MIAMI – A new Miami Beach ordinance prevents boaters from docking at Maurice Gibb Memorial Park and people who live on boats are not thrilled about it.

Todd’s boat is his house. His dingy is his car. It’s how he gets to shore. 

He picked us up behind the convention center because he can’t use the docks at the park.

A new city ordinance took effect August 3 banning people from parking boats there or picking or dropping people off. The city commission passed it unanimously. But Todd still has to come to shore to get groceries. 

“I tie it up to this wall,” Todd said. “And I risk the chance of getting caught by code enforcement.” 

City Commissioner David Suarez is a sponsor of the ordinance. He says the park isn’t designed for how people are using it. 

“It’s for launching or retrieving vessels. It’s not a marina it’s not a pickup and drop off point,” Suarez said. “Unfortunately it’s been abused by everyone on the water including illegal charters.” 

And he said there are too many derelict boats on the water already. He showed CBS News Miami some of them.

“This will never run,” Suarez said about a derelict boat in the water.

Suarez says there are more accommodating places to park your boat if you need to run errands on land, such as a marina. 

“There’s staff, there’s infrastructure and most importantly there’s insurance that can cover any issues that might happen,” Suarez said.

Todd says what he thought was a simple life just got harder. But he doesn’t know how to adjust to it yet.

“To go see my doctor today I had to break the ordinance,” Todd said. “To pick you up, I had to break the ordinance.” 

Suarez says the city will give warnings for now, if someone picks people up or drops them off at the park. But in about a month the city will start fining people.

Repeat offenders will see higher fines and potentially jail time. Suarez says if you leave your boat at the park, it will be towed.

Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas recently revealed on ‘The OG’s’ podcast that he came close to joining Miami in 2003.

What would’ve been like if the Miami Heat had Gilbert Arenas playing for them? A dominant backcourt duo between Arenas and Dwyane Wade would’ve been sick.

It’s another ‘what if ‘scenario as Miami and Arenas didn’t unite. At that time, Arenas was yet to fully unleash his offensive prowess. Let’s not forget, he began his journey with the Golden State Warriors but truly blossomed when he landed at the Washington Wizards.

According to Arenas, Pat Riley said, “I don’t feel comfortable paying a young guy $55 million who hasn’t proved himself yet.” Miami had Eddie Jones and Caron Butler on the team. A trade would have been necessary for that to work.

Riley wasn’t wrong at the moment, but he turned out to be wrong two years later when Arenas became a machine on the court. He became an All-Star in 2005. In that same year, Wade and Shaquille O’Neal, in his first season with Miami, lost to the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference in seven games. Miami won their first NBA championship the next year by defeating the Dallas Mavericks in six games.

Miami’s victories were without Arenas, but his addition could have made them more formidable. It’s not a stretch to imagine them clinching two or three championships during the Wade and O’Neal era with Arenas on the roster.

Miguel Mike Medina is a contributor to Miami Heat On SI. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com

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