sanborn square - News - The Coastal Star2024-03-29T16:03:03Zhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/feed/tag/sanborn+squareBoca Raton: Jersey barricades proposed to protect Sanborn Squarehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-jersey-barricades-proposed-to-protect-sanborn-square2024-01-03T17:23:02.000Z2024-01-03T17:23:02.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}12345004287,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}12345004287,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="12345004287?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a></strong><em>The barricades to protect people from traffic on Federal Highway could be staggered to soften their appearance and be painted or covered with murals. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The city has started work to improve the appearance and safety of Sanborn Square, making modest fixes until a major renovation project is launched in three or four years.</p>
<p>Council members have pressed staff to make changes, and increased the current fiscal year’s budget by $350,000 to get some immediate action at the downtown focal point where residents gather for weekend yoga classes, special events or simply to relax.</p>
<p>The 40-year-old square drew their attention when city crews installed temporary barricades along Federal Highway about two years ago to prevent drivers — by accident or intentionally — from jumping the curb and injuring people.</p>
<p>Those barricades were widely criticized as unsightly and a poor look for the heart of downtown, so city staffers said they would look for temporary alternatives.</p>
<p>The pavilion has been repainted, Assistant City Manager Chrissy Gibson said at a Dec. 11 council workshop meeting. </p>
<p>City staff proposed replacing the current barricades with concrete Jersey barricades that can be painted or covered with murals.</p>
<p>Instead of being lined up along the roadway, the barricades can be staggered in ways that soften the massing and appearance.</p>
<p>“Aesthetically, we think they are more pleasing to the eye than what we have there now,” Gibson said.</p>
<p>Once a full renovation takes place, at a cost of about $4 million, the Jersey barricades can be used elsewhere in the city, Gibson said.</p>
<p>But at a City Council meeting the next night, council member Yvette Drucker said she was strongly opposed to the Jersey barricades even if they were painted. She proposed discussing this further at an upcoming council meeting.</p>
<p>City staff has not yet made recommendations about whether to remove the square’s defunct fountain, replacing it temporarily with public art or an activities space, or how to improve the park’s landscaping.</p>
<p>The city will receive a $285,000 matching federal grant that will defray part of the project cost.</p>
<p>“Make it safe,” Mayor Scott Singer said about the square. “Make it look good.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Sanborn Square yoga safely returns after devotees bend council’s earhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-sanborn-square-yoga-safely-returns-after-devotees-bend2022-11-30T16:21:26.000Z2022-11-30T16:21:26.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><strong><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10895655700,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10895655700,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10895655700?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a></strong><em>Glickman stands on a barrier Nov. 26 once classes had resumed after she and others pleaded with the City Council. ‘The people’s voices were heard,’ Glickman says. <strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></em></p>
<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Leslie Glickman’s free, and beloved, Saturday yoga classes in Sanborn Square have helped define the downtown’s ambiance for 12 years.<br /> That is, until October, when city officials told Glickman that safety measures are needed to protect yoga practitioners who enjoy the green oasis in the rapidly growing downtown.<br /> They asked Glickman to pay for installing temporary barricades along Federal Highway to prevent drivers from crashing into the square or to relocate her classes.<br /> When Glickman could not find a city staffer able to answer her questions about the barricade requirement, she and yoga devotees turned to the City Council for help, prompting city staff to find a temporary solution that allowed classes to resume last month. <br /> “There is so much joy and love in that park every week,” Asya Scher said at the council’s Nov. 8 meeting. “We are asking the city to find a place for it. It is what makes the city special.”<br /> Kim Smith said the classes refresh her physical and mental health. “I can feel my stress go down,” she said. “It is a community support system.”<br /> Glickman asked for better communication from city officials who had not advised her about possible solutions or alternative locations.