Yasmany Palomino, Morgan Clark, Rocco Orlandella, Kevin Conrad, Kennedy Dryden and Gabe Pearson (l-r) work out and enjoy the dawn most mornings at South Beach Park in Boca Raton. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

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By John Pacenti

It’s a sight to behold.
Before dawn, these sun worshipers can be spotted streaming down Boca Raton’s Palmetto Park Road — on foot, bicycle and vehicle. Their destination? The gazebo that overlooks South Beach Park — one of the best spots in South Florida to watch Helios catch fire.
As Mars danced with the full moon to the west and the sandpipers played catch-me-if-you-can with the high tide to the east, dozens of early risers congregated at the gazebo and down by the ocean on a recent December morning.
Some were first-time visitors, attending a conference in Boca Raton, taking in the majestic Atlantic — which despite mild breakers had a lone surfer cutting a silhouette in a postcard homage.

Meghan Nesom and her son, Colin, watch the sunrise from South Beach Park in Boca Raton. They stopped as Meghan drove Colin to school. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

There also was a smattering of children there before classes, including 10-year-old Colin Nesom, who was there with his mother, Meghan, at the water’s edge. He was biding time before heading to Alexander D. Henderson University School.
“My husband usually takes him to school but he’s out of town. So I got to take him today and if I’m going to get up this early, it’s going to be worth it,” said Meghan, who held an SLR camera in her hand to get the perfect photo.
About 20 yards from mother and son were a group of seven fit Florida Atlantic University students and would-be entrepreneurs. They can be found at South Beach Park almost every morning, meeting the sunrise while doing their exercise routine of sprinting 1.2 miles and suffering through 120 pushups and 100 situps.
While not in class, these zoomers go door-to-door selling solar panel systems. But this morning ritual is all about manifestation and becoming one with nature.
“We pray and meditate and go into the water,” said Morgan Clark, 18, who hails originally from Jacksonville. “I encourage everybody to envision exactly what they want in life, exactly where they want to be.”
Clark is the de facto leader of this group and co-founder of Almanac Solar Power. He listed his dorm’s address as the business address. There also was Rocco Orlandella, 20, from Boston — who hates getting up early but doesn’t want to catch grief from the others.
Then there was Gabe Pearson, who is Clark’s business partner, aged 19, and also from Jacksonville. Kevin Conrad was the old man of the group at 21, hailing from River Vale, New Jersey.
Emil Epps, a 20-year-old from Jacksonville, insisted on being called Tarzan and ended up diving in the ocean while others worked out. Rounding out the dude contingent of the group was Yasmany Palomino, whose deets remained elusive during the group interview — which was akin to herding cats in the dark.
Kennedy Dryden, 19, was the lone female present this particular morning. The Portsmouth, Virginia, native says greeting the sunrise “creates mental clarity for me.” And as the members of the group left the beach, they each took at least one piece of trash.
“We just enjoy spending time out here in beautiful, beautiful, gorgeous nature. I mean, it really makes our day for sure,” Clark said.

The East Coast Sunrise Group (clockwise) includes Jett Frieder and his golden doodle Romeo, Rich Fitzgerald, Ian Levinson, Jane Bartley, Tony Fierro, Margie Richards and Robert Claveau. BELOW RIGHT: Shellman’ Ron Smaha and ‘Bucket Boy’ Brad Barnes. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Joe Capozzi  

They call themselves the East Coast Sunrise Group, a self-explanatory name for a dozen or so strangers who’ve become fast friends because of a shared passion for watching sunrises at Boynton Beach’s Oceanfront Park in Ocean Ridge.  
“I’m the chairman of the board — because I provide the beach chairs,’’ Tony Fierro, a Naples, Italy, native from Boynton Beach, said as he sat in the predawn darkness one December morning with Robert Claveau, a retired air traffic controller from Quebec City.
The others would be along soon — Jane, Rich, Ian, Nichole, to name a few. They’ll grab a folded beach chair from the stack Fierro leaves on the boardwalk east of the parking lot, then make their way to the sand as the darkness over the ocean slowly gives way to light.
“We meet here every single morning. We never miss a day,’’ Fierro said. “If it’s raining, we meet at Starbucks.’’ 
It’s been that way since about 2019, when Fierro showed up for sunrise one morning and befriended Rich Fitzgerald of Boynton Beach. The next day, they showed up again and met Jane Bartley. 
Before long, other sunrise watchers were joining them, from nature-loving snowbirds to strangers battling personal demons.
They all exchange phone numbers and text each other in advance about weather conditions or if they won’t be able to make it. 

Jane Bartley, Rich Fitzgerald, Nichole Angone and Tony Fierro (l-r) celebrate the sunrise on Sept. 24, the two- year anniversary of Angone’s sobriety. Photo provided

“We have grown together as a beach family and the sunrises have shaped me as a completely different person,’’ said Nichole Angone, 36, a recovering addict who said she has been sober since she first met the group on the beach 2 1/2 years ago.
“This group has really shaped me for who I am,’’ she said. “To go and watch these sunrises together has been so spiritual. It’s like our church.’’ 
One morning before dawn a couple of years ago, the group saw Ian Levinson struggling in the darkness on two crutches. They took him in and gave him a chair. Now, he’s a regular.
“It’s the best way to start the morning. We enjoy the peace and quiet and beauty,’’ said Levinson, 56, who said he suffered a spinal injury in a car accident the day after he graduated from high school in southern California. 

New members are always welcome. But fair warning to the ladies: Fierro can be a flirt.
“We start the day with a happy heart, meeting friends and watching the sunrise,’’ Claveau said. “We all sit around gabbing, then at one point we all shut up and watch the sunrise.’’ 
He was right: The morning a reporter visited, the group was chatting away about the World Cup and the Miami Dolphins and the muffins Margie Richards just brought from Publix when suddenly a streak of orange burst over the horizon. The group, sitting in a half oval, went silent and took out their smartphones to capture the first glimmers of the day. 
“It’s like watching a painting that changes every minute. It’s just spectacular and it’s different every morning. And we bust each other’s chops,’’ said Fitzgerald.
“It’s the best, cheapest entertainment you can get,’’ he said. “The sunrises are breathtaking and it’s great people-watching.’’
And they have nicknames for many of the people they watch — “Shellman,’’ “Bucket Boy” and other beach walkers and joggers who may not formally sit with the group but will stop by for a minute every morning to pay their respects. 
“Shellman” is 90-year-old Ron Smaha of Ocean Ridge, who strolls the shoreline at dawn in search of shells that his wife uses to make wreaths. 
“Bucket Boy” is Brad Barnes of Boynton Beach, who said he takes a sunrise photo every morning so he can text it to a friend who is dying of cancer. When he arrives at Oceanfront Park, he grabs one of the plastic buckets provided by the Beach Bucket Foundation and collects trash along the shoreline. 
“Those guys are a hoot,’’ Barnes said about the East Coast Sunrise Group. “They even have a gang sign.’’
He demonstrates by sliding the three middle fingers (the rising sun) of his right hand up the side of his horizontal left palm (the ocean horizon).
Once the sun has risen, they say their goodbyes and go their separate ways to jobs and families and commitments.
Until tomorrow morning. 
“It’s a breath of fresh air,’’ said Jett Frieder, who brings Romeo, his golden doodle. He laughed and said the sunrises offer another big perk: “Nothing bad happens this early in the morning.’’

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Bianca LaParl and Christian McKeon pose for photographer Danielle Morien at sunrise in Delray Beach. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

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By Rich Pollack

Christian McKeon didn’t understand why his fiancée, Bianca LaParl, was waking him before sunup and telling him to get dressed and be ready to go out before the break of day.
Within 45 minutes, McKeon found himself on the beach in Delray next to LaParl, posing for engagement photos with a rising sun casting the backdrop.
“It had to be a surprise,” said LaParl, explaining it had been almost exactly a year since the two had decided to tie the knot but still hadn’t taken any quality engagement photos.
The timing also had to be perfect and luckily, they made it to the beach with just a few minutes to spare.
“The sunrise is about new beginnings,” LaParl said. “This is about us taking a step in the right direction.”
The idea for posing for the engagement photo on the beach came from Danielle Morien, LaParl’s close friend and a photography hobbyist who has a love for capturing beautiful moments with a camera.
As she and LaParl were planning the engagement photo, Morien knew that it had to be taken as the sun was rising over the horizon and that it had to be by the ocean.
“Seeing the sunrise from the beach is one of the most beautiful scenes in the world,” said Morien, who was born and raised in Delray Beach.
“The colors are never the same, they change every single day. Sometimes they are beautiful and vibrant, sometimes the sunrise is blocked with clouds, sometimes it is raining and sometimes you completely miss it because it rises so fast.”
To Morien, sunrise is symbolic of life and the challenges that come with it.
“I thought this would be a perfect start to their beautiful marriage,” said Morien, who brought her 4-month-old daughter to the beach with her that morning so she too could see the sunrise.

