Michelle Angel, former owner of the Woolbright Farmers Market, says one goal of her new book is to make people less afraid of death. Photo provided

By Jan Engoren

Intrigued by the concept of death since she was 5, Michelle Angel, who ran the Woolbright Farmers Market in Boynton Beach for 20 years, found her life’s mission as a guide and consultant for dying people and their loved ones.
Angel’s book, I Sell Tomatoes: Inspiration and Consideration Before End-Of-Life, published by Trimark Press in Deerfield Beach, holds the wisdom of 30 years’ experience in dealing with the prospect of death and offers insight on how to meet the end of life.
“This is not a book about grief or after,” Angel writes. “This is a book for before. It is meant to encourage self-inquiry into the experience we’re all guaranteed one day.
“The fear of anything loses its power the minute it’s made less confrontational,” the Boynton Beach resident writes in her book. “In the end (pun intended), the best deaths are the ones met fearlessly. I know this to be true. I invite the reader to be prepared and find out for themselves.”
Her goal is to help people have a “good death,” be less afraid and to provide them with tools to contemplate end of life. She asks the reader: “Which is more like death? A sunrise or sunset?” “What would you choose for a last meal?” And to think of a film with a “great” dying scene, such as Harold and Maude or Titanic.
Her childhood friend Suzanne Alfandari, a marriage and family therapist in San Rafael, California, helped her edit the book down to about half of its original 300 pages.
“In our culture, the subject of death is taboo,” says Alfandari. “Michelle offers a way to think about the subject and how to approach it.”
Alfandari said she didn’t think about death often, but now enjoys thinking and talking about it.
“When we realize we will all die, we can make the most of our lives,” she says. “Like a sunny day after the rain, it’s good to have the contrast to appreciate what is.”
For Angel, 68, the farm stand was across from a cemetery but was the “exact opposite” of death — vibrant, lively, filled with flowers and fresh vegetables. It closed in May 2021 with her son, Jesse Goldfinger, as a co-owner.
“It was by the grace of God that I ended up in the farm stand,” says Angel. “It gave me the opportunity to pick and choose when I do death work. It was the best of all worlds.”
In fact, if customers would inquire, “Do you do death work?,” she would reply, “No, I sell tomatoes,” giving her the title for the book.
Angel says she was 5 when she witnessed “someone that was dead being brought back to life. I believe that was the beginning of my interest.”
Other experiences followed, none frightening but all that made her think. She sat at the bedsides of her father when he died and of her brother as he died of AIDS in 1994.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in human services with a concentration in thanatology, the scientific study of death.
For Angel, a New Yorker by birth and grandmother of four, “It’s all about service.”
“I pray for each person,” she says. “I don’t take it lightly and am grateful that I get to help someone meet death fearlessly and leave nothing left unsaid.
“It’s grounding and fulfilling to be with someone who’s dying,” she says. “I’m honored and grateful when I get to be by a bedside; it’s amazing grace.”
Davida Schoentag, 70, a retired sex, mental health and substance abuse counselor from Lake Worth, met Angel when her mother was in hospice care 10 years ago.
“I’m so grateful for Michelle,” says Schoentag, who considers herself a “recovering Catholic” and says there’s no dogma or religion in Angel’s teachings. “She gave me a gift in my darkest hours and has touched many lives.
“She showed me how to be part of my mother’s transition. I was there when she took her last breath. It was a wonderful experience and not sad. I was able to share something with my mom that no one else shared.”
Angel’s support and view of death through a different lens allowed Schoentag to see transitioning to another stage as a beautiful process.
“It’s all about living well while dying, to be present in real time,” Angel says. “Being aware of where we’re going, to create a foundation of great strength, built on faith instead of fear, on what you know instead of what you don’t know.
“This will allow you to move forward more able to handle whatever comes your way.”
Angel credits her notion of “perfect plan” — that all is as it should be — with giving meaning to life as it is lived.
“We come with a birth date and a death date and everything in between is our destiny,” she writes.
“I have made friends with death,” Angel says, “but I will always be in the business of life.”

Jan Engoren writes about health and healthy living. Send column ideas to jengoren@hotmail.com.

Drs. Milad Alam and Brett Schlifka review a patient plan before surgery using a new robotic navigation platform at JFK Hospital. Photos provided

By Christine Davis

HCA Florida JFK Hospital recently began offering a robotic navigation platform, which improves visualization of patient anatomy during minimally invasive spine and brain procedures. The first surgery was successfully performed Oct. 14 by Drs. Brett Schlifka and Milad Alam.
The system “eliminates the need for multiple imaging devices throughout one procedure, and the compact footprint amplifies the system’s agility and usability,” Schlifka said.

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The American Heart Association’s new “Getting to the Heart of Stroke” initiative, developed and supported by HCA Healthcare and the HCA Healthcare Foundation, focuses on clinical training, community and patient education, diagnosis and treatment.
The initiative “uses a proven approach to public health, which combines a national initiative with local health impact work,” said Kayla Fox, executive director of the American Heart Association in Palm Beach County. “Over the next few months, the American Heart Association will work closely with our volunteers and leaders at HCA Florida Healthcare to take a real look at the health disparities right here in Palm Beach County and create a plan for helping more people in our community live the long, healthy lives they deserve.” 

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Florida Atlantic University Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine and the Schmidt College of Science and Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience will collaborate to offer a new M.D./Ph.D. joint neuroscience program, slated to start in the fall 2023. Graduates will each receive a medical degree and a doctorate in integrative biology, with a concentration in either biomedical sciences or neuroscience.

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Dr. Lori Fiessinger, an expert in dermoscopy, which improves diagnostic accuracy and early recognition of melanomas, has joined Hacker Dermatology, 230 George Bush Blvd., Suite B, Delray Beach. Previously, Fiessinger served as an assistant clinical professor at the University of Minnesota dermatology department.
For information on this service, visit www.HackerDermatology.com or call 561-276-3111.

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Mayor Shelly Petrolia cuts the ribbon in celebration of Delray Medical Center’s expansion.

Delray Medical Center has opened 24 new patient rooms, a new operating room, a surgical ortho unit, surgical step-down, and surgical inpatient units. Enhanced robotic capabilities, including the Da Vinci XI and AquaBeam system, have been added, and the family waiting room has been renovated.

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The Caron Treatment Centers is offering Zoom webinars to introduce its new medical facility, the Keele Center, at 4575 Linton Blvd. in Delray Beach. The center is due to open January.
On Nov. 16, the subject will be neurofeedback and neuropsychological services and on Dec. 7, viewers will receive a summary of the Keele Center’s services. They include a medical detox unit, an older-adult residential-treatment program and residential treatment programming for affluent individuals, as well as neurocognitive services, research and medical education.
To register for the “Countdown to Keele” webinar series, contact Julie Flannery at jflannery@caron.org or call 610-299-8001.

The Holly House Holiday Gift Shop at First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach is open. Photo provided by Linda Prior

The Holly House Holiday Gift Shop at First Presbyterian Church of Delray Beach, 33 Gleason St., returns for another season.
The Holly House’s talented crafters have been hard at work getting ready to help you prepare for your festivities. Handcrafted gifts, jewelry, decorations and ornaments, vintage Santas, holiday table linens, wreaths for the door, coastal home décor and more are waiting. New things will appear all season, so stop back to see what’s new.
The shop is open from 10 a.m. to noon Tuesdays and Thursdays or by appointment. Beginning Nov. 27, the shop will also be open 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
Call 561-330-0245.