<br /> “I am asking for communication,” she said. “I am asking for respect.”<br /> She can’t pay for barricades, Glickman said after the meeting, noting that the classes are free and she already is bearing the cost of equipment, Wi-Fi, and preparing the park for the classes. <br /> “I can’t afford to take it out of my pocket to put up barricades,” she said. “This is my community service every week.”<br /> Yoga in the Park draws as many as 300 yoga practitioners each week, and many more who join in online from about 30 countries and 40 states. <br /> They include snowbirds who leave Boca in the hottest months, former students at her Yoga Journey studio who no longer live in the city, and those who have attended retreats she has held abroad.<br /> “There are eyeballs on this from all over the world,” Glickman said.<br /> Council members pressed city staff to find a solution.<br /> “This is not a fine moment for us,” said Mayor Scott Singer.<br /> Council member Yvette Drucker apologized for “letting our community down.”<br /> City staff moved quickly, erecting the city’s own barricades along Federal Highway at Sanborn Square. Glickman’s classes then resumed on Nov. 19.</p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}10895672081,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10895672081,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="10895672081?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>Leslie Glickman’s classes among the royal palms of Sanborn Square were suspended after the city of Boca Raton asked Glickman to pay for traffic barriers on Federal Highway. Last month the city agreed to put up barriers while it searches for a permanent solution. <strong>Photo provided by Melissa Green</strong></em></p>
<p>“We had the biggest crowd ever on Saturday,” she said. “People couldn’t have been happier. They were whistling and cheering. People were so happy to have the program back.<br /> “This was really a beautiful day for Boca. This is the way government is supposed to work. The people’s voices were heard.”<br /> Although Glickman learned only recently that organizations using Sanborn Square are responsible for installing barricades, the city had adopted that policy in January 2021. <br /> But that was communicated to Glickman only after tourism marketing group Discover the Palm Beaches wanted to hold an event in conjunction with Yoga in the Park, and sought a city permit that triggered the barricade requirement.<br /> The policy is intended to make Sanborn Square safer. Since the square sits alongside busy Federal Highway, a driver — by accident or intentionally — could jump the curb and injure park users.<br /> “We see these things happening across the country and around the world,” said Assistant City Manager Chrissy Gibson. “That is one of the reasons we want to protect that space.”<br /> While the city’s intention was to treat Yoga in the Park the same as other organizations that must install barricades, Gibson said the city’s communication was not clear.<br /> “There could have been better communication,” she said. “We are in tune with what (Glickman) is trying to do. We are very happy that yoga is back. It is a wonderful program.<br /> “We put in a temporary safety solution we think works until there is a permanent solution.”<br /> In the meantime, the city’s barricades will remain in place and no organizations will have to bear the cost of installing them, she said.<br /> The permanent solution may have to await a planned renovation of Sanborn Square. The nearly $4 million project is included in the city’s budgets for fiscal years 2024-2026. The renovation would include installation of safety bollards that can stop vehicles.<br /> Until then, the city will look for more immediate options, Gibson said.<br /> City Council members have said they would support that, provided the cost is not too high.<br /> Deputy Mayor Andrea O’Rourke is not satisfied with the temporary barricades, saying at a Nov. 21 meeting that they are unsightly.<br /> “It is not the look we want to present,” she said. Council member Monica Mayotte agreed. <br /> City Manager Leif Ahnell said installing more attractive bollards now would cost about $750,000, an amount that council members did not want to spend.<br /> “I hope we can find something that is more cost effective,” Singer said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Downtown proposal loses 3 floors, automated garagehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-downtown-proposal-loses-3-floors-automated-garage2022-11-02T14:57:29.000Z2022-11-02T14:57:29.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>The developer and architect for Aletto at Sanborn Square have overhauled their plans for a three-building downtown project that drew strong resident opposition.<br />Luxury apartments no longer will be part of the mix. Instead, two of the buildings will be devoted to Class A office space.