Greeting the sunrise, smartphone in hand, has evolved from a weekly to a daily ritual for Jeff Salviola. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

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By Rich Pollack

Stroll along the beach in Delray before the sun comes up just about any morning and you’re likely to see Jeff Salviola perched in his beach chair, just a few hundred yards south of Atlantic Avenue, anticipating another spectacular sunrise.
A frequent Sunday visitor to the beach for many years, Salviola started making everyday treks to the seashore soon after the start of the pandemic.
“Now it’s a daily ritual,” he says. “It’s kind of a habit.”
An early riser who has worked in the restaurant business for most of his adult life, Salviola says that watching the sunrise is the perfect way to welcome a new day.
“I like the brightness and the colors that start the day,” he says. “You get the feeling it’s OK now and that it’s going to be a good day.”
For a few years now Salviola has been sharing the beauty he sees in the sunrise with others online, posting photos on Instagram under the moniker of Jeffflorida.
His photos can vary from ordinary to extraordinary.
“Every sunrise is different,” he says, explaining that the formation and shifting of clouds add a bit of mystery.
Over his many days peering out east over the Atlantic Ocean, Salviola has come to expect the unexpected.
“You always wonder, ‘What’s it going to be like today,’” he says.
While the sunrise is the magnet drawing him to the water’s edge, Salviola says it’s also the peacefulness that comes with being by the ocean and the wonders of nature that keep him coming back.
“I just like to sit and listen to the waves,” he says, surveying the ocean and sky not long after watching a pod of dolphins glide through the water.

‘I’m here to thank God for one more year,’ says Fatima Steiner. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

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By Rich Pollack

Fatima Steiner hadn’t planned on spending her birthday on the beach in Delray waiting for the sun to rise.
Then the stars aligned and there she was, up to her ankles in seawater, her cellphone poised to catch a once-a-day magical moment.
“It was meant to be,” she said.
A Brazilian by birth, Steiner has lived in Delray Beach for half a decade but had never ventured out to the beach at the crack of dawn to see the sunrise.
“I always see the sunsets but it’s taken me five years to see the sunrise,” she said.
It could have taken another couple of years if her husband’s cardiologist hadn’t scheduled an angioplasty for 6 a.m. that early December day.
Rather than go back home, Steiner chose to head to the beach and take in the blend of rising rays of sunlight with the gathering of clouds.
It was, she says, one way to take her mind off her worries about her husband’s health, while at the same time, appreciate the connection between the sunrise and her birthday.
“The sunrise is the start of a new day,” she said. “My next year starts today with the sunrise.”
Watching the rising sun was also a bit of a spiritual experience for Steiner.
“I’m here to thank God for one more year,” she said.
Chances are she won’t be waiting another five years — or for her husband to have another early morning doctor’s visit — to be back on the beach waiting for the beginning of a new day.
“It’s just so beautiful,” she said.

Hazel Butler (right) gets emotional as she reminisces with longtime customer and friend Mike Gauger and her co-worker Billie Christ. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

Hazel Butler tried to keep back the tears as she talked about 16 years in the rearview mirror and the few remaining days left before she stopped collecting memories at Rex’s Hairstyling, the iconic Delray Beach shop with roots stretching back to 1986.
It didn’t work.
Instead, Butler’s eyes watered as she stood planted next to the saloon-style doors separating her booth from the handful of others in the shop and talked about the closing of a landmark that had become a second home.
“I always knew the lights would be on,” she said. “Now, I’m leaving Delray and all that’s connected to it.”
Those lights that had been on for almost four decades went dark on Dec. 31, when owner Rex Thayer closed the doors of Rex’s, a barbershop and hair salon that served both men and women and was headquartered inside a small business complex on North Federal Highway.
“Delray is never going to be quite the same without Rex’s,” says longtime Delray Beach resident and businessman Fred Bonardi, who’d been getting his hair cut there every Friday for decades. “It’s old Delray and we’re going to dearly miss it.”
To grasp why the shop’s closing will leave a huge emptiness in the literal and figurative heart of Delray, you first have to understand that Rex’s was much more than just a place to get your hair cut or styled. It was where the people inside were able to blend humor with humility and kindness with kinship — all done under the umbrella of a small-town feeling that once was Delray Beach’s calling card.
Rex’s, for instance, was where you’d find stylists covertly sprinkling hair from other customers under the barber chair of an all-but-totally-bald client so he wouldn’t know just how little hair he actually had left.

Rex Thayer, owner of Rex’s Hairstyling in Delray Beach, is surrounded by his longtime employees (l-r) Hazel Butler, Billie Christ and Billie Birmingham. Thayer, 73, retired at the end of December and closed the salon. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

It’s where you’d meet both a stylist and a manicurist named Billie and of course find Hazel, who could easily be your favorite aunt.
It’s where a neighbor’s dog made a daily afternoon appearance to get a treat, and where customers were apt to bring goodies, such as homemade peanut brittle, during their regular visits.
It’s also where you might think you stepped back in time. As you walked through the front door you’d see an old-fashioned barber pole — which Thayer received as a gift — on a wall next to newspaper clippings, some from decades ago. Nearby was a photo of Delray Beach’s first barbershop — taken about a century ago — and framed pictures of local elected officials who had long since given up politics.
And Rex’s was also where you’d hear stories of Thayer going to the home of a dying customer who wanted to look his best before meeting his maker.
Ask those who are struggling to find someplace else to go for a haircut or a new hairdo what made Rex’s special and you’ll be certain to hear an almost cliché analogy to an iconic fictional television bar.
“It’s like Cheers, where everybody knows everybody else,” said Mike Gauger, the retired chief deputy of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office who traveled from Wellington twice a month to get his hair cut by Rex. “Minus the beer.”
Gauger first met his longtime barber in 1979 while serving as the lead detective on a homicide in which Thayer was a friend of the victim. He had been coming to Rex ever since, at first when Thayer worked at another shop.
“We developed a friendship,” Gauger says.
The two have gotten so close that when Gauger needs to put a team together for a charity bowling tournament, he knows he can count on Thayer, a former pro bowler, to serve as his “ringer.” It comes as no surprise that they seem to win almost every tournament.
While their experiences come from different directions, Gauger and Bonardi have a common denominator also shared by former Delray Beach Police Chief Larry Schroeder. All three trusted Rex to cut their sons’ hair.
“This is the only place their mother would let them get their hair cut,” Bonardi said.
Schroeder even brought his grandson to Rex for his earliest haircuts.
As you might expect, there’s no shortage of stories that you’ll hear when you talk to customers or Thayer or any member of his team — Butler and the Billies, stylist Billie Birmingham and manicurist Billie Christ, who was with Rex’s for 30 years.
Thayer shared his experience with a very demanding customer who wouldn’t leave his apartment if his hair wasn’t perfect.
When he first arrived, the 6-foot-5-inch customer with snow-white hair presented a 10-point list and suggested Thayer contact his barber in Boston for tips on how to make his hair perfect.
Thayer complied and ended up cutting that customer’s hair every week for 28 years.
Longtime customer Wesley Moore says banter among the members of Rex’s team provided entertainment while his hair was being trimmed.
“They’re all up in each other’s business,” Moore said. “It’s hilarious to listen to.”
Over the years the clientele included billionaires, professional golfers, the children of tennis legends, baseball stars and of course, any local elected official who wanted to win.
Many of those politicians ended up in the chair of Karyn Premock. Thayer credits her for helping keep the business afloat in its early years when he was out of commission for several weeks following a traffic accident.
Premock retired three years ago and moved to Tennessee, where she was killed in a freak ATV accident in May. She is fondly included in many conversations about Rex’s, especially when it comes to knowing what was really going on in town.
“Politicians came here to hear things about other politicians, especially in Karyn’s chair,” Butler said. “You never know what you’re going to hear in here.”
Of course, you were also likely to hear a little gossip at Rex’s.
“People had been coming here for so long, they felt like they could say anything,” Thayer said.
For Schroeder, it’s the friendship that he developed with Thayer while sitting in the barber’s chair that kept him coming back.
“We shared, we laughed, and we became friends and that is why I never thought about going anywhere else,” Schroeder said. “That is what I will miss the most.”
At 73, Rex Thayer isn’t quite ready to retire, but says his decision to close the shop is about family — the family that has been forged over the snipping of scissors, the buzzing of razors and laughter that filled the booths.
Thayer said that Butler, the two Billies and an assistant, Debbie Cooksey —are ready for a break and he couldn’t imagine starting over without them.
“I’ve worked with these people my whole life,” he said.
For the last six years, Butler has been commuting back and forth from her home in Fellsmere, coming down on Tuesday, staying with friends, and driving back on Friday.
“I could still work but I can’t drive I-95 anymore,” she said.
As the curtain started coming down on Rex’s, news spread and Birmingham recalls the reaction of one of her customers, who happened to be 93.
“She said, ‘Now I know I’ve lived too long,’” Birmingham remembered.
Butler summed up the final days in just a few words.
“This is the closing of an era,” she said.

