Title borrowed from Marvin Gaye’s song and album
There are multiple issues at BK1 right now. Some are inconveniences. Others potentially involve life safety, structural integrity and emergency systems.
Yet on issue after issue, owners are getting little information, no updates—or no explanation at all.
Let’s take a quick look:
Shoring in the Garage
There is now shoring on the first floor of our garage—steel supports installed beneath the concrete level above.
More concerning is how the work appears in City of Miami records:
Emergency – Unsafe Structures
Violation Case # BB26173083
That raises some very basic questions:
- What happened?
- What condition caused the City to become involved?
- Why haven’t owners been informed?
- What repairs are required, and what will they cost?
- Could this affect sales or the values of your home, financing or insurance?
- Is this board trying to hide something?
There are also columns marked by someone which are clearly “Structure Related” on the east side of the second garage level:
Again, owners deserve an explanation.
What’s Going On?
Emergency Temporary Generator
On July 6, we were told our generator required replacement. We have been operating with a temporary generator since then.
Where is the update (Its been 7 weeks)?
- When will the permanent generator be installed?
- What will it cost?
- What are we paying for the temporary generator?
For something as important as our building’s emergency power system
- Owners shouldn’t have to guess
- When the dollars to spent are high (Over $150,000) this should be approved in board meeting, not after the decision was made in secret.
What’s Going On?
Second-Floor Elevator Lobby
Eight months and counting.
The doors are now locked, so I can no longer photograph the progress. But that hardly matters:
FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS… NOTHING HAS HAPPENED.
This is an area smaller than many of our apartments.
We were told in June that another permit was needed. It is now August, with City records still indicating that information is required (since April 23rd) before that permit can move forward.
Remember: the electrical permit wasn’t even applied for until March 24—more than two months after work began.
At this pace, when exactly will this project be finished? For Christmas?
What’s Going On?
Exterior Pool Wall
The condition continues to deteriorate.
We, the owners still haven’t received a meaningful update about what is happening, what the solution is, what it will cost or when it will be repaired.
How does this affect the value of your investment in BK1?
What’s Going On?
Fire Sprinkler Replacement
In a May 2024 Board Meeting, this board told owners that the building’s fire sprinklers would be replaced.
More than two years later, the work still isn’t complete.
At that meeting then board member Peter Scalatos (With the vote of Julius Barbat and Omar Rey) gave a NO BID contract to Pye Barker to perform this work. What’s Going On?
Many units still have broken sprinklers.
This isn’t about aesthetics. It’s part of our building’s life-safety system.
What’s Going On?
Key Fob Replacement
Still incomplete.
More than a year after the contract was signed, the new system functions inconsistently, an old incompatible reader is still being used at the gate to Brickell Key Drive. Promised readers and functionality at other locations have not materialized.
What’s Going On?
Water Intrusion
During the weekend of August 8, water accumulated on the fourth floor and tarps appeared in the gym.
What caused it? Was there damage? Has the problem been corrected?
Owners have received no explanation.
What’s Going On?
The Common Thread
Shoring. Emergency power. Fire sprinklers. Water intrusion. An unfinished construction project. An incomplete security-access system.
These aren’t all equally serious.
Some are inconveniences.
Some may involve the safety of the people who live here.
But they all have something in common:
Owners shouldn’t have to discover problems by walking through the building, searching City records or asking repeatedly for answers.
Remember, we are now eight weeks beyond the June 30 Board meeting, when owners were promised answers to their questions.
We’re still waiting.
Four Months
There is, however, something positive ahead.
The next Board election is only four months away.
That means owners aren’t powerless.
Between now and then, we can ask questions. We can demand information. We can attend meetings. We can encourage owners to become involved. Ultimately, we can decide what kind of leadership, communication and accountability we expect from the people entrusted with our investment and lifestyle.
Change doesn’t have to begin with anger. It can begin with participation.
Four months isn’t very long.
Let’s use them.
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