<br />A fully automated parking garage, which would have been the first of its kind in the downtown, also has been axed, replaced by a conventional garage with nine levels, two of them below ground. The number of parking spaces has increased from 360 to 542.<br />The locations of two initially proposed buildings essentially have been swapped so that a shorter six-story building on Northeast First Avenue, one story fewer than first proposed, will be near Sanborn Square. The top level will have a fitness center and outdoor garden, with a restaurant on the ground floor.<br />The original 12-story apartment building has been shorn to nine stories of offices with a rooftop outdoor restaurant and two ground-floor restaurants. It now fronts East Palmetto Park Road.<br />“Due to an overwhelming demand for downtown office space in the surrounding markets and specifically downtown Boca Raton, we decided to re-frame the project and pivot,” Carl Klepper, vice president of developer Compson Associates, wrote in a Sept. 15 letter to a city official.<br />He and project architect Derek Vander Ploeg provided the city with additional information about their plans in October.<br />City officials have long said that Boca Raton needs more Class A office space with amenities now desired by companies.<br />Vander Ploeg said no Class A offices have been built in the downtown for at least 20 years.<br />As companies move to Florida, in part as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he said executives want offices near where they live, and that often is in the downtown.<br />“The response has been more than overwhelming,” he said.<br />Residents mobilized against Aletto at Sanborn Square after it was proposed about 16 months ago, led by Alan Neibauer and his wife, Victoria Milazzo, who live in the Tower 155 condo directly north of the proposed project.<br />They have spoken out at City Council meetings and created an online petition on change.org imploring city officials to reject the development. As of mid-October, that petition had 716 signatures.<br />Their objections mirror those leveled against many of the large-scale projects proposed in the downtown during the building boom of the past decade.<br />Aletto, they contend, is too big for the 1.3 acres on which it will sit between Palmetto Park Road and East Boca Raton Road and will have a detrimental impact on the much-loved Sanborn Square. They also maintain it will generate too much traffic that will clog downtown streets.<br />The automated parking garage was a particular sore point. Opponents said vehicles would back up on the roads as drivers waited to enter the garage and they warned about potential problems tied to the garage’s technology.<br />Vander Ploeg declined to comment in detail why a conventional parking garage is now proposed, but did say one factor is supply chain problems first triggered by the pandemic that make it difficult to get parts when they are needed.<br />Neibauer is pleased by some of the proposed changes, including the shorter building near Sanborn Square and the elimination of the automated garage.<br />But more parking is needed for office buildings than residential, which means traffic woes won’t be eliminated, he said.<br />“Our feeling is, we won a battle but is this starting another one?” he said. “They haven’t done anything to reduce pedestrian and traffic impact. In fact, they made it worse.<br />“Our feeling is, it is still too big for the location.” </p></div>Boca Raton: 3-building complex up to 12 stories proposed near Sanborn Squarehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-3-building-complex-up-to-12-stories-proposed-near-sanb2021-12-29T16:10:07.000Z2021-12-29T16:10:07.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}9966173661,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9966173661,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" width="710" alt="9966173661?profile=RESIZE_710x" /></a><em>The trio of buildings would be located at 121 E. Palmetto Park Road, a block east of Federal Highway. <strong>Rendering provided</strong></em></p>
<p> </p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><span style="font-size:12pt;">Petitioners protest idea of more concrete in form of apartments, office space, parking</span></p>
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<p><strong>By Mary Hladky</strong></p>