Holiday bazaar
The Ascension Council of Catholic Women will hold its Christmas Bazaar from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 4 and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 5 at Ascension Catholic Church, 7250 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. Free. 561-997-5486.

BetterMan group at Grace 
Grace Community Church, 600 W. Camino Real, Boca Raton, will host BetterMan, a connect group for men from 20 to 45-ish from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays, Jan. 5 through March 23.
BetterMan is designed “to activate men’s lives for a ‘better’ masculinity — one that lifts others and gives life to others.”
The group is limited to eight participants and three facilitators. Register at www.graceboca.org/connect-groups or 561-395-2811.

— Janis Fontaine

CROS Ministries, clergy and nonprofits from Delray Beach gathered to honor St. Vincent Ferrer Catholic Church’s Care Ministry, which closed its doors after 16 years. It served homeless people and others in need by providing rent and utility assistance, food and medical care. One of its supports for children was the Delray Beach Public Library’s literacy program for non-English-speaking preschoolers whose families didn’t speak English at home. ABOVE (back, l-r): Care Ministry members Bob Carney, Al Fries, Mike Wigderson and Frank Cottone; (front, l-r): Marge Dombroski, Noreen Ryan, Joe Mastrullo and Jackie Ermola. Members missing from the photo include MJ Cunnane, Joan Baccari, Barbara Conahan, Tom McCreary, Emily Nettles, Hank Monaco and Dan Spigai. Photo provided

Debra Tendrich shows off hand-painted grocery bags from her nonprofit, Eat Better Live Better, in Delray Beach. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

Debra Tendrich says she started her nonprofit, Eat Better Live Better, in 2016 because it was the right thing to do.
But never before has feeding the hungry been so hard. The coronavirus pandemic struck a solid blow, drying up donations and overwhelming food pantries with new clients at the same time.
Now the inflation numbers on groceries — 13% nationally but closer to 11% locally — are twisting the knife.
Tendrich started Eat Better Live Better to provide more than mere calories to food-insecure families.
“Malnutrition isn’t a lack of food,” Tendrich said, “but a lack of nutrition.” Vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and other nutrients that come from vegetables are key to healthful eating, and food pantries often don’t have those things.
Tendrich grew up in Atlanta, cooking and eating Southern comfort foods like mac-and-cheese and fried chicken. But a 30-day office challenge in healthy eating and exercise stuck with her. Tendrich realized she felt better even though she hadn’t felt bad before.
But the kicker was that her daughter, Amira, then in grade school, felt better, too. She’d had rashes and stomach issues and had even been diagnosed with ADHD, but those issues disappeared along with the high-fat, sodium-laden and sugary comfort foods.
As she learned more about nutrition, Tendrich became more concerned about childhood obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Disease and poor nutrition go hand-in-hand, she says, and breaking up that toxic relationship is a priority.
To do that, positive attitudes about food need to be taught early. For example, teaching kids that food is a synonym for happiness with celebratory pizza parties and food rewards is wrong, Tendrich says, and needs to change.
At the other end of the spectrum, Tendrich says that our neighbors — especially seniors on fixed incomes — are being devastated by the rising cost of groceries. Her program tries to fill the gap between income and need so seniors aren’t forced to choose between paying for their rent and medications or groceries.
Tendrich addressed another problem: transportation. The neediest members of our community don’t or can’t drive (maybe they can’t afford gas or car insurance), and some are medically unable to come to Tendrich’s facility in Delray Beach. EBLB and Door Dash have teamed up to deliver groceries to people who live within a 10-mile radius of the facility, which is near the corner of Military Trail and Atlantic Avenue.
Eat Better Live Better was the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce Nonprofit of the Year in 2021, and Tendrich is personally nominated for its Crystal Palm award this year. She’s also a frequent speaker about nutrition and homelessness.
Most of EBLB’s clients are referred by churches and synagogues, schools and teachers, medical professionals and the police, who identify people who need help.
Recipients register with EBLB and on distribution day are provided with a big purple bag full of produce, oatmeal, peanut butter, canned tuna and chicken, pasta and pasta sauce — and more, depending on the size of the family. Delivery is the first Friday of the month with emergency deliveries on other weekdays.
EBLB had to cut back from twice-a-month giveaways, with prices up and donations down.
“Everyone who is registered is guaranteed food,” Tendrich said. “We don’t run out of food.”
Volunteers — about 15 year-round and another three dozen who show up during the winter — pack the grocery bags, break bulk supplies into smaller portions, and staff the front desk when clients arrive.
Jackie Ermola served as president of St. Vincent Ferrer’s Care Ministry in Delray Beach for nearly eight years, and continues to serve the homeless community. Of Eat Better Live Better, she said, “It’s not like every other pantry. Debra serves people who have dietary restrictions. People can’t eat a lot of the food given out at other pantries. She really struck me as someone who is making Delray a better place.”
Ermola says that Delray Beach is special because its groups work together to serve the community. They communicate and brainstorm and strategize and cross-refer clients. “We all collectively work together, the police, the schools, the places of worship,” she said.
Tendrich and Ermola share a philosophy: “People deserve to be treated with dignity.”
Ermola says, “It only takes one bad break to go from happy to homeless. I’ve seen it happen and it could happen to anyone.”
If you’d like to help Tendrich feed people or if you need help, call Eat Better Live Better at 561-344-1022 or visit www.eblb.org.
Ermola is also acting as a consultant helping people who would like to start a food pantry. Contact her at jermola@hotmail.com.

Janis Fontaine writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Contact her at fontaine423e@outlook.com.

The garden of Jean Sealey Laragh has evolved over 25 years as she ’learned to recognize the beauty of native plants,’ including the cabbage palms that arch over this walkway. Photo provided

By Jan Engoren

Migrant hummingbirds, painted buntings and butterflies are back and so is the Native Garden Tour, hosted by the Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society.
In the society’s first major tour since 2019, visitors on Nov. 6 can visit five unique private gardens and one public natural habitat, all landscaped with Florida native plants.
“We’re very excited about this year’s tour,” says Melissa Moyroud, conservation chair of the local chapter. “Our last tour in 2020 was for members only. This is the first time we’re opening to the public since 2019. It’s a big to-do.”
One of the highlights on the tour is Jean Sealey Laragh’s five-star garden and habitat in the Village of Golf.
Moyroud says the garden has a gopher tortoise habitat with aquatic, endangered and rare plants as well as nature pathways. All the native plants sustain the gopher tortoise population.
In Delray Beach, visitors will see Jim and Lora McCoy’s garden at 4 NW 16th St. Over the past five years, they have planted and nurtured native plants and trees partly as a way to dampen the sound of leaf blowers. A sign at their gate announces the property as “a wild animal sanctuary and a bird and butterfly friendly landscape.”
Nearby, at 236 Dixie Blvd., Palm Beach County Tax Collector Anne Gannon’s garden is her “backyard paradise.” By planting natives, Gannon says, she uses less water and fertilizer, has fewer bugs and does less maintenance.
Also on the tour is the Delray Beach Historical Society Heritage Garden, located at the 1924 Cason Cottage at 3 NE First St.
Conceived in 2017 as a collaboration between the Historical Society and the Grass River Garden Club, the garden aims to teach the importance of using native plants and of preserving the dwindling green space and natural habitats in the city.
Heritage Garden highlights include a Florida scrub section, a pollinator garden, the Lower Keys, oak hammock, and Dade County pine forest. The garden has wetland plants such as swamp milkweed, a host for monarch butterflies, fragrant water lilies, buttonbush and a pond apple tree (Annona glabra).
“It’s an asset and a green oasis in the midst of downtown Delray Beach,” says Winnie Diggans Edwards, executive director of the Historical Society.
In Boca Raton, the tour features the Clint Oster garden at 845 NE 71st St., billed as “where the sea grapes meet the mangroves,” and Michael Kohner’s garden at 447 SW Eighth Terrace, with laurel oaks and more than 190 species of native plants.
The Oster garden boasts an edible forest of native and Caribbean fruit trees, a tiered pond with wetland plants and trees, and an old sea grape tree trunk giving shade to the back deck.
The Palm Beach County Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society is a not-for-profit dedicated to the preservation, conservation and restoration of native plants and native plant communities of Florida.

