In one of their first acts, Miami Beach’s newly constituted mayor and commissioners ordered the removal of a dock that dozens of people living on boats in Biscayne Bay have relied for years as a lifeline to the mainland.
The unanimous vote to cut off their easy access to food and water is part of newly elected commissioner David Suarez’s effort to force the so-called “live-aboards” out of the waters off Miami Beach.
“They can’t live on a boat forever,” Suarez said during discussion of his proposal at the Dec. 13 commission meeting. “They have to come to the land to get food, water and necessary supplies.”
By removing the city-owned dock along the canal along Dade Boulevard across from a Publix, “we’re cutting off basically their lifeline and then they’re going to have to be forced to do illegal trips to our sea wall,” Suarez said.