<p>Compson Associates is planning a large residential, office and retail project in downtown Boca Raton that is already sparking strong objections even though it is in the early stages of the city’s review process.<br />The proposed Aletto Square would include three buildings on 1.3 acres at 121 E. Palmetto Park Road, northeast of the Hyatt Place hotel and southeast of Sanborn Square.<br />A 93-unit luxury apartment tower would rise to 12 stories, the maximum allowed in the downtown. A seven-story office and retail building would feature a restaurant with rooftop dining. An eight-story fully automated parking garage, the first of its kind downtown, would provide 360 parking spaces and a rooftop pool.<br />A courtyard would be located between the office and apartment buildings, and two smaller courtyards would flank the east and west sides of the office building.<br />Boca Raton-based Compson also developed the 12-story Tower 155 luxury condominium at 155 E. Boca Raton Road that the City Council approved in 2016.<br />Project architect Derek Vander Ploeg, who also designed Tower 155, said plans for Aletto Square were informed by what he learned during planning for the condo.<br />“There is a need for larger luxury (units) rather than average rental units in the area,” he said. That was also true for the condo. To accommodate people wanting more living space, he reduced the number of Tower 155 units from 170 to 128.<br />Class A office space is also needed, he said, since no new Class A buildings have been constructed in about two decades.<br />City Council members said in November that they want more Class A space to help lure blue-ribbon companies to Boca Raton. They plan to solicit ideas on how best to accomplish this.<br />Aletto Square would be the first large-scale downtown project proposed since Camino Square — with two apartment buildings, two parking garages and two retail buildings at 171 W. Camino Real — was approved by the City Council in 2019.<br />Large projects have stirred residents’ passions for more than a decade as they transformed the downtown, prompting cries of overdevelopment that was ruining the city’s character.<br />Camino Square, Tower 155 and Alina Residences, which opened in 2021 on Southeast Mizner Boulevard, were criticized as too large and certain to worsen traffic conditions.<br />So it is hardly surprising that residents are gathering signatures on a petition imploring the City Council to deny approval for Aletto Square. As of Dec. 15, 284 people had signed.<br />The petition says that small shops would give way to the project, stripping the area of its welcoming feel.<br />It says the first sight for visitors would be “just another series of tall concrete buildings.” <br />“Combined with Tower 155, another large building on a very small footprint just down the road, Aletto Square would make a concrete jungle out of an idyllic touch of urban living.”<br />The petition also laments the negative impact on “peaceful and bucolic” Sanborn Square, saying its atmosphere would be harmed by a “concrete-heavy environment.”<br />Vander Ploeg dismissed the complaints, saying they have “no substance.”<br />The project is not yet scheduled for review by the Planning & Zoning Board, but the Community Appearance Board gave it a preliminary review Nov. 16.<br />The CAB’s purview is limited; it assesses the aesthetics of a project. Board members liked the appearance of the buildings and central courtyard.<br /> Two suggested improvements to the landscaping, with one member saying it was “a little underwhelming” and another saying he would like the addition of more shade trees. </p></div>Shades of Culture: Sanborn Square, Boca Ratonhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/shades-of-culture-sanborn-square-boca-raton2021-04-27T19:30:28.000Z2021-04-27T19:30:28.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}8857002069,RESIZE_930x{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}8857002069,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="8857002069?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="710" /></a>“Shades of Culture,” an artwork that encourages people to embrace the arts and culture, will be on view in Boca Raton’s downtown Sanborn Square through June 8. The oversize pair of aqua sunglasses, measuring 8-by-20 feet, encourages people to see art through a different lens. Those visiting it are invited to take photos and selfies to share on social media with the hastag #palmbeachculture. They are the work of the Cultural Council for Palm Beach County, which has partnered with the city to display them. The “shades” will make appearances at dozens of locations across the county. <strong>Photo provided</strong></p></div>Boca Raton: City won’t try to regulate winter holiday displayshttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-city-won-t-try-to-regulate-winter-holiday-displays2017-08-30T13:35:03.000Z2017-08-30T13:35:03.000ZMary Kate Leminghttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/MaryKateLeming769<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> Will residents see another pentagram display, or something equally jarring, in Sanborn Square this year during the winter holiday season?<br /> Boca Raton City Council members on Aug. 22 scrapped a plan to ban “unattended, expressive installations, displays, exhibits and similar objects” in the park after nearly two dozen residents begged them not to take away their First Amendment rights. The ban also would have prohibited residents from displaying a crèche and menorah.