A petition drive aims to ‘Save the Deli,’ which is in a dispute over its lease. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Joe Capozzi
 
The Seaside Deli & Market, the beloved County Pocket staple with a loyal following of billionaires and beach bums, is facing an uncertain future because of a legal fight with its landlord, a company owned by retired major league baseball player Rafael Belliard. 
As lawyers for both sides try to negotiate a resolution, community leaders have launched a campaign to “Save the Deli,’’ as a banner erected across the front says. More than 650 signatures have been collected on a petition.
If the deli can’t remain in its familiar spot at 4635 N. Ocean Blvd., just south of Briny Breezes, owner Randy McCormick said he’s hoping to move it to a new space nearby instead of closing for good and putting his nine employees out of work. 
“There is a chance we can negotiate the lease that will permit Seaside Deli to remain in the space,’’ said Carl T. Williams, who until late December was McCormick’s attorney. “We’d like to work with the landlord to the extent we can and try to find a solution that’s good for everybody.’’
Accusations have been flying from both sides for more than a year. But Belliard’s Ocean Blvd 14 LLC scored a victory Dec. 22 when Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Paige Gillman issued a written ruling giving the landlord possession of the space. The judge sided with the landlord’s claim that Seaside Deli hadn’t paid $40,279 in back rent, in violation of an October court order. 

Longtime store manager Chelsea Steen works the counter. Photo by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

Although business at the Seaside Deli has been especially brisk in the two weeks since word got out about the deli’s future, McCormick said he wouldn’t be surprised if the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office ordered the locks changed as early as the first week in January.
Despite Gillman’s ruling, Williams and McCormick insist the landlord’s claims are not true. Seaside Deli tried to make its monthly payments in 2022, they said, but Belliard family members and their attorney would not accept the money. 
“We have never not paid our rent. My (lease) renewal would have started in March 2022,’’ McCormick said. “I made that payment directly into their account. The next month, when I tried to deposit the rent, I was told that they closed their account. From that point on, I sent the rent every month certified mail, and they refused delivery every month, and I have those receipts.’’
Williams and McCormick believe the Belliards have refused to accept the money because they are trying to sell the building. McCormick said he spoke a year and a half ago to two potential buyers from Gulf Stream who discussed with him the possible terms of a new lease.
One of the potential buyers, who did not want to be identified or quoted, confirmed that he and some partners at one point spoke to the Belliards about buying the site and spoke to McCormick about a potential lease.
It’s unclear whether there were formal negotiations.

‘Beach bums to billionaires’
Leonora Belliard, who is Rafael’s wife and handles Ocean Blvd 14’s business affairs, did not return a phone call from The Coastal Star. “I have no knowledge at this moment,’’ Ocean Blvd 14 attorney Joshua Pinsky said Dec. 20 when a reporter asked about the Belliards’ plans for the property.
Rafael Belliard’s eviction lawsuit, filed in July, was a counterclaim to a lawsuit filed in August 2021 by Seaside Deli. In that lawsuit, which is still open, Seaside Deli accused Ocean Blvd 14 of breaching the lease by trying to sell the property without giving McCormick the first right to negotiate a purchase, which is spelled out in the lease. 
In a June 1 motion to dismiss, an attorney for Ocean Blvd 14 denied the claim, saying “there is no current contract or agreement to sell the subject property. …’’
The five-year lease expired March 31, but Seaside Deli has refused to vacate, Ocean Blvd 14 said in the July filing.
Meanwhile, word of the judge’s ruling has sent shock waves around the County Pocket, where Seaside Deli is considered not only a neighborhood asset but one of the few remnants of Old Florida along State Road A1A in Palm Beach County.
Loyal customers who have come by over the years for fresh deli sandwiches, imported beer or a loaf of bread range from hockey great Mario Lemieux and singer Jimmy Buffett to landscape workers and surfers. 
Just the other day, actor-comedian Kevin James popped in to pick up one of the deli’s famous subs. And old-timers still remember the day New York Yankees star Derek Jeter and his then-girlfriend, singer Mariah Carey, stopped in for snacks on their way to the beach. 
“We get beach bums to billionaires. To me they’re all the same. They’re just good people,’’ McCormick said.   
The deli has been so popular, local Realtors over the years have included it in MLS listings as an amenity, a mom-and-pop alternative to having to cross the bridge to get to a Publix before the supermarket chain opened a store in Manalapan.
The deli extends accounts for local businesses, allowing their workers to pick up ice, drinks and food. For a while, it delivered lunch sandwiches for students at the private Gulf Stream School. 
“It’s become part of the fabric of the community,’’ said Richie Podvesker, whose father, Fred, owned the deli and building since 1993 before selling it to the Belliards in 2014 for $460,000. 
“My dad put his all into it just as I put my heart and soul into it for more than 20 years, seven days a week,’’ he said. “I just want to see it succeed.’’

An attraction for developers
Born in the Dominican Republic, Belliard played second base and shortstop from 1982 to 1998, the first nine years with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the last eight with the Atlanta Braves. He won a World Series ring with the 1995 Braves.
With Kevin Belliard, Rafael’s son, at the helm, the Belliards ran the store for three years before selling it to McCormick in 2017 and retaining the building. 
In 2019, both the Belliards’ company and Seaside Deli were sued in federal court for purportedly violating the Americans With Disabilities Act over a lack of handicapped parking and other issues. 
A confidential settlement was reached, according to court records. But McCormick, in the lawsuit he filed against Ocean Blvd 14 in August 2021 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, claimed the Belliards were in breach of the lease because they were responsible for the ADA improvements. 
The Belliards have had three different offers for the building, according to County Pocket insiders, a claim The Coastal Star could not confirm.
If no resolution can be reached, many longtime residents are worried about the future of the pocket’s Old Florida character.  
“It’s going to be a big loss for the community,’’ said McCormick, who spoke in a tone of defeat. “When they tear this down and start developing it, it’s going to change the whole face of this area. In 10 years you won’t recognize this area.’’
If the Belliards do plan to sell, others don’t blame them for wanting to cash in on land that has appreciated with the real estate boom. But for many locals, the mere possibility of the Seaside Deli closing is the biggest scare since the mobile-home community of Briny Breezes was nearly sold to a developer in 2007. 
“There are so many people moving to South Florida from up North who have large sums of money,’’ said the attorney Williams, who grew up in Delray Beach. “They see property and the potential for development and just tear it down or develop it in a way that they see fit, and unfortunately it can destroy the character of a neighborhood or a community that have been in place for decades or longer.’’
Word of the deli’s uncertain future did not reach a wide audience after the judge’s oral ruling on Dec. 14, but a week later a full-blown awareness campaign started. A “Save the Seaside Deli” petition was posted next to the cash register and the banner was erected outside, visible to A1A passersby. 
Other local merchants, such as Nomad Surf Shop, Surfside Orthopedics & Primary Care and the Texaco gas station, have set up petitions.
“So many people, from Manalapan all the way down to Delray, are committed to this place,’’ said Kristine de Haseth, Ocean Ridge vice mayor and executive director for the Florida Coalition for Preservation, which is coordinating the petition drive and collecting signatures. 
“They truly are a community asset. We are going to try to help them and see if we can buy them some time.’’
One regular said he’d gladly sign the petition. 
“I am shocked” at the possibility the deli will close, Dan Funsch said after pulling up in his white Rolls-Royce to get an Italian sub. 
“Very upsetting, very upsetting. You see so many neighbors here. Constantly. I think a lot of people are going to be very, very upset.’’