If You Go
What: Native Garden Tour hosted by county chapter of Florida Native Plant Society
When: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Nov. 6
Cost: The entrance fee for non-members ($10) can be paid by cash or check at any of the gardens.
Reservations: To visit the Laragh garden, provide your name by Nov. 4 via 561-247-3677 or www.palmbeach.fnpschapters.org.
Learn more: Docents at each property will be available to answer questions. The venues will display plant lists and labels, and native plant literature will be provided.

Visitors set off on a trail at the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge west of Boynton Beach. Coastal Star file photo

By Brian Biggane

You know the feeling. You’ve just polished off Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings — including a thick slice of pumpkin pie — and it’s time to sit back on the couch and watch some football.
Or is it? When you think about the mega-calories your body just consumed and the weight gain that’s almost sure to follow, you might have other ideas. A walk sounds like a pretty good plan.
So, pull on those walking shoes, grab a bottle of water and dress appropriately. If your favorite park allows dogs, grab a leash and bring Fido — and make sure to bring water for him, too.
Here are five suggestions for places to walk off your turkey dinner:

Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge
It’s a drive of 20-30 minutes from the barrier island out to the western expanses of Boynton Beach Boulevard, but for a taste of the Everglades you can’t do much better.
Once you reach State Road 7 (U.S. Route 441), turn left, travel a mile or two and you’ll see the sign just before Bedner’s Market on the right. Drive down to the large parking lot and get ready to hike.
Most of the walks are rated easy, some on boardwalks, and can be done in less than an hour. There’s a lot to see: alligators, bobcats and white-tailed deer, plus a variety of birds such as sandhill cranes, pileated woodpeckers, herons, egrets, wood storks and the federally endangered snail kite. Pet walking is allowed only on the perimeter levee.
The refuge opens daily at 9 a.m., 10216 Lee Road, Boynton Beach. www.fws.gov/refuge/arthur-r-marshall-loxahatchee.

Lantana Nature Preserve
The preserve sits at 440 E. Ocean Blvd., just west of the Carlisle Palm Beach senior residences and a few hundred yards from State Road A1A.
The shady park was reopened by town officials on Feb. 3, 2021, with a new 6-foot-wide concrete trail.
Hurricane Irma left both the 61/2-acre nature preserve and the old pathway in shambles in 2017, and after years of debate on what material to use, the Town Council agreed to replace the washed-away surface with concrete.
The tree canopy is lush enough to provide shade almost throughout the walkway, which cuts through the vegetation for more than a half-mile. The western edge of the path is only yards from a waterway, bringing the possibility of turtles and many migratory birds into view.
There's an attractive gazebo is near the front. The land has only six or seven free parking spots, but the lot rarely fills up.

Open: Sunrise to sunset/www.lantana.org/maps/location/NaturePreserve.

Palm Beach Lake Trail
For people seeking a waterside stroll, this trail offers a 51/2-mile stretch alongside some of the prettiest homes in Palm Beach.
Running from South Lake Drive near Peruvian Avenue to just north of the Sailfish Club, the trail accommodates hundreds of walkers and cyclists every day.
Tall hedges obscure some of the opulent homes and cottages from view, but the Intracoastal Waterway lapping up a few feet away and the yachts tied up at docks keep the views interesting.
Although parking in Palm Beach can be a hassle, streets around the Royal Poinciana Plaza and Flagler Museum — both of which abut the path — have plenty of free spots.
www.thepalmbeaches.com/blogs/walking-biking-palm-beach-lake-trail.

Caloosa Park
The park, less than a 10-minute drive from the Woolbright Road bridge at 1300 SW 35th Ave. in Boynton Beach, is a 64-acre gem run by Palm Beach County. It features something for everyone — from walking paths to tennis and pickleball courts to playgrounds and shaded barbecue spots.
Living a few blocks away, I walked my dog here almost daily for more than 15 years and jogged and biked around the multiuse trails that crisscross the park for miles.
A stocked lake nearly 2,000 feet long offers fishing. An exercise course features 20 stations. The park also has 16 handball/racquetball courts and a lighted roller hockey rink.
www.palmbeachsports.com/facilities/caloosa-park.

Gumbo Limbo Nature Center
While the nature walks are only a small part of all that happens at Gumbo Limbo — the aquariums, sea turtle rehabilitation programs and monitoring of sea turtle nests keep the staff busy daily — the two relatively small trails offer plenty to see in their own right.
Gumbo Limbo is at 1801 N. Ocean Blvd. in Boca Raton, along the west side of A1A between Spanish River Boulevard and Palmetto Park Road.
The half-mile Coastal Hammock trail runs next to the Intracoastal Waterway and a Nature Center spokesman recommended it as a quiet, undeveloped tract that features native plants and mangroves as well as animal life such as raccoons and a variety of crabs.
The quarter-mile Ashley trail includes the Butterfly Garden and a chickee hut.
The trails close at dusk. The Nature Center building is closed Thanksgiving but otherwise is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (It opens at noon Mondays.) Parking is free. Pets are not permitted, but service animals are allowed.
www.gumbolimbo.org.

Students from American Heritage School gather relief supplies for victims of Hurricane Ian. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

In a cooperative effort to help Gulf Coast neighbors, B’nai Torah Congregation, Hands on Tzedakah, and Hillel at FAU recruited 35 strong students for a day of cleanup in Naples on Oct. 7, just nine days after Hurricane Ian wove a path of destruction through the area.
The students boarded a bus at dawn and returned, exhausted, after dark. Their focus was two damaged schools — East Naples Middle School and Sunshine Learning Center. In addition to their hands-on effort, B’nai Torah adopted the schools and will provide new uniforms, backpacks, shoes, food and any other essentials their students may need.
Other organizations have found ways to help, as well. Want to join in their efforts? Here are some suggestions.
• Gerald M. Barbarito, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach, announced Sept. 30 that direct assistance is being offered through the diocese Catholic Charities, saying people need financial assistance in addition to prayers. Donations can be made through the diocese Catholic Charities office at www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/?form=Ian.
• Baer’s Furniture is accepting donations at its 15 showrooms in the state, including the store at 999 N. Federal Highway, Boca Raton. For a list of requested items, call 561-391-2012.
• The Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County has an emergency relief fund to provide urgent basic needs, repairs, cleanup and long-term help for victims. To donate, go to JewishPB.org/ianrelief.
• The Ocean Ridge Police Department is collecting donations for first responders and their families on Florida’s southwest coast who were affected by Hurricane Ian. Tarps, T-shirts, socks, underwear, and all the other things public safety people need to go to work are being accepted. So are monetary donations for their families.
Items can be dropped off at Town Hall at 6450 N. Ocean Blvd. The Martin County Sheriff’s Office is sending regular teams to the Fort Myers area and will transport the donated supplies. For more information, call 561-732-2635.
• Believer’s Victory Church is collecting items for Hurricane Ian relief. Donors should deliver their items to the rear of the church and ring the doorbell for drop-off. Hygiene items, nonperishable food and baby food, first-aid kits, water bottles, diapers (baby and adult), Pull-Ups, baby wipes, shovels, yard gloves and large yard bags, and canned dog and cat food are being accepted. The church is at 918 Lakeside Drive, Lake Worth Beach. Call 561-969-9009.  
• Grace Community Church in Boca Raton has a special relief fund for Hurricane Ian. To make a donation, go to www.onrealm.org/graceboca and include “Ian Relief” in the memo. Grace Church is at 600 W. Camino Real. For more information, call 561-395-2811.  
• Palm Beach County Cares has been hard at work since Hurricane Ian struck the Fort Myers area. To help, you can donate or start a collection in your neighborhood. Drop-off locations include three in Delray Beach: Subculture, 123 E. Atlantic Ave.; Honey, 16 E. Atlantic Ave., and Dada, 52 N. Swinton Ave. To donate money, visit www.palmbeachcountycares.com.
• Boca Raton Firefighter & Paramedic Benevolent is accepting monetary donations for Hurricane Ian relief at bocacares.org.

