and clean up trash left behind by careless citizens and tourists. He also wants to improve the community’s recycling efforts and believes that there are ways to encourage high-rise condominium associations to begin recycling properly, increasing the efficiency of the efforts and setting an example for other communities in Miami and around the world to follow.
Andy believes that the time has come to expand North Bay Village. He claims that these are some of the things for which he expects to be held accountable during his term as the city commissioner.