Most of us don’t choose our neighbors. We come from all over with diverse heritage, different walks of life. The mashup of humanity is a base ingredient of the South Florida stew.
We love Italian restaurants, taco trucks, French bakeries, roadside barbecue, gyros, falafels, cracked conch, sweet potato pie. And the people who bring us these delicacies — and myriad others — sometimes become our friends. We break bread together, sip rum or espresso as the meal ends, share sweets before parting.
Strangers grow to know each other across a counter or table — relationships formed by nothing more than a simple, shared experience.
Inside this edition of The Coastal Star are several examples of strangers forging friendships out of a chance encounter, a conversation, a helping hand.
It’s challenging to start conversations with random people, but worth the effort. As these stories illustrate, the end result can lead to savory (or sweet) experiences, to unforeseen good deeds.
As the sun rises on 2023, we all might gain from finding more ease with strangers — even our neighbors! Ask questions. Make eye contact. Smile. At all times, keep in mind everyone’s just doing the best they can with what they were given. Be kind.
Unexpected friendships add flavor to the mashup of South Florida. Savor them.
Happy New Year!

— Mary Kate Leming, Editor

Joseph Hurtuk, right, owner of the Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery in Boynton Beach, teamed up with his friend and fellow pilot Dr. Ian Goldbaum of Ocean Ridge to fly supplies to Hurricane Ian victims on Florida’s Gulf Coast. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

By Ron Hayes

On the morning of Friday, Oct. 28, an Ocean Ridge podiatrist and the owner of a Boynton Beach ice cream shop set out together on a mission of mercy.
Neither ice cream nor feet were involved.
What Dr. Ian Goldbaum and his friend Joseph Hurtuk have in common is aviation.
Goldbaum, 65, who owns a Piper PA-28 Cherokee, earned his pilot’s license in 2021. Hurtuk, 77, has been flying a Cessna 172 since 1996.
Two years ago Hurtuk had a little problem with his heel, which made them doctor and patient, but airplanes made them friends and, on that October morning, missionaries of mercy.
They flew out of the Lantana airport at 7 a.m. in Goldbaum’s Cherokee and touched down again about 4 p.m.
In the hours between, they landed at the Plant City airport in Hillsborough County, loaded the plane with paper towels and toilet paper, mac ’n’ cheese and ramen noodles, and took off for Fort Myers.
Their work was not the only aerial mission to survivors of Hurricane Ian that day.
Goldbaum had learned on a YouTube channel about a project called Jimmy’s World, popular with Florida aviators. Money was being collected to buy supplies at Costco and pilots were needed to fly the supplies from Plant City to Fort Myers.
Hurricane Ian was the bad Ian, Goldbaum thought. I’m going to be the good Ian.
He called his friend.
“Hey, Joe, are you making ice cream on Friday, Oct. 28?”

Different paths
The journeys that brought Goldbaum and Hurtuk to that day’s journey couldn’t have been more different.
Raised in suburban Detroit, Goldbaum has practiced podiatry in Delray Beach for 37 years.
“My family owned a couple of hospitals in Michigan, so I knew I was going to go into medicine,” he says, “but I didn’t know what branch. Then one day when I was a student at Michigan State I went to visit a roommate’s father’s office. He was a podiatrist and that settled it.
“I became a doctor because I wanted to help people. I felt it was a calling.”
Joe Hurtuk’s work history did not scream ice cream.
He had been a fireman in the U.S. Air Force, a police captain at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, and the chief of police operations for the Metro Washington D.C. Airport Authority, where in 1992 he created the Dulles Day Plane Pull.
Teams of 25 pay $2,000 to take turns pulling an 82-ton plane 12 feet. Fastest time wins and the money goes to the Special Olympics.
In 2015, Hurtuk retired as the chief of regulatory compliance for the Department of Homeland Security at Palm Beach International Airport.
And wondered what to do next.
“I decided I wanted to either run a car wash or open an ice cream shop,” he says, “and I thought, are you ever really happy after a car wash?”
He leased a building at 209 N. Federal Highway and opened the Boardwalk Italian Ice & Creamery, the name inspired by childhood memories of ice cream treats on the Jersey shore.
“Everybody told us we weren’t going to make it,” recalls Hurtuk, who lives in Delray Beach.
Seven years later the shop offers about 150 flavors — not all at once — and boasts a 4.6 rating on Google reviews.

Serving survivors
Now the two friends would leave podiatry and ice cream behind for a day to serve survivors of the late-September hurricane instead.
They arrived in Plant City as one of 11 planes ready to load the $50,000 in supplies Jimmy’s World had collected.
“We took out the backseats and filled the plane,” Goldbaum said. But they never made it to Fort Myers.
“All the planes were diverted to Punta Gorda,” Hurtuk explained. “We never learned why, but I assume the Fort Myers airport was either damaged or too busy to accommodate us.”
In Punta Gorda, they unloaded the supplies, had the plane refueled, and headed back to Lantana with Hurtuk at the controls.
Goldbaum was looking out his window.
“My fuel cap’s not on tight,” he announced.
Now, rather than fly directly toward Lantana, they altered their flight plan to stay near the LaBelle, Clewiston, Pahokee and Belle Glade airports, just in case.
The Piper Cherokee landed safely at the end of a mission that had lasted only nine hours, but now Goldbaum and Hurtuk were carrying a memory that would last the rest of their lives.
“You know,” Goldbaum said, “I lost eight personal friends to COVID. You realize tomorrow’s not guaranteed to anybody. So, you look back and ask what is it you accomplished in life. If you were fortunate enough to help others and didn’t — well shame on you.”

NOMINATE SOMEONE TO BE A COASTAL STAR
Send a note to news@thecoastalstar.com or call 561-337-1553.

Florida has a history of learning from damaging storms and adopting effective reforms

By John L. Renne

If history is a guide, Floridians will digest and respond to the lessons from Hurricanes Ian and Nicole, thus becoming more resilient.
Such was the case after the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 and the Okeechobee hurricane in 1928, when an earthen dike around the lake collapsed and killed 2,500 people.
Then, the Florida Legislature created a flood control district to work with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to build new infrastructure, including floodway channels, control gates and the Herbert Hoover Dike around Lake Okeechobee.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew devastated Homestead. In response, Florida adopted recommendations from the American Society of Civil Engineers related to wind ratings.
Florida was a leader in adopting these new building codes and has since been a model to other states in hurricane-prone areas.
Hurricane Ian was one of the top 10 most powerful storms to hit Florida and it caused significant damage from wind, storm surge and flooding.
Over the past five years, Hurricanes Irma and Michael punished our coasts with powerful winds and deadly storm surges. Hurricane Dorian would have been catastrophic to Florida, but the Category 5 storm turned north at the last moment, instead ravaging the Bahamas.
With the increasing frequency of major hurricanes, the state needs to develop a coastal resilience policy that is applied uniformly statewide to address storm surge zones.
This new policy should not be complex and must engage local municipalities. Cities, towns and counties should be required to engage with the public in developing and maintaining coastal resilience plans to minimize the effects of storm surges.
These plans should include flood control responses and development regulations to ensure that zoning codes do not permit new construction unless the neighborhood is protected and ground-floor elevations are above maximum storm-surge levels.
They should include new infrastructure to harden flood-prone areas. The strategies should feature effective nature-based solutions — such as creating new barrier islands in strategic locations and restoring mangroves — and the building of sea walls and floodgates. These investments should also enhance the quality of life and recreational opportunities.
A coordinated and standard approach among local, state and federal agencies would not just protect and save lives and property, but also would begin to address the longer-term existential threat posed by climate change and sea-level rise.
The benefits of a coordinated response far outweigh a piecemeal approach from each local government. For example, the insurance industry, which has been in a crisis in Florida, should have a seat at the table along with real estate developers and financiers.
The development and insurance industries and local governments have a vested stake in solving this problem. Reforms are needed to reduce insurance rates for homeowners.
Florida’s real estate industry historically has followed a boom-bust cycle. Rapid inflation, an economic recession and major hurricanes could spawn a bust, especially if the state becomes uninsurable because of the persistent threats of significant storms and flooding.
As Floridians recover from Ian and Nicole this past fall, billions will be spent on recovery and restoration. It is vital to remember that the damage today was mitigated based on the flood control and building code improvements from past hurricanes.
Enhancing coastal development protection and resilience in the 2020s can again set Florida apart as a leader for a nation that will face more and more natural disasters in the years ahead.

John L. Renne, Ph.D. is a professor of urban and regional planning and director of the Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions at Florida Atlantic University. He is the author of several books on resilience. The opinions expressed here represent those of the individual author and not necessarily those of Florida Atlantic University.

“The Invading Sea” is the opinion arm of the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a collaborative of news organizations across the state focusing on the threats posed by the warming climate.