Other ways to help
• Volunteer: Volunteer Florida has a website, at www.VolunteerFlorida.org, that serves as a clearinghouse for groups looking for volunteers.
• Give blood: OneBlood services more than 250 hospitals. When disaster strikes, it tries to ensure enough blood supplies are available at hospitals near disaster sites. The greatest need is for O- and O+ blood donors. To find a Big Red Bus blood drive or a donor center near you, visit OneBlood.org.
• Donate groceries: Publix Super Markets Charities lets you donate any amount to the American Red Cross for Ian relief. You can make a donation in the checkout line with your purchases.
• Help pets: To find out about organizations providing relief to pets displaced by Hurricanes Fiona and Ian, check out the Paws Up for Pets column.

The Coast Guard offers publications aimed at youngsters. Photo provided

By Janis Fontaine

For kids who are regularly out on the water, it’s important to learn how to be safe on a boat.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offers classes to youths as young as 11 years old.
Boating has always been popular for South Floridians, but during the pandemic boating boomed. Families turned to boating as a coronavirus-safe activity parents could share with their children. The demand drove up prices and caused shortages of both boats and dock space.
In March 2022, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission announced Florida had passed the 1 million mark for registered recreational vessels. Minnesota, with about 900,000 boats, is a distant second nationally.
But with more boats come more boat accidents.
An accident is an accident, but what bothers Flotilla Cmdr. Phil Petito and staff officer Stuart Oliver, both volunteers at the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 3-6 in Spanish River Park, is that many of these accidents are preventable.
According to the FWC, there were 79 boating fatalities in Florida in 2020, up 16% from 2019 and the highest total since 2011.
Where cause of death was known, 81% of fatal boating accident victims drowned. Of those drowning victims, 83% were not wearing life jackets. Experts estimate 1 in 4 boating accident victims is younger than age 20, and 1 in 10 boating fatalities is a person younger than 20.
Since Jan. 1, 2010, anyone born after Jan. 1, 1988, must obtain a Boater Education Identification Card issued by the FWC to operate a motorboat (including a personal watercraft) of 10 horsepower or greater. To get a card, the individual must successfully complete an approved boating safety course.
But the quality of courses varies widely, and research has shown that the online class isn’t much better than getting no training at all.
According to the same FWC report, where instruction was known, 75% of deaths occurred on boats where the operator did not receive boating safety instruction. Only 16% of deaths occurred on vessels where the operator had received a nationally approved boating safety education certificate.
When experts analyzed factors contributing to the accidents, operator inattention was No. 1 and operator inexperience was No. 2.
These statistics are nothing new to the Coast Guard Auxiliary. Petito recommends a class called “Suddenly in Command” for anyone, including teenagers, who loves boating, but never expects to end up at the helm.
“I made my wife take it,” Petito said.
The class is designed so an inexperienced person can step in during an emergency. It’s natural to think about who will fly the plane if the pilot has a heart attack, but what if the captain of your vessel is incapacitated? Would you know how to call for help? How to get the boat back to safety? Where the emergency equipment is located?
Classes for kids are low-cost, thanks to grants from businesses that subsidize the costs for young people, said Andrea Rutherfoord, the Flotilla 3-6 human resources director. Community support and donations for more classes would be welcomed.
That teenage group can benefit most from one of the boating classes the auxiliary offers. Access to a boat or personal watercraft comes with responsibilities. It is necessary to have basic equipment on board, and knowledge of rules for navigating among other boats.
One thing that’s not required, but perhaps should be, Petito said, is the Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon — EPIRB for short. It costs about $500. A small personal locator beacon is available for $300-$400. These devices connect to a satellite to announce your location to rescue authorities if you’re ever lost.

Members of Flotilla 3-6 on the water: (l-r) Sandy Goldberg, Jane Sabbagh, Phil Petito, Jeff Barnes (at helm), Stuart Oliver (far right.) Photo provided

78 volunteers in the auxiliary
Flotilla 3-6 has 78 members who volunteer their time “to support the operation of the Coast Guard, promote and improve recreational boating safety, and provide trained crews and facilities to enhance the safety and security of U.S. ports, waterways and coastal regions.”
To join, members must be 17 or older and U.S. citizens. They must become members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary Association Inc., which requires the successful completion of the application, passing a new members exam and a clean background check.
Oliver and Petito stress that boating safety also means teaching kids about marine wildlife and plant life like manatees and sea grasses, which are collateral victims of busy waterways.
Manatee-vs.-boat accidents are part of the problem, but so are habitat destruction and garbage and litter, especially plastics.
Oliver and Petito have friendly, helpful demeanors that serve them well as boaters’ allies on the water.
They know their way around a boat and performing safety checks is one of their primary responsibilities. From bow to stern, they look for the right equipment in the right place, and ensure it is in good working condition. From life jackets to fire extinguishers to running lights, they’ll check your boat, make suggestions and answer your questions. It’s not an annoying chore to them. And it’s free.
Any boater who tells you there’s no such thing as a bad day on the water is exaggerating. It doesn’t take long for things to go downhill. Freak thunderstorms. Rogue waves. Floating debris.
A safety check and a solid bit of knowledge can be the difference between a good memory and a bad one.

Oliver is scheduled to teach an 8-hour class on Dec. 3 at Spanish River Park. Cost is $5 for teens. For more information on classes, visit wow.uscgaux.info/peclass.php?unit=085-03-06.

With a triple lot of 1.25 acres, this estate stretches across 264 feet of prime water frontage. It has three docks that will accommodate up to a 35-foot vessel. Photos provided

Resplendent in design and livability, this estate with a total of 10,250 total square feet was created by architect/builder Roger Janssen. Offering a mix of neutral stone and wood flooring throughout, the residence has seven bedrooms (two master suites) and nine full and one half baths. A striking, curved staircase leads you to the second level, where tranquility awaits in the upstairs master suite. Lush, green treetops sway outside the series of French doors that open to the private balcony overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway.

A spacious living room greets you with its gas fireplace flanked by stylish, backlit built-ins that are duplicated on the back side of the wall in the media/family room.

The main home experienced a complete renovation in 2019, which included a new guest house addition complete with impact glass. The main house and guest house are reinforced with full house generators.
Further ease of living is abundant with features such as central vacuum and Sonos sound system throughout. Additional details include five air-conditioners under 5 years old and two mini split-A/C’s in each garage.

With two stories of endless French doors, this home offers the ultimate in indoor-outdoor lifestyles.

