Miami Commissioner Joe Carollo calls on property owners to clean up building graffiti before New Year’s Eve celebration in Miami – WSVN 7News | Miami News, Weather, Sports

MIAMI (WSVN) – A City of Miami commissioner said an ongoing battle between the city and the property owners regarding the cleanup of graffiti needs to end. Commissioner Joe Carollo held a news conference on Tuesday, and he said it was time for the graffiti on the old VITAS building to go. “I mean, would you love to have that next to you where you lived? I don’t think so!” he said. The controversy stems from the building located at the 300 block of Southeast Second Street. It was a VITAS healthcare building before it was abandoned and set for demolition with all the proper permitting. But James Torres, the president of the Miami Downtown Neighbors Alliance, said the owners of the building, Florida East Coast Realty, changed their mind. “(They) changed the way they want their permitting done, whether it’s a cost issue or a timing issue,” he said. Carollo said the owners stalled the demolition process on purpose. 7News reached out to the owners but they didn’t respond to the request for comment. But the change of plans has left the building standing there for months. So, during Art Basel 2023, in the middle of the night, artists...