Members of the Starbright Civic Collective present the town with a check for $48,000 to cover the first year of EMT training. From left are Pati Maguire, Stella Kolb, Jean Burling (behind Kolb), Carol Besler, Mary Ziegenfuss, Diane Rose, Police Chief Richard Jones, Janet Schijns, Betty Bingham and Carolyn Cassidy. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Joe Capozzi 

Ocean Ridge’s finest are about to take on another critical public-safety role.
The town’s Police Department in January will start training its officers to be certified emergency medical technicians, under a $50,000 pilot program paid for by the Starbright Civic Collective, an Ocean Ridge nonprofit. 
“This brings us back to a place where the officers we have can do mostly everything. They literally save our lives day in and day out,’’ Commissioner Geoff Pugh said before the Town Commission unanimously approved the program Dec. 5. 
“This enhances our level of service tenfold,’’ he said. “That’s what we as residents deserve.’’ 
Public EMT services are typically provided by fire rescue departments. Ocean Ridge, a barrier island community, receives fire rescue service under a nearly $1.4 million contract with Boynton Beach Fire Rescue. 
While no one at the Dec. 5 Town Commission meeting criticized Boynton Beach Fire Rescue, Ocean Ridge Police Chief Richard Jones said his officers are always first on scene to calls, usually arriving in two to three minutes. Fire rescue crews at times can take seven to 12 minutes to arrive at a call on the island, he said. 
“That means we have the ability to influence the decision as to whether or not someone has the ability to survive until they reach a hospital. Those golden minutes, as we refer to them, are what we care most about,’’ said Jones, whose department also provides police services to Briny Breezes.
“Those minutes are critically important to survival rates and we want to make sure our staff is properly trained to provide a service that we are able to provide.’’ 
The EMT program will start in January with the training of four of Ocean Ridge’s 16 officers, roughly one officer per shift. (The department usually has 19 officers but three positions are vacant.) Since Jones said he and two other officers are already certified EMTs, seven officers would be certified in 2023.
Jones said it will cost about $50,000 a year to train four officers in consultation with a physician under Florida Department of Health rules for EMT certification, including medical supplies for patrol cars. 
While the Starbright Civic Collective will pay for the first year, it likely will be up to commissioners to decide whether to use town tax dollars to continue paying the training costs for more officers in future years. 
“There is a need in our town — I believe strongly as a resident who has benefited from it — for our police officers to be trained as EMTs so they can respond in an emergency and help save the lives of our residents until the Boynton teams can arrive,’’ said Janet Schijns, president of the Starbright Civic Collective, who presented Jones with a ceremonial check for $48,000. 
Commissioners, who applauded the nonprofit for paying for the first year, seemed open to the idea of paying for training in future years. 
“Not only do our residents deserve this, but as we start to cross-pollinate with our other neighbors to the north and the south, there may be a benefit eventually that we could help provide these services for others for a fee and really strengthen everything we do. I know the folks in Briny are extremely excited about this,’’ Vice Mayor Kristine de Haseth said. 
Although there are likely many police officers around Palm Beach County who are certified EMTs, Jones said he believes Ocean Ridge will be the first police department with a dedicated program.
“I think there is value in us providing our residents with service that they can’t get anywhere else,’’ said Jones, whose department has a $3.464 million budget. “That makes our community stand out from the communities around us as we move forward in the future.’’

Town manager search 
Town commissioners expect to interview at least five finalists for the town manager’s position on Jan. 31. On Dec. 5, they agreed to allow Colin Baenziger, their $29,500 search consultant, to determine the finalists.
Commissioners want the new town manager to start no later than Feb. 20. The new hire would replace Tracey Stevens, who resigned Sept. 11 to accept the manager’s job in Haverhill. Lynne Ladner has been serving as interim town manager. 

Digitizing records
Commissioners will spend $97,148 to scan and digitize hundreds of thousands of pages of town records that are currently occupying two rooms at Town Hall. 
“We’re pretty Flintstones right now and we’re getting an electric car,’’ Commissioner Steve Coz said before the commission approved a digitization contract with MCCi, a Tallahassee-based digital recording firm.
The documents include ordinances, resolutions and meeting minutes, but the majority are site plans, development proposals, permits and other Building Department records.

Signs on the north and south ends of the Turtle Beach condominiums may give the impression that the complex’s private property extends both east and west of the signs, because of the arrows. Police typically define private property to be landward of ‘mean high tide,’ which on this day would have been left of this sign. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Joe Capozzi

The on-again, off-again issue of public beach access came up again at a Town Commission meeting last month when residents complained about “No Trespassing” signs outside an Ocean Ridge condominium complex. 
At issue are signs east of the Turtle Beach of Ocean Ridge, a 26-unit condominium community along Old Ocean Boulevard bordered by Hersey Drive on the north and Tropical Drive on the south.
“It really communicates to everyone that you can’t cross the line going south into Turtle Beach,’’ James Connolly of Hersey Drive told commissioners.
The condo says it has ownership rights that extend to the beach’s mean high water line, generally the area of wet sand at the water’s edge. Florida law allows public access to the beach between the waterline and the erosion control line, an area generally near high tide. 
At town meetings beachgoers have often complained of a proliferation of signs all along the beach in Ocean Ridge. And of special concern, they say some of the Turtle Beach signs are posted in the waterline and infringe on the rights of residents who live just north and south of the condo.
The signs at Turtle Beach face east and west with arrows pointing in both directions, which gives beachgoers like Connolly and others the impression that “no trespassing” applies to the entire beach.
“I don’t believe these signs are legal,’’ said Debbie Cook of Tropical Drive. “They are creating a compound, setting their boundaries and using my tax dollars to monitor their property.’’ 
Some signs are so close to the water that they’re often washed out to sea, where they pose a danger to swimmers and marine life, Connolly said. 
“They are unnecessary and they’re unsightly and they’re unneighborly,’’ he said. “It creates kind of an aggressive hostile environment on the beach when people like to go down to the beach and chill.’’ 
But not everyone goes to the beach to chill, which is why the signs went up in the first place, said Mark Feinstein, president of the Turtle Beach of Ocean Ridge Condominium Association.
“I’ve been living here since 2016 and I can tell you from personal experience we’ve had a number of problems” with beachgoers “becoming drunk and disorderly on the beach, causing problems with our residents, playing loud music or being otherwise obnoxious and not allowing us to enjoy our own beach,’’ he said in an interview. 
“Nobody wants signs,’’ he said, “but when people don’t respect property rights, what are you going to do?’’ 
The association applied for and received a town permit for four signs, which were posted on the condo’s part of the beach. The signs don’t prohibit the public from “using the wet sand to go north and south,’’ Feinstein said.
“Just because your sand gets wet doesn’t mean that that’s the mean high tide water mark. The actual mark is much further east. We don’t have an issue with that. We haven’t stopped anybody from traversing across wet sand in water. It’s the people who think they can camp here.’’
Other residents, though, claim they’ve seen as many as six signs outside Turtle Beach, including some in public access areas. 
“My wife sent me a picture and the thing looks like it’s halfway into the ocean,’’ Commissioner Geoff Pugh said at the Dec. 5 meeting, adding that it’s “the second or third time these signs have showed up in the same spot.’’
He asked the town attorney if Ocean Ridge officials can remove the ill-placed signs.
“The town can remove signs from right of ways,’’ Pugh said. “What is the legality of the town removing a sign as egregious as one that’s eastward of the high mean waterline?’’
The answer isn’t so simple, said Town Attorney Christy Goddeau.
“There’s a bundle of property rights in beach property, so trying to balance those property interests is always a struggle,’’ she said. 
“The public trust doctrine gives the public the right to recreate, to swim, to walk across that area. It doesn’t give them the right to permanently camp there. … There are competing property interests.’’
Pugh said his main concerns are the location of the signs and whether that sets a precedent for “every other property owner up and down the beach to start putting signs all the way into the beach.’’ 
Goddeau recommended town officials take a first step by reviewing Turtle Beach’s sign permit to make sure the association is in compliance and to see if the permit dictates exactly where the signs can be placed. 
“Then, if the direction of the commission is to do more about it, to update your sign code, we can certainly pursue that,’’ she said. 
Feinstein, who did not attend the Dec. 5 meeting, said he had not been contacted by town officials as of Dec. 14. 
He said some signs, which cost $300 each, have been removed by beachgoers. 
Part of the problem, he said, is the “transient” nature of some residents who rent properties on Tropical Drive and beachgoers who come across the Woolbright Road bridge from the mainland. 
“The other huge concern we have is there’s an apartment building going up over the bridge. One of their advertising brochures says, ‘Walk to the beach,’’’ Feinstein said. 
“We are waiting for the onslaught when those apartments become occupied. It’s going to get a lot worse.’’ 
Feinstein also said he thinks the complaints are politically motivated attacks against Mayor Susan Hurlburt, a Turtle Beach resident who is up for reelection in March.
Hurlburt, who did not participate in the sign debate at the Dec. 5 meeting, referred questions to Feinstein. 
“I have always worked diligently at separating any and all of my private interests from town business,’’ she said in a statement to The Coastal Star. 
“I absolutely avoid all involvement in my official capacity with the town that may give even the perception of wandering into self-interest.
“But as I am a resident of Turtle Beach, and with an election forthcoming, I have therefore become the point of negative focus for the beach sign issue.’’