Once you step outside into the meticulously manicured grounds, designed by famed landscape architect Mario Nievera, you will be overwhelmed by the views. The gas-heated pool overlooks the Intracoastal. A covered loggia stretches across the full rear of the home, and the side façade has a convenient outdoor shower.

Offered at $14,950,000. Steven Presson, The Corcoran Group, 561-843-6057 or steven.presson@corcoran.com

Each month, The Coastal Star features a house for sale in our community. The House of the Month is presented as a service to our advertisers and provides readers with a peek inside one of our homes.

Expect frequent train horns and longer traffic delays the rest of this month as Brightline upgrades track and signal systems at railroad crossings in Boca Raton in preparation for the Brightline Boca Raton station.

Beginning Monday, Oct. 17, flaggers will be present at the crossings listed below and drivers can expect additional wait times, the railway said.

Horns will sound — even in quiet zones — for all trains including Brightline passenger trains and freight trains.

This is in adherence to the federal regulation that states train horns must be sounded if workers are present or work is occurring in or near the right of way.

Brightline is reminding the public, pedestrians, motorists and cyclists to never stop on the tracks and to not drive around crossing gates.

 
Daily flagging operations and signal system work, 2 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday, Oct. 17 to Friday, Oct. 21.

• NW 20^th Street
• Glades Road
• NW/NE 2^nd Street
• Palmetto Park Road
• Camino Real

 Continuous flagging operations and signal system work, 2 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 23 to 2 p.m. Friday, Oct. 28.

• Yamato Road
• 40^th Street (Spanish River Blvd.)
• NW 28^th Street
• NW 20^th Street
• Glades Road
• NW/NE 2^nd Street
• Palmetto Park Road
• Camino Real

By Mary Hladky

At long last, the way has been cleared for a long-sought performing arts complex to be built in the downtown.

The Boca Raton City Council cast two critical votes on Oct. 12 in favor of a resolution and an ordinance that authorizes the lease of city-owned land in Mizner Park to the Center for Arts and Innovation.

The action culminates two years of negotiations between the city and a consortium of cultural arts organizations to hammer out terms of a deal that specifies the center’s and the city’s obligations and leases the land at the north end of Mizner Park to the center for 74 years, with two 10-year renewals.

The council approved both by a 4-1 vote, with Mayor Scott Singer dissenting.

Singer said he remained concerned about the project’s cost. He had asked for updated estimates in August that took inflation into account. The revised costs that center officials provided in September boosted the price tag to $115.4 million, a 30% increase.

But he voiced his concerns again on Oct. 12, asking if city staff had analyzed the new figures. Deputy City Manager George Brown said he had done a cursory inspection which showed the increases seemed reasonable.

Singer said he would have preferred that the city hire an outside expert to conduct a detailed review.

Yet he stressed that he supported the project and would encourage donors to come forward.

“Let me be a champion and cheerleader as we all are,” he said. “I want to help you get there.”

With the votes in, the audience cheered and offered sustained applause.

The cost of building the performing arts complex and maintaining it will be borne by the center. The approval of the land lease, center officials have said, will give assurance to potential donors that the center can be built so that fundraising can begin in earnest. 

If they fail to raise enough money, the deal can be terminated.

A major sticking point emerged in August when the council was first scheduled to vote. Center officials wanted the city to be liable for actual damages if it was found to be in default of agreements the two parties had reached.

Their demand arose out of concerns that a future city council might terminate the lease, as happened in Delray Beach last year when that city’s commission ended the lease of Old School Square. 

Boca Raton officials refused, saying that would expose the city to great liability.

Under a compromise, if the city seeks to end the lease, it will provide center officials with a 30-day notice, giving them time to go to court and seek a preliminary injunction that would halt the action. The city would not object to a request for an expedited court hearing.

The proposed cultural complex would feature the latest features in theater design and innovation with the intention of reinvigorating Mizner Park and fulfilling its original mission to be Boca Raton’s cultural hub.

The complex could accommodate 6,000 people in all its venues. They will include a complete renovation of the city’s beloved amphitheater, construction of a new performing arts center, jewel box theater, rooftop terrace, outdoor performing arts spaces and a garage.

Trappers contracted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission work to secure an alligator that showed up in the surf at the Delray Beach public beach near Vista Del Mar Drive on Oct. 12. Photos provided by Kristen Cairns

By Larry Barszewski

Coastal beaches have signs advising visitors when dangers like sharks, riptides or jellyfish are present, but Delray Beach needed a different kind of warning at its public beach — one for alligators.

An alligator was spotted in the surf off Delray Beach near Vista Del Mar Drive in the morning of Oct.12. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said it dispatched a nuisance alligator trapper to the area, which caught and transported the alligator alive to a farm.

Onlookers estimated the large alligator to be about 12 feet in length.

“It was surreal,” said Kristen Cairns, who arrived at the beach with her 20-month-old son at about 9:40 a.m., in the middle of the effort to capture the gator. “It took a few seconds for it to sink in. You’re going, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s an alligator in the ocean.’ Then you start wondering how often does that happen.”

FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender said it’s not a typical situation, but possible.

“While the American alligator prefers freshwater lakes and slow-moving rivers and their associated wetlands, they are seen in brackish water habitats occasionally,” Callender said in a statement about the incident. “Alligators can swim in and tolerate saltwater for short periods of time, but it is not their preferred habitat.”

After being hauled out of the water, tied and muzzled, the alligator waits for its ride. It was taken alive to a farm, FWC spokeswoman Arielle Callender said.

Cairns said the alligator seemed lethargic and didn’t put up much of a fight — “she wasn’t really thrashing or moving around” — but was still quite a challenge for the trappers because of its sheer size.

The trappers were having difficulty getting a noose around its neck, Cairns said, then one of the trappers got behind it and started pulling it out of the water by its tail. They finally got a rope around it, which they tied to a four-wheeler, but that didn’t end the troubles, she said.

“The four-wheeler was like digging into the sand, creating a hole” as it tried to pull the gator up the beach to the sidewalk, Cairns said, so some of the workers gave the vehicle a push from behind. The gator was then put in a truck and taken away.

Delray Beach police, fire-rescue and lifeguards were also on scene. No injuries were reported.

Callender said people who find an alligator near them can call FWC’s Nuisance Alligator Hotline at 866-392-4286.

Joseph Curry, from Lake Clark Shores, jumps into the surf from the north jetty of the Boynton Inlet taking advantage of the waves created by Hurricane Ian. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Workers from the Palm Beach County Bridge Dept. remove the traffic control cross-arms from the Woolbright Road Bridge in anticipation of Hurricane Ian. During hurricanes, bridges are locked in the down position to facilitate better automobile traffic flow.  The arms will be reinstalled after the storm is past. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Students are pummeled with heavy rains and strong winds as they leave the Don Estridge High Tech Middle school campus Tuesday afternoon. Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Students were pelted with heavy rains and assaulted by strong winds as they left the Don Estridge High Tech Middle school campus Tuesday afternoon. Palm Beach County public schools and district offices will be closed Wednesday as Hurricane Ian is forecast to make landfall as a category 3 on the west coast of Florida. All after-school activities, sports practices, and meetings are also canceled Wednesday.  The district has not decided whether campuses will be closed beyond Wednesday. Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Boca Raton resident Brian Roush rides his kayak on SE. Wavecrest Way in Boca Raton Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center warned of "life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and flooding. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