<br /> City Council member Andrea Levine O’Rourke said the public outcry against the ordinance convinced her it wasn’t the right solution.<br /> “My position here is to represent the people of our city and I have heard you loud and clear,” O’Rourke said.<br /> The issue came up for discussion after a resident last year obtained a permit to erect a pentagram with a banner disavowing the existence of heaven and hell. The display was repeatedly vandalized and became the focus of numerous television and newspaper reports. City officials said they were concerned about public safety.<br /> Residents — many of whom voiced distaste with the pentagram display — were upset about the proposed ban on private displays and implored city officials to reconsider.<br /> “Our annual holiday tradition in our city for almost 20 years has been greatly enjoyed by our Boca residents and I hate to see that end,” said resident Therese Brady.<br /> Boca resident Victoria Glys Morin said she was speaking out to protect residents’ First Amendment rights. <br /> “It’s disturbing to me that we’re going to define ‘exercise’ within a council and usurp the tradition of a nation in terms of the exercise of religion. I’m against this ordinance,” Glys Morin told the council.<br /> Preston Smith, who teaches at a Boca Raton middle school, erected the pentagram display last year under the protections of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and speech. The city has allowed religious groups to set up seasonal displays such as a Nativity scene and a menorah at the park, at 72 N. Federal Highway, since 1990.<br /> Smith said the city had to be ready for anything if it opened up public forums and invited religious groups.<br /> “The Jews and Christians do not have a monopoly on wedging their views into our public sphere,” Smith said last year.<br /> Boca resident Charles Fix suggested installing cameras in Sanborn Square as a safety measure.<br /> “Forget changing the ordinance. Stay with what you’ve got. It’s the best thing you can have,” Fix noted. <br /> Another resident suggested putting the issue to a public vote.<br /> Boca resident Ron Sheldon urged the council to scrap the proposed ordinance.<br /> “Facilitating or protecting — that is your job — not controlling,” he noted.<br /> Andrew Sherman, the rector at St. Gregory’s Episcopal Church, wondered if the city was overreacting to the vandalism that had been somewhat embarrassing.<br /> “I honor the fact that in America we allow people to exercise free speech. But it seems to me we want to give up something that is deeply important and precious in our community. That is the symbol of traditions, Jewish and Christian, living side by side and honoring their traditions in a peaceful way,” Sherman said.<br /> Deputy Mayor Jeremy Rodgers liked the idea of a public referendum. He noted that a decision to abandon the proposed ordinance might be accompanied by “a certain amount of chaos.”<br /> “I think I will move tonight to not pass this and maybe put it to the people to vote,” Rodgers said.</p></div>Boca Raton: Holiday displays could be banned in Sanborn Squarehttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-holiday-displays-could-be-banned-in-sanborn-square2017-08-02T15:02:29.000Z2017-08-02T15:02:29.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> The Boca Raton City Council July 25 introduced an ordinance that would ban the practice of allowing private individuals or entities to place “unattended, expressive installations, displays, exhibits and similar objects” in Sanborn Square during the winter holiday season.<br /> Chalk up the proposal as a win for at least one Palm Beach County resident.<br /> “I think religion poisons everything,” said Preston Smith, a middle school teacher from Lantana and self-proclaimed atheistic satanist. He erected a controversial pentagram display at Sanborn Square last year and is happy the city may soon ban the practice. “Let the community decide how much they want to mix religion in government property.”<br /> Smith erected the pentagram and a banner disavowing the existence of heaven and hell in December and wasn’t surprised when it was vandalized eight times. He wanted to let others know that atheists in the community have the same right to make a statement as Christians, Jews and any other religious groups.<br /> The pentagram display was erected under the protections of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and speech. The city has allowed religious groups to set up seasonal displays such as a Nativity scene and a menorah in the park, at 72 N. Federal Highway, since 1990.<br /> Preston thinks the practice becomes problematic when someone erects a display that doesn’t mesh with what most people think is acceptable, which is what happened with his pentagram display.