Fifth-graders Valentina Autiero and Emma Imperatore stand beside the new duck-crossing sign outside the Gulf Stream School that they designed and promoted. A second sign was installed in front of Town Hall. The persistent students asked town commissioners in March 2020 and again in May 2022 to create the warnings after a Muscovy duck was run over and killed near their school. Photo provided by Rachel S. O’Hara/Gulf Stream School

Gulf Stream Police Chief Edward Allen gave the Town Commission no details on why he is leaving the job, but Mayor Scott Morgan called it a retirement and praised Allen’s integrity. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Steve Plunkett

Gulf Stream is losing its longest tenured employee, Police Chief Edward Allen, who has served on the town’s police force since 1988.
“Effective Jan. 31 … I will be leaving my position here as the police chief,” he announced at the Town Commission’s December meeting without offering details on why.
Mayor Scott Morgan labeled it a retirement.
“You have been with this town for many, many years — decades — and, at least as long as I’ve been on this commission, you have led what is really one of the finest police departments on the barrier island and, frankly, beyond that,” Morgan said. “I want to say that you’ve brought honesty, integrity to your position. Now you’ve instilled that in your officers and have made them what is a very special police department to our very special town.
“I think I speak for everyone here in congratulating you,” the mayor said of Allen’s “well deserved” retirement after almost 35 years working for the town, “thanking you for your many years of service.”
Allen, 63, joined the Gulf Stream Police Department on June 10, 1988, when he was 29 years old. He was promoted to chief on Dec. 9, 2016, after his predecessor, Garrett Ward, resigned for health reasons.
Allen supervised a police captain, two sergeants and 10 officers.
He started his police career in 1981 in Boynton Beach, where he was born and raised, and moved to the Ocean Ridge police force in 1986.
For years he also served as Santa Claus at Ocean Ridge’s holiday party. His father, Ed Sr., was chief of the Boynton Beach Fire Department.
Allen’s departure is coming only four months after the Sept. 30 retirement of Town Clerk Rita Taylor, then Gulf Stream’s second-longest tenured employee. Taylor worked for the town for 32 years and nine months.

In other business at the Dec. 9 meeting:
-- Commissioners were told that a 25-foot live oak tree would be planted outside Town Hall, replacing the green buttonwood tree blown over by Hurricane Ian-related wind in late September.
-- Town Manager Greg Dunham reminded commissioners that construction is restricted but not prohibited in Gulf Stream for the six-month winter season, and there is a lengthy list of exemptions. “Every year … around Dec. 1 the staff deals with construction exemption requests on a daily basis basically,” he said, noting that two noisy projects were nearing completion.
-- An informational session with a security camera industry representative was scheduled for the commission’s Jan. 13 meeting. The subject: the possibility of getting live feeds of nonresidents driving into town from citizens’ security cameras. Resident Beau Delafield, who twice has lost vehicles to thefts, and Civic Association President Curtiss Roach asked commissioners to investigate.
-- A new guardhouse at Place Au Soleil was approved.

By Rich Pollack

For 4 1/2 years, the identity of “Baby June” and the questions of how her tiny 2-day-old infant body ended up floating in the Boynton Inlet remained a mystery.
Despite relentless efforts by Palm Beach County Sheriff’s detectives searching for anyone who knew anything and tracking tip after tip to frustrating dead ends, there was little to go on.
Now thanks to the latest advances in DNA analysis technology using public databases, detectives have the answers to questions that have long eluded them: A Boynton Beach woman — the mother of Baby June — is in custody on first-degree murder charges.
Last month, after an extensive investigation that included a covert DNA collection, sheriff’s detectives arrested 29-year-old Arya Singh and charged her with tossing the baby she had on May 30, 2018, into the ocean.
“There have been a lot of question marks about Baby June’s death and now we have an idea of what happened,” said lead detective Brittany Christoffel of the sheriff’s cold case unit. “It’s nice to have some answers.”
Christoffel said that the baby was a surprise to her mother and was thrown into the ocean shortly after she was born.
“She didn’t know she was pregnant up until the time she gave birth,” Christoffel said. “When the baby was born, she wasn’t sure if she was alive or dead, and that was that. By the time the baby went into the inlet, she was already deceased.”

Ruled a homicide
However, the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner’s Office, according to court records, concluded that Baby June died of asphyxiation and ruled the death a homicide.
“Physical and toxicological findings support that infant was born alive and in a health care environment,” the medical examiner’s report said.
Investigators, according to published reports, believe that Baby June was born in a hotel room and discovered that Singh had searched online for hotels in the Boynton area eight times during a two-hour period the morning of May 30, the day the baby was born.
The infant was found by an off-duty Boynton Beach firefighter two days later, on June 1, and given the name Baby June by investigators.
Detectives believe that Singh acted alone and kept the birth of the baby and her actions in the aftermath a secret from most, including the baby’s father, a former boyfriend.
“She was fully responsible for the baby ending up in the Boynton Inlet,” Christoffel said.
Genetic testing technology gave detectives their first real break in the high-profile case.
Using forensic genetic genealogy — the same technology used to identify the Golden State Killer in California a few years ago — members of the sheriff’s forensic biology unit were able to identify relatives of the father.
Armed with the lead — gathered in part through a public database — detectives met with the father, who led them to Singh.
“He knew nothing about the baby,” Christoffel said.

Building a case
Once the mother was identified and DNA evidence collected, investigators began building their case with search warrants that gave them access to Singh’s computer searches and GPS tracking information.
Court records show that detectives used Google location data to document her movements on the day the baby was born and discovered that she was at a lifeguard stand just south of the inlet shortly after 9:30 that night and stayed in the area until 10 p.m.
They also found that Singh had conducted numerous searches of news sites for about a month after Baby June was discovered.
In August, shortly after Singh was identified as a suspect, DNA found by undercover detectives on a discarded coffee cup confirmed that Singh was indeed the mother of Baby June.
Investigators did a subsequent DNA test and conducted several interviews to be certain of their findings before filing charges against Singh.
In court records, Christoffel said that the scientific evidence combined with information from the searches made it possible for her to conclude Singh was responsible for the baby’s death.
That Singh remained silent while detectives conducted extensive searches for the mother of the baby, also helped her reach that conclusion.
“At no time has Arya Singh reported her child missing to law enforcement,” Christoffel wrote.