John Shoemaker’s wife Paula looked out the window of their eighth-floor oceanfront condominium as bands from Hurricane Ian approached their home in Highland Beach and saw what looked like a black wall of clouds coming toward them. Shoemaker, a Highland Beach town commissioner, went out onto the balcony and shot this photo with his iPhone12 Monday, Sept. 26. “We could see it coming toward us,” Shoemaker said, adding that what appears to be a “roll cloud” passed over them. “As menacing as it looked, it just rained for about five minutes.” Photo contributed by John Shoemaker

Large branches, palm fronds, and other debris littered the ground at Veterans Park in Delray Beach on Wednesday, September 28. Rachel S. O'Hara/The Coastal Star

Maddie, 8, and Lucas, 11, Heath, from Wesley Chapel, FL enjoy themselves on the swings at Veterans Park in Delray Beach on Wednesday, September 28. The children and their parents drove over from the west coast of Florida Tuesday evening. The family had originally planned to leave for London from Tampa International Airport but rebooked out of Miami International Airport due to the trajectory of Hurricane Ian. Rachel S. O'Hara/The Coastal Star

Multiple palms were snapped and a mature buttonwood tree was pushed over by heavy winds during Hurricane Ian.  A few trees in the 3800 Block of A1A were also damaged. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Construction workers in Manalapan secure their site Tuesday afternoon. Before the arrival of Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Spectators watch the kitesurfers and surfers harness the power of Hurricane Ian Tuesday afternoon at South Beach Pavillion Park in Boca Raton. Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

A surfer bails off his board at South Beach Pavillion Park in Boca Raton. Tuesday afternoon. Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Three surfers compete for the same wave at South Beach Pavillion Park in Boca Raton. Tuesday afternoon. Hurricane Ian became a major Category 3 storm early Tuesday and will continue to strengthen as it approaches Florida, National Hurricane Center forecasters say. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Workers cleared the debris, compliments of Hurricane Ian's strong winds, from the streets of Mizner Park in Boca Raton Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center warned of "life-threatening storm surge, catastrophic winds, and flooding." Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Sargassum, palm fronds, and assorted trash were washed into the parking lot by the boat ramp at Sportsman’s Park on East Ocean Avenue and the Intracoastal Waterway during Hurricane Ian. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Bucket trucks await their assignments in the parking lot of the Delray Sands Hotel Wednesday afternoon. Hurricane Ian made landfall as a Category 4 storm on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

A light-hearted sign is posted on Beach Curve Road on Hypoluxo Island to warn drivers of the frequent flooding in that part of Lantana. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Atlantic Avenue was less busy than usual on Wednesday afternoon. Despite Hurricane Ian’s rain and winds, people continued to visit the restaurants and shops that were still open. Rachel S. O'Hara/The Coastal Star

Waves crashed into the seawall of the Imperial House condo in South Palm Beach as coastal Palm Beach County felt the impact of Hurricane Ian. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

The shuffleboard courts at Veterans Park were flooded by the rains from Hurricane Ian on Wednesday, September 28. Rachel S. O'Hara/The Coastal Star

The city of Delray Beach deployed a containment boom along Marine Way to help control flooding in the Marina District. Photo provided by Genie Deponte

Delray Beach may include Sazio Express and some other old buildings along Atlantic Avenue east of the Intracoastal in a future historic district, one separate from a district now in the works on the avenue west of the waterway. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Atlantic Avenue ideas bet on value of designated districts

By Larry Barszewski

A century-old home was demolished in Boca Raton’s downtown this year. Some downtown Boynton Beach office buildings of the same era face a similar fate in the not-too-distant future. But a move is afoot to save what remains from the past along downtown Delray Beach’s history-laden Atlantic Avenue.
Boynton Beach’s downtown still has its historically designated Boynton School and Old Boynton High School. And Boca Raton’s has its 1927 Historic Town Hall that recently completed a $3.5 million renovation. Yet preservationists say those isolated buildings should be part of something bigger — historic districts that give a true taste of each city’s history.
“Walking into a historic district, you feel like you’re walking into a different place and time,” says Claudia Willis, a member of Delray Beach’s Historic Preservation Board.
That’s a feel Delray Beach wants. It has its own downtown landmarks — the Old School Square buildings and the Colony Hotel, for instance — but it also sees a larger history worth preserving. Proponents of a proposed Atlantic Avenue Historic District, which would run from Swinton Avenue to the Intracoastal Waterway, say the district would protect more than 40 other historic buildings there and maintain the character that tourists, residents and visitors find so appealing.

Related: Atlantic Avenue’s place in history on verge of formal recognition | Hand’s covered archways to disappear from Atlantic Avenue

“It’s a climate. It’s a vibe — the feeling that if you go to downtown Delray, it’s authentic. It’s not Disney-like,” says John Miller, also a member of the city’s preservation board, whose ancestors first settled in the city in 1903. “Not everything is homogenous. Everything is a little quirky and I think people look for that.”
There hasn’t been a new historic district created in South Palm Beach County in more than 20 years, and Delray Beach and Boca Raton are the only South County cities with such districts. Preservationists say they’re racing against time as new developments threaten the past on behalf of the future.
Susan Gillis, curator for the Boca Raton Historical Society, knows how difficult preservation can be. She has watched what little is left of her city’s small historic downtown disappear to development.
“We’ve had this burst since 2016, with all these new, very tall buildings,” Gillis says. “It’s just like Fort Lauderdale. It has changed so dramatically in 20 years. I can’t believe it.”

History’s economic benefits
When talk of a new historic district surfaces, many affected owners fear a loss of control over what they can do with their properties. They dread increased restrictions and see only obstacles to any potential future renovations.
However, proponents of historic districts say there’s a case to be made for them, one that makes economic sense for communities and property owners.
“Historic districts can become centers of heritage tourism that help spur economic vitality,” according to the Atlantic Avenue Historic Resources Survey, prepared for Delray Beach by R.J. Heisenbottle Architects in December. “Historic districts have proven to retain more stable and higher property values than surrounding neighborhoods that are not protected, even in the face of harsh economic downturns.”
Delray Beach and Boynton Beach also offer property tax breaks to owners who improve historically designated properties — a 10-year waiver of city and county property taxes on the increased assessed value brought about by their renovations. If a district is on the National Register of Historic Places — such as the Old School Square and Marina districts in Delray Beach — owners of investment properties deemed historical can deduct 20% of their renovation costs from their federal tax payments.
It also can be easier for historic properties to get variances from the city for items such as setback distances for their renovation work.
For the Atlantic Avenue district, the city is considering additional incentives, such as the possibility of matching grants for some improvement and repair costs — or transfer of development rights that would allow more intense development elsewhere for an owner keeping to a smaller scale downtown.

In Gulf Stream and Briny
In the small communities that dot South County’s barrier islands, the emphasis is less on preserving history than it is on using other tools to protect a feel and atmosphere consistent with the community histories.
In Gulf Stream, it took an act of the state Legislature back in 1992 to turn a stretch of State Road A1A into a State Historic Scenic Highway, protecting the canopy of Australian pines that has defined the town since the 1920s.
Soon after the designation, the town also beefed up its architectural reviews, concerned that it would be overrun by mega-mansions that would destroy the town’s character.
“We don’t have historic districts. We have districts that have a historic look, but it’s for the whole town, from one end to the other,” says Bob Ganger of Gulf Stream, a past vice chairman of the Historical Society of Palm Beach County and head of the local Florida Coalition for Preservation. “We are establishing a basis in the town for it remaining more like when it started than what it might become.”
Next door to Gulf Stream, the town of Briny Breezes stands out for its unique character — a coastal community of mobile homes that developed from Northerners setting up vacation trailers on a one-time strawberry farm in the 1930s.
Gillis says a district could help Briny Breezes protect its way of life and preserve elements of its history.
“I think Briny Breezes should be a historic district,” Gillis says, “and then I’m going to retire there. It’s so novel.”
Susan Brannen, president of the mobile home park’s corporate board, doesn’t know if her town should be a historic district — or how such a designation would affect the town — but says it is unique.
Ganger says the mobile homes in Briny Breezes may not survive climate change or the pressures of development, but he hopes there will be ways to preserve the character that makes it so different from other nearby towns. His coalition would like to see the trailers gradually give way to small homes that are better protected from rising seas and hurricanes.
“You could redesign Briny with smaller homes,” Ganger says. “We’ve been working with Briny to maintain what the folks who live there want, though we’re well aware that a developer will come along someday with an offer that will be difficult to turn down.”