<br /> “It’s not my place to decide what the city wants, but I intend to put up the satanic display for years to come as long as other religious displays are allowed. That is not a bluff, not a threat, but that is equal rights for all,” Smith said. “The Supreme Court has been clear if you allow one you better be ready for anything.”<br /> The proposed ordinance, which will be voted on at a later date, says the city “does not intend to limit other forms of expressive activity” within Sanborn Square, including protests, rallies, speeches and the carrying of banners or other similar types of messages.<br /> Smith said he would consider it a “win” if the city approves the proposed ordinance.<br /> “That is strict adherence to the separation of the church and the state,” he said. “That is my ultimate goal. But if they have a city-owned Nativity and menorah, they can expect a lawsuit from me and the Freedom From Religion Foundation, whose attorneys have indicated they will fight.”</p></div>Boca Raton: Vandals repeatedly deface satanic displayhttps://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/boca-raton-vandals-repeatedly-deface-satanic-display2017-01-04T15:59:39.000Z2017-01-04T15:59:39.000ZThe Coastal Starhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/TheCoastalStar<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960700053,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img width="500" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960700053,original{{/staticFileLink}}" class="align-center" alt="7960700053?profile=original" /></a><em>Tire tracks lead to a pentagram vandalized in Sanborn Square. The pentagram was repaired<br />and reinstalled Dec. 28. It was vandalized again early Jan. 2.</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star</strong></p>
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<p style="text-align:left;"><strong>By Sallie James</strong><br /><br /> A satanic pentagram with a banner disavowing the existence of heaven and hell was repeatedly vandalized after it was put up in Sanborn Square Park last month.<br /> The pentagram display was erected under the protection of the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of religion and speech. The city has allowed religious groups to set up seasonal displays in the park at 72 N. Federal Highway for years.<br /> Boca Raton Community Middle School teacher Preston Smith, a self-described atheistic satanist, created the pentagram sculpture and expected it to create the stir that it did. Police were called to the park eight times for vandalism-related incidents in December and January.<br /> “It’s very polarizing,” conceded Smith, who lives in Lantana. He created the display to let others know that atheists in the community have the same right to make a statement as Christians, Jews and any other religious groups.<br /> “If you open up public forums and invite one religious group, you better be ready for anything,” Smith said. “The real intention is to rebuild the wall of separation between church and state. The Christians and Jews do not have a monopoly on wedging their views into our public sphere.”<br /> Smith said vandals tore his display from its base on Dec. 20 and shredded the accompanying banner, from the Freedom From Religion Foundation. The banner, which was spray-painted on another occasion and stolen once, proclaimed there are “no gods, no devils, no angels, no heaven or hell.”<br /> The display went back up on Dec. 28 after being repaired, Smith said.<br /> The city acknowledged the controversial nature of the pentagram display in a Dec. 6 statement, noting that previous religious displays in Sanborn Square have “contained messages projecting the themes of peace, forgiveness and harmony.”<br /> “This display appears to be more about shock value, attention and challenging our commitment to constitutionally protected free speech rather than promoting goodwill, respect and tolerance during the holiday season,” the city statement said.</p></div>Religion: Chanukah Festival Sanborn Square, Boca Raton — Dec. 21https://thecoastalstar.com/profiles/blogs/religion-chanukah-festival-sanborn-square-boca-raton-dec-212014-12-31T15:44:08.000Z2014-12-31T15:44:08.000ZChris Felkerhttps://thecoastalstar.com/members/ChrisFelker<div><p style="text-align:center;"><a href="{{#staticFileLink}}7960550486,original{{/staticFileLink}}"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}7960550486,original{{/staticFileLink}}" width="538" alt="7960550486?profile=original" /></a><em>After lighting torches on a menorah, Rabbi Ruvi New of the Chabad of East Boca turns to a crowd of more than 200 who gathered at Sanborn Square in Boca Raton to celebrate Chanukah. Children’s games, a concert and the menorah lighting were all part of the festivities to remind the crowd of the Chanukah story, a battle for religious freedom over the Syrian-Greek oppression in 165 B.C. The menorah is a symbol of the nation of Israel and its mission to be ‘a light unto the nations.’</em></p>
<p style="text-align:center;"><strong>Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star</strong></p></div>