By Jane Smith

Parking for Veterans Park visitors likely will become less convenient as the massive Atlantic Crossing project next door prepares for a new phase of construction.
The Delray Beach park at the northwest corner of the Intracoastal Waterway and Atlantic Avenue may soon lose all parking spaces that sit adjacent to the Atlantic Crossing site to the west. Those spaces would instead be used as a construction staging area for the project’s second phase on the Atlantic Plaza site if an agreement can be reached.
With a 3-2 consensus at its Dec. 6 meeting, the City Commission directed staff to continue negotiating with Edwards Companies, the owner of the 9-acre complex, about an interim parking plan. Commissioners will be able to review the plan after evaluation by a city advisory board, according to the city attorney.
The developer had suggested using an interim parking lot it owns on the north side of Northeast First Street, but that site was rejected by all commissioners. The street has been torn up for the past five years by heavy construction equipment traveling on it, making the lot problematic for park users, commissioners said.
“We would be mixing heavy equipment with pedestrians,” said Mayor Shelly Petrolia, who, along with Deputy Vice Mayor Juli Casale, was not in favor of the new deal.
Another proposal, to create a new parking lot on the north side of the park, would mean the city may lose its shuffleboard and lawn bowling courts at the park.
Casale objected to that proposal, given the park’s recent designation as a historic resource, saying it would take out historic buildings and replace them with a parking lot. She also did not approve of the request made by the developer to speed up construction at Atlantic Crossing.
The project has nearly completed Phase I construction at the northeast corner of Northeast Sixth and Atlantic avenues, said Don DeVere, Edwards vice president. “We’re not happy with the pace of construction. It’s been far too slow,” DeVere said.
Letting the needed heavy equipment use the western Veterans Park spaces would speed up the construction and allow two underground garages to be “dewatered at the same time,” said Vince Testa, construction manager.
Vice Mayor Adam Frankel said Edwards has gone “above and beyond” what was required. He was in favor of working out an arrangement.
The Veterans Park shuffleboard courts have not been used in six years, said Sam Metott, the city’s parks and recreation director. The lawn bowlers have a group of 25 to 30 people who use the courts seasonally, he said.
Staff could not say exactly how many parking spaces exist in Veterans Park or how many would be replaced by the proposed addition of parking spaces on the park’s north side. Nearby residents estimated the park has 70 to 80 parking spaces.
Delray Yacht Cruises, which operates Intracoastal Waterway tours from the park aboard the Lady Atlantic and the Lady Delray, already advises its customers to use any available downtown parking facilities.
Amid the parking concerns, a monthly event at Veterans Park is being asked by the city to move to a new home because it has outgrown the park’s footprint. The Coco Wellness Marketplace, held the first Sunday of the month, would prefer to stay.
“Veterans Park is the right location for us,” Corey Heyman told commissioners during the public comment section of the meeting. “The shade from the trees and the breeze from the waterway” make it ideal.
She asked for more time to find a different location, saying a Jan. 1 expulsion was too soon, especially given that her group had a verbal agreement with the city to stay at Veterans Park through 2023. The commission agreed to allow the marketplace more time and to be at the park on the first Sundays of January and February.
Atlantic Crossing continues to draw criticism from the Marina Historic District across Atlantic Avenue from the massive project.
“It’s not in the best interest of the city, its residents, its visitors or anybody else, but Atlantic Crossing,” Sandy Zeller, a former historic district resident, said during the public comment portion of the commission meeting.

By Joe Capozzi

Briny Breezes officials are endorsing a possible plan by the Ocean Ridge Police Department to patrol a private townhouse community just outside the town limits. 
Ocean Ridge is in negotiations to provide police services to Gulf Stream Views, a community of 14 townhomes that opened in 2022 just south of Briny Breezes Boulevard in the County Pocket. 
Ocean Ridge officers already patrol Briny Breezes under a contract with the mobile- home community, which is immediately south of Ocean Ridge.
If the Gulf Stream Views deal can be reached, it would offer an increased police presence in Briny Breezes, Ocean Ridge Police Chief Richard Jones told the Town Council on Dec. 8. 
“Based on what they are asking from us and what we would be providing, it is definitely an enhancement to the security within Briny Breezes,’’ he said.
Jones said he has spoken with officials at Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, which patrols the roughly 2-acre Gulf Stream Views site, and was told they would have no objections to turning it over to Ocean Ridge if an agreement can be reached.
“I think it’s a great idea,’’ said Briny Mayor Gene Adams. 
Adams also voiced his endorsement in a conversion with Ocean Ridge Vice Mayor Kristine de Haseth. 
“Not only does it benefit the townhomes, but it benefits by default folks in Briny and also folks in the surf pocket. I think it is a wonderful idea,’’ de Haseth said. 
At the Dec. 5 Ocean Ridge Town Commission meeting, when Jones first mentioned publicly that Gulf Stream Views wants to negotiate with Ocean Ridge, no explanation was offered for why the townhouse community is exploring a new police service option instead of just sticking with PBSO.
Maria Beckett, president of the Gulf Stream Views Homeowners Association, told commissioners the community initially had private security brought in by the developer, but the association didn’t retain the security firm for budget reasons. 
Jones told The Coastal Star he believes the community wants more frequent patrols and quicker response times. “They just want to feel safer and have a faster response time in general.”
Beckett said the townhomes recently installed two license-plate recognition cameras which will benefit the south end of Briny Breezes.
Ocean Ridge Commissioner Geoff Pugh said he supports the plan “as long as it doesn’t affect the level of service the police provide to Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.”
“I know the sheriff wants to get rid of the County Pocket, so you never know what comes down the line,’’ Pugh said. 
Jones, who plans to bring back a formal proposal to the Ocean Ridge Town Commission in early 2023, said the level of service his department provides to Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes would not be affected. 
“It’s definitely an enhancement to the security in Briny Breezes,’’ the chief said. “This is a partnership more than anything and it’s beneficial to all three communities.’’ 

Praise for town manager
Town Manager William Thrasher wanted the council to delete a provision in his contract requiring him to provide four weeks’ notice before taking any vacation. He got that and more as council members showered him with praise for his work before granting his request. 
“I think our town manager is doing an incredible job and any questions or changes he may request should be granted,’’ Alderman Bill Birch said. 
“In the short term I have been here, his work is awesome,’’ said Alderwoman Liz Loper.
Thrasher, who this month enters his fourth year as Briny Breezes’ town manager, said he appreciated the words of support. He said he asked the council to delete the advance-notice rule because it was nearly impossible for him to schedule any time off that far in advance. 
“I thought it was time to clean that up because I felt a little guilty about it,’’ he said after the meeting.

Bill Lazer, 98, of Boca Raton became a business professor and taught for almost 40 years at Michigan State and Florida Atlantic universities. He made friends with business executives, including Walmart’s Sam Walton. His condo has a limited edition wall hanging by Alexander Girard, who produced it for Herman Miller furniture. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star

College was not remotely on the radar for Bill Lazer as he grew up in the Canadian prairie city of Winnipeg. He finished high school, got a job at a garment factory and didn’t think much about his future.
Then along came World War II and the then-18-year-old enlisted in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1942. His assignment wasn’t glamorous — he was stationed in Labrador, where ships traveling from the U.S. and Canada to Europe routinely stopped to refuel. But the Canadian version of the G.I. Bill gave him the chance to enroll at the University of Manitoba.
Lazer earned a degree in commerce, marking the beginning of a life ensconced in education, from earning master’s and doctoral degrees to nearly 40 years as a professor at Michigan State and Florida Atlantic. He also served on boards and committees impacting a variety of aspects of American life.
“I never planned to go into teaching,” said Lazer, who lives in coastal Boca Raton, “but once I got into it I was having a ball. It was, God, they’re paying me for this? I was having an impact on the lives of people and it was utterly fantastic. I never dreamed I would enjoy it so much.”
Lazer’s first job after school was as assistant to the president of a knitting mill in Winnipeg, but the University of Manitoba needed a business professor and persuaded him to come aboard. After three years he moved on to Michigan State.
“The job was for one year and I stayed for 28,” he said.
Many of his students were executives, whom he enjoyed more than his regular students.
“The students are afraid of you — they have to get a grade,” Lazer said. “The executives don’t have to get a grade. They’ll tell you what they think, and I love it. As a result of Michigan State, I was able to deal with executives effectively.”
Many of them also became friends, including Sam Walton, the founder of Walmart and Sam’s Club; Japan’s Masatoshi Ito, who built 7-Eleven into the giant of convenience stores, and Hoshiro Mitsunaga, who founded Dentsu, the world’s largest ad agency.
Lazer, 98, also enjoyed a 61-year marriage to Joyce, now deceased, who was trained as a classical pianist. Lazer said that none other than Arthur Rubinstein said he would have recommended her to any conservatory in the world.
“Fortunately for me she decided to study philosophy when she got to university, so she permitted me to do anything I was able to do,” Lazer said. “Whenever I got an award I would introduce her from the audience. A fabulous partner.”
Lazer also has a connection to jazz musician Dave Koz. He and Joyce were close friends with Koz’s parents, Audrey and Norman. “He’s like another son to me,” Lazer said.
Lazer, who enjoys dining at Oceans 234 in Deerfield Beach, has two children, son Randy and daughter Simone. Randy is in real estate in Las Vegas and Simone has been involved as a writer and producer on Broadway and currently lives in Nashville.

— Brian Biggane

Q: Where did you grow up and go to school? How do you think that has influenced you?
A: I started my college education after the war at the University of Manitoba, where I got a bachelor of commerce. That was an education in the British tradition, very specialized in business. I went to the University of Chicago for my master’s in business administration. Then I got my doctorate at Ohio State University, which was the mecca for marketing at the time. That was a two-year course and I was able to get it in eight months. A few years later, I won a Ford Foundation scholarship that took me to Harvard and MIT for a year.

Q: What professions have you worked in? What professional accomplishments are you most proud of?
A: I’ve taught my whole adult life, and really appreciate all the awards I’ve gotten, but for a different reason than people might expect. By my wife doing what she did for the family, she allowed me to do my thing. So, when I got an award, that was an opportunity to have her stand and introduce her to the audience. I won the highest academic award at Michigan State, became an honorary alumnus, got an honorary doctorate, became an honorary member of the Varsity Club. I don’t know which was the best, but I was just so privileged.