Delray and Boca districts
Even if Delray Beach approves the Atlantic Avenue district, it’s up to the individual property owners whether to apply for historical designation for their contributing properties.
Lack of owner support doomed Boynton Beach’s 2016 attempt to create a historic district on Northwest First Avenue between Northwest Third Street and Northwest Second Street, a block south of Boynton Beach Boulevard.
Delray Beach currently has five historic districts within its borders:
• Old School Square, including the restored Delray Beach Elementary School at Swinton and Atlantic avenues.
• Marina, on the south side of Atlantic Avenue east of Federal Highway.
• Nassau Park on the barrier island to the south of the Sandoway Discovery Center.
• Del-Ida, on the east side of Swinton north of Lake Ida Road.
• West Settlers, around Northwest Fifth Avenue, in the city’s historically Black section.
Boca Raton has two historic districts:
• Old Floresta, a grouping of Addison Mizner-designed homes from the 1920s and ’30s to the north of Palmetto Park Road around Northwest Ninth Avenue.
• Pearl City, the city’s first historically Black neighborhood, south of Glades Road between Federal and Dixie highways.
Self-preservation can be a goal of historic designation in areas that aren’t architecturally significant, as in Pearl City.
“The reason those neighbors wanted to become a district is because they felt threatened by the outside world,” Gillis says; they feared the community’s prime property along Federal Highway would be taken up by developers. “It’s the history of the site itself, rather than architectural significance, that makes that district important.”

Losses and struggles
Preservationists in March lost a battle in Boca Raton, when developers demolished the Cramer House, a 1925 Mediterranean Revival structure on East Boca Raton Road.
In Boynton Beach, the former Oyer-family buildings on Ocean Avenue, built nearly a century ago, are to be demolished as part of a Community Redevelopment Agency project to create a mixed-use development. Hurricane Alley Raw Bar and Restaurant, currently located in one of the buildings, will be moved to the north along Boynton Beach Boulevard.
“We struggle along,” says Barbara Ready, chair of Boynton Beach’s Historic Resources Preservation Board. “We’ve lost so many historic things that were demolished willy-nilly.”
The city actually has a “Historical Cottage District,” a community on the west side of Federal Highway south of Woolbright Road. However, it’s just a name the residents got the city to approve for their community of older homes — many from the 1940s and 1950s — more than 20 years ago. They hoped having “historical” in the community’s name would boost property values, even if the homes aren’t designated or architecturally significant.
The city also continues to see homeowners who want their individual homes designated.
The preservation board has oval plaques in the works — “a badge of honor,” Ready says — to place on locally designated houses. Ready hopes the city will pay for an update to the historical resources survey done in 1995. So much has been lost since then, while other buildings may need to be added, she says.
“Commitment is the key word,” Ready says. “Unfortunately, in Boynton it took a lot, lot longer to get any kind of commitment, and even then, it’s a half-hearted commitment.”

The covered walkway in front of the Hand’s building may soon be gone. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Jane Smith

As Delray Beach considers a proposal for a new historic district downtown, the city continues to lose potentially historic properties along Atlantic Avenue.
In August, the new owner of the Hand’s building at 325 E. Atlantic Ave. sought approval to remove the building’s arcade and the angled entranceways of the storefront to make them flush, and the City Commission unanimously allowed the changes.
The building, constructed in the Masonry Vernacular style in two phases, dates to 1921 and 1948, according to an R.J. Heisenbottle survey of historical buildings recently completed for the city.

Related: Picturing a better way to preserve history | Atlantic Avenue’s place in history on verge of formal recognition

The arcade — the covered walkway in front of the building that provides shelter from the weather and has arched openings along the ends and facing the street — had been one of the models for the city’s 2015 downtown zoning changes, based on community input. Residents valued the pedestrian experience the arcade provided in terms of shelter while it contributed to the street’s character.
To take such a “drastic” step to remove the arcade “takes away the charm of the street,” resident Alice Finst said at a July 27 city board meeting. “What we will have is one more set of awnings. What does that do for us?”
But Steven Cohen, who paid $11.5 million for the property in April 2021, questioned the structure’s value at the Aug. 16 City Commission meeting.
“The arcade is fine for when it rains,” Cohen said. “But it’s not conducive to retailers who want good sales.
“I can, by right, knock the building down and replace it with a three-story building and put two stories of offices above it,” he said.
His architect, Gary Eliopoulos, a former city commissioner who has restored many historic buildings in the city, said, “The elephant in the room is the arcade.” The arcade was added in 1974 and is not historic, he said.
Eliopoulos planned to apply for a building permit in late September that would include the demolition.
The arcade’s removal will increase the building’s non-conformity with the current setback requirements of at least 10 feet, Anthea Gianniotes, the city’s development services director, said in an Aug. 26 email. The proposed setback is slightly under 8 feet.
“The arcade has a value to our community,” she wrote.
Will the Hand’s building still be considered historic without its recessed windows and having a flat front façade?
“This does not seem possible,” Gianniotes wrote.

The Atlantic Avenue district would run from Swinton to the Intracoastal Waterway on both sides of Atlantic. BELOW: The Ocean Park district would run from Gleason to the beach south of Atlantic Avenue. Maps provided by the City of Delray Beach

Special district near beach also is studied

By Jane Smith

Eager to preserve the heart and soul of its downtown, Delray Beach is poised to create its sixth historic district — and the first since 1997 — early next year.
The Atlantic Avenue Historic District would start at Swinton Avenue and continue east to the Intracoastal Waterway. It comprises eight blocks of 67 properties, with 43 considered historic.
That 64.2% ratio is a “solid historic district,” consultant Richard J. Heisenbottle said at a July 19 City Commission workshop. “The district meets the criteria for local and national designation.”
Heisenbottle also recommended studying the historic properties in a proposed Ocean Park Historic District on the barrier island — along Atlantic from Gleason Street to Ocean Boulevard and south to Miramar Drive.
A survey of properties there has not been completed. Money for the survey might be included in the city’s new budget.

Related: Picturing a better way to preserve history | Hand’s covered archways to disappear from Atlantic Avenue

Delray’s history tied to Atlantic Avenue
Heisenbottle’s Coral Gables-based firm is steeped in historic preservation projects and was hired by the city last year to study the Atlantic Avenue corridor from Interstate 95 to the ocean.
Mayor Shelly Petrolia has pushed for the downtown historic district since she was a second-term commissioner in 2015.
“The buildings on the Atlantic Avenue corridor are what makes Delray Beach so inviting,” she said at the workshop, referring to their low scale. “It’s an invitation to come and buy here.”
The proposed district includes a few buildings that are already part of either the Old School Square or Marina historic districts. Many of the homes in the Marina district, to the east of Federal Highway and south of Atlantic Avenue, were built between 1922 and 1943 in many architectural styles.
The Old School Square district, which straddles Swinton Avenue north and south of Atlantic Avenue, contains the 1913 Delray Elementary School that is now the Cornell Art Museum. The 1902 Sundy House, built by Delray Beach’s first mayor, John Shaw Sundy, also is in the district, to the south of Atlantic Avenue.