Q: What advice do you have for a young person seeking a career today?
A: Don’t just go to school to get a degree, get an education. Learn how to learn, to keep learning throughout your life. Also, learn to deal with change because the situations are so different now. Companies change so rapidly. You have to adjust, adapt, look to the future and what you think is going to happen. Too many people go to college and don’t care about the grades, they want a better job. Take advantage of the opportunity.

Q: How did you choose to make your home in Boca Raton?
A: My wife always wanted to play the piano and look at the ocean. We used to live on Highland Beach and it was the same thing. When we came to this building there was a vacant unit facing A1A and we said no thanks. We had to wait for one on the ocean, and moved here in 1994.

Q: What is your favorite part about living in coastal Boca Raton?
A: I love the ocean, the ever-changing scene. And also, in this building there are three outstanding, kind people I really love. And Boca at one time had a village-type effect, but that’s gone now. It’s more like Fort Lauderdale now.

Q: What book are you reading now?
A: Battle for the American Mind, by Pete Hegseth and David Goodwin. Growing up in Canada we studied a lot of Canadian history and a lot of European stuff. Didn’t read much American stuff. But it’s about the battle for American education, how it’s failed, how we got to where we are. At Michigan State, you couldn’t be hired if you were a conservative. I lived that.

Q: What music do you listen to when you want to relax? When you want to be inspired?
A: I like classical and smooth jazz. With my wife being a classical pianist, we used to have world-class musicians coming to the house. But our relationship with Dave Koz has really helped me appreciate smooth jazz. He’s introduced me to a lot of those people. One time he played the Kravis Center and we were in the audience and he said, “My own mother and father are deceased so I want you to meet my other parents.” And he had us stand up. Such a nice young man.

Q: Have you had mentors in your life? Individuals who have inspired your life decisions?
A: When I got to Ohio State to work on my doctorate I studied with a world-famous instructor in marketing, Dr. Theodore Beckman, who was a distinguished professor. He became my adviser, my friend, and he certainly was a mentor for me. I owe him a lot.
And when I was at Michigan State the president was John Hannah. He won the congressional Medal of Honor, he was in charge of civil rights under several presidents, he was in charge of manpower during World War II, he was a giant of a man. For whatever reason he took a liking to me and let me do my thing.

Q: Who/what makes you laugh?
A: I like some of the older comics. Sid Caesar, Johnny Carson. And recently I was watching the All in the Family show and they were classics. Norman Lear recently had a 100th birthday party and Dave Koz went and said he’s still very sharp. Some of the stuff that passes for comedy now isn’t funny.

Q: Is there something people don’t know about you but should?
A: About a year-and-a-half ago the dean at the University of Manitoba asked if we could schedule a half-hour phone conversation. Two-and-a-half hours later he said, “I want you to write your memoir for the special collection.” So that’s what I’m doing now. It’s taken a lot longer than I ever thought it would.

By Jane Smith

The historical Cornell Art Museum, closed for about 15 months in a dispute between the city and its previous operators, hosted a grand reopening reception on Dec. 28.
The Surfing Florida Museum has an exhibit on the top floor. On the ground floor is the #LoveDelray collection of artworks from Delray Beach-area artists.
The museum will be open and be free to the public on Thursdays and Fridays from 4 to 9 p.m., Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m.
It is now being operated by the Delray Beach Downtown Development Authority under a $25,000 agreement approved by the City Commission.
At the Jan. 10 commission meeting, an overall agreement between the city and the DDA to oversee the Old School Square campus will be discussed. That deal would replace the DDA’s current Cornell agreement with one that covers all five venues on the 4-acre campus: the Fieldhouse, the Pavilion, the Cornell, the Crest Theatre and associated arts classrooms.
The Surfing Florida Museum has been searching for a permanent home since it started 14 years ago, said Tom Warnke, its executive director. The Cornell exhibit will stay through June. “I’m hoping the exposure will lead to something permanent,” Warnke said. “I’m beyond excited.”
In late February, Surfing Florida also will open a 12-month exhibit at the renovated Lantana Public Library.
Separately, the commission agreed to pay $1.2 million to finish the renovations of the Crest Theatre building. The city did not put the work out to bid but used a job-order process to speed construction and have a guaranteed price, Public Works Director Missie Barletto said at the commission’s Dec. 6 meeting. It selected Harbour Construction Inc. of Miami.
Vice Mayor Adam Frankel said the commission did not like the previous contractor hired by Old School Square Center for the Arts — the former longtime operator — because the renovation was not put out for bids. He voted against the contract because there still was no bidding process for the work. Commissioner Shirley Johnson, who pulled the item from the Consent Agenda for discussion, also voted against the contract.
The Crest building renovations were started without expressed city approval as required in the lease and — combined with long-standing concerns as to how OSSCA was spending taxpayer dollars — led to the City Commission terminating its lease with OSSCA. The lease termination came on a 3-2 vote in August 2021.
Then, in November 2021, OSSCA sued the city and its elected officials for wrongful termination of the lease. That lawsuit is still pending.
OSSCA also filed papers in November 2021 to trademark the Old School Square name. After the city found out about the trademark application almost a year later, it hired an outside law firm to contest the trademark in November.
OSSCA filed its response to the city’s challenge on Jan. 2. It claims the trademark is not tied to the Old School Square campus owned by the city.
The reply, done by attorney Allen Bennett, said the group is entitled to use the name, because it continues “to offer services in the vicinity of the historic, generally known geographic location referred to colloquially as the ‘Old School Square.’”
OSSCA also filed papers to amend its November 2021 application to eliminate museum services from the list of services it provides — since it no longer controls the Cornell Museum space — and focus on arts education classes and rental of performing arts theaters.
The response said OSSCA’s application didn’t misrepresent its address as Old School Square’s, because its lease was still in force when it applied for the trademark.

Some say that the proposed City Center Delray will overwhelm Doc’s and that its Streamline Moderne style will be out of touch with the Mediterranean Revival style of the Old School Square Historic District, in which the new project will sit. Rendering provided

By Jane Smith

Doc’s, a fast-food eatery that got its start in 1951 as a Dairy Queen franchise, unanimously won a historic designation from the Delray Beach City Commission — but the new complex it will be part of had a tougher time before the board.
“I couldn’t picture Delray Beach without Doc’s,” Commissioner Ryan Boylston said at the commission’s Dec. 6 meeting. “My grandparents took me there. I take my kids there.”
Retired schoolteacher and longtime resident Yvonne Odom also supported saving Doc’s, with its outdoor seating and walk-up window service.
“It has a lot of memories for those of us who grew up here and went to Doc’s after football games,” she said.
Doc’s has been closed for nearly two years and will re-open by the end of 2023, said Pushkar Marathe, a chef hired for the restaurant by one of the partners, Steven Michael.
The new complex that will be adjacent to Doc’s, City Center Delray, received 3-2 approval of its site plan. Mayor Shelly Petrolia and Deputy Vice Mayor Juli Casale voted no on the controversial project, which will house retail and office space.
Petrolia was concerned that the new building would overwhelm and compete with Doc’s older structure. Doing so would violate U.S. Secretary of Interior standards for historic structures, she said.
The center’s size of nearly 32,000 square feet is massive compared to the 1,600 square feet of Doc’s.
Casale pointed out that the city’s Historic Preservation Board recommended denial of the project by a 6-1 vote. Most of its board members were concerned the three-story building would overwhelm Doc’s one-story height, said Michelle Hoyland, the city’s historic preservation planner.
The three-story building will be constructed in the Streamline Moderne style, which some board members said did not fit with the architecture of the surrounding Old School Square Historic District. That district has Mediterranean Revival-style buildings with stucco walls and tiled roofs.
City Center Delray will sit across North Swinton Avenue from the Old School Square campus. The complex extends along Atlantic Avenue for a block west of Swinton to Northwest First Avenue.
Most of the 12 speakers talked glowingly about Michael, a partner in City Center Delray. Their effusive comments prompted City Attorney Lynn Gelin to say, “What we are voting on is not the personality and character of Mr. Michael.”
Two speakers, including barrier island resident Kelly Barrette, talked about the federal standard that the new portion must be compatible with the surrounding designs. Barrette, like the other speakers, urged the commission to add Doc’s to the city’s register of historic places. She opposed the larger City Center Delray plan.
Boylston said he did not like voting against the city’s Historic Preservation Board, “but they have a narrow view. I look at the project as a whole. ... At what point do we push so hard that none of this becomes reality.”