The Colony Hotel and Cabana Club, designed by an Addison Mizner associate and built in 1926 at the corner of East Atlantic Avenue and Northeast Sixth Avenue in Delray Beach, is on the city’s Local Register of Historic Places. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Local and national historic designations
Other than where the proposed district overlaps the existing Old School Square and Marina districts, only one building in the district — the Colony Hotel — is currently on the Local Register of Historic Places. The hotel, at 525 E. Atlantic Ave., was designed by an associate of Addison Mizner and built in 1926 in the Mediterranean Revival style. The current Atlantic Avenue bridge, built in 1952, also is listed.
In addition, Delray Beach has seven sites on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Marina and Old School Square districts.

Suggested Ocean Park barrier island district
Heisenbottle suggested the city consider creating the Ocean Park Historic District once more research is done.
He did not want to include the area in the overall Atlantic Avenue district because there are too many non-contributing buildings between the bridge and Gleason Street.
The Ocean Park district would include the Epic Surf Shop building at 1218 E. Atlantic Ave. Built in 1939, it was constructed in the Streamline Moderne style. Also of historic value is the Snappy Turtle building at 1100 E. Atlantic Ave., built in 1954 in the Masonry Vernacular style. Neither is listed on the city’s local register.
The proposed district’s survey cost might be included in the city’s new budget that started Oct. 1, said Gina Carter, city spokeswoman. Then, the commission’s planning priorities for development services will dictate when the survey will be done.

Atlantic Avenue district timeline and incentives
For the Atlantic Avenue district, “staff is anticipating taking the overlay to the city’s Historic Preservation Board by the end of 2022,” Anthea Gianniotes, the city’s development services director, said in an Aug. 26 email.
With the board’s expected approval, the proposed district would then go to the City Commission as an ordinance in early 2023. The second reading will include a public hearing.
But first, the city needs to hold a workshop on possible incentives available for the owners of historic properties to nudge them to consider adding their buildings to the Local Register of Historic Places and possibly the National Register of Historic Places.
The local register offers property tax abatements on the improvements made to historic buildings and the national offers federal tax abatements on restored properties that are not owner-occupied homes.
In Florida, buildings are considered historic after they reach 50 years of age and have a definable architectural style.
Petrolia directed staff at the workshop to see what else the city can do to persuade commercial property owners to designate their buildings. Other incentives could include transferring density and development rights outside of the historic district.
“Ask other cities what they have done when setting up their historic districts,” she said, “but be sensitive to the residents who live in the non-historic areas.”

Highland Beach Commissioner John Shoemaker reacts to the County Commission’s vote. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

Start-up is first of kind in county since 1993

By Rich Pollack

A unanimous decision by the Palm Beach County Commission has cleared the way for Highland Beach to create the county’s first new fire department in 30 years.
It took less than 10 minutes last month for county commissioners to grant a Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity license, which is required before the town can provide emergency medical service once it starts its own fire department in May 2024.
“We’re good to go,” said Mayor Doug Hillman, whose town is ending a 30-plus year reliance on Delray Beach for that service. “We’re now able to provide enhanced, high-quality lifesaving services to our residents.”

Highland Beach commissioners, other residents and staff members wore T-shirts with the new fire department logo as they lined the back row of the County Commission chambers. Town Commissioner John Shoemaker addressed the commission ahead of its affirmative vote.

Hillman led a contingent of about 20 residents, commissioners and staff — all in T-shirts with the Highland Beach Fire Department logo — on a bus ride to the County Commission meeting. He emphasized the importance of receiving the board’s approval in a letter he sent to residents.
“This was a huge win for the town,” Hillman wrote. “The license is key to operating an independent fire rescue department in Palm Beach County.”
While the county’s decision to grant the license — following the recommendation of its Emergency Medical Services Advisory Council — came quickly and with little discussion, town leaders arrived at the meeting still not certain how the vote would go.
“Everybody was on the edge of their seats,” said recently appointed Chief Glenn Joseph, who previously advised the town on the fire department. “This was a very huge deal.”
County Mayor Robert Weinroth, who represents South County and expedited the approval, said he believes the commission found value in the EMS advisory council’s recommendation.
“The fact that the council was unanimous in its decision made it easier for the commission to grant the COPCN license,” he said.
Rick Greenwald, one of the residents who rode the bus to the meeting, credited the work of town staff for the County Commission’s quick decision to award the license.
“It was pretty clear that the town had done some serious ground work before it came before the commission,” said Greenwald, who has long supported the idea of an independent Highland Beach fire department. “It was a very successful morning from the town’s standpoint.”
Joseph said the town had worked on the 500-page COPCN application for almost a year and a half, covering all the bases required to provide emergency services.
“There was a lot of paperwork involved in getting us to this point,” he said. “The medical protocols alone were 300 pages.”
Had the County Commission balked at approving the license, the town would have suffered a major setback in its timeline and overall plans.
“If we didn’t have the county’s approval, it would be an uphill battle,” Joseph said.
Without approval from the commission, the town most likely would have needed to appeal to the governor, a process that could have been costly and time-consuming.
Joseph said that with the unanimous vote to grant the license, the town has the green light to move forward.
“We have vendor contracts on hold but we didn’t execute those until we knew what the timeline would be,” he said.
In his letter to residents, Hillman thanked the town staff, led by Manager Marshall Labadie, for its long hours and hard work and praised the efforts of fellow commissioners.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team and community, but our work is not complete,” he said. “Over the next few months, we will be completing the design of a new Highland Beach fire station.”
Construction of the new station is expected to begin in early 2023. At the same time, Joseph will begin the process of hiring and training firefighters and paramedics and making sure the new department is ready “to go live” when its contract for fire service with Delray Beach expires in little more than a year and a half.
Town commissioners voted in April 2021 to split from Delray Beach Fire Rescue and start a new department. Commissioners, citing a consultant study, said they believed Highland Beach could provide quality fire service for less than the $5 million a year Delray Beach charged.
During the County Commission’s meeting last month, town Commissioner John Shoemaker spoke before the vote and reiterated that Highland Beach is focused on providing residents with the best possible fire rescue service.
“The town has made a serious commitment that is unique in the last 30 years,” he said. “We need this so we can deliver effective services and improved response times.”
The last time a new fire department was created in Palm Beach County was by the Village of Tequesta in October 1993.

Lights, camera, action! The arts season is back!
Brush off that pretty shawl collecting dust in the closet and put a bit of polish on your good shoes. We’re going out!
For those of us who’ve used extra caution to keep people we love safe throughout the pandemic, it finally feels like there’s enough information and protection to mix and mingle in closed spaces. And our local venues, of course, remain diligent about keeping patrons, workers and artists safe.
So, make plans. Go ahead and buy those season tickets. There’s plenty to see and do.
Inside this edition you’ll find our Arts & Culture Season Preview. Check it out.
The Palm Beach ArtsPaper staff say there’s something for everyone planned this season. So don’t miss out; order your tickets early. They’ll go fast.
And plan to lift a toast to all the talent making their way back to the stage to make this one of the best and brightest arts and culture seasons ever.
Hope to see you out there.

— Mary Kate Leming, Editor