Harvey Milk is best known for his role as a gay-rights pioneer and one of the first openly LGBTQ people ever elected to public office in the U.S.  While his life was tragically cut short when he and San Francisco mayor George Mosconi were assassinated in the San Francisco City Hall on November 27, 1978, Supervisor Milk's legacy has continued to shine bright.  His life story was chronicled in the Academy Award-winning 2008 film "Milk" starring Sean Penn, and his name and image can be found on stamps, streets and schools.  In 2009, President Obama posthumously awarded Supervisor Milk the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor a president can bestow.  In 2016, a Navy ship, the USNS Harvey Milk, was named after him.  In April 2018, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors approved and signed legislation renaming Terminal 1 at San Francisco International Airport after Supervisor Milk, making it the world's first airport terminal named after a leader of the LGBTQ community.  In June 2018, the city council of Portland, Oregon voted to rename a thirteen-block southwestern section of Stark Street to Harvey Milk Street.  In June 2019, Paris, France named a square, Place Harvey-Milk, in Le Marais, in honor of the life of Supervisor Milk.  

Supervisor Milk made history as one of the first openly gay elected officials in the United States when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977 – a time period when the LGBTQ community was encountering widespread hostility and discrimination.  Supervisor Milk’s unprecedented loud and unapologetic proclamation of his authenticity as an openly gay public official gave hope to LGBTQ people everywhere at that time.

In recognition of his positive impact and service to the LGBTQ community, and to the people of this nation, and pursuant to Commissioner David Richardson’s request, an item was referred to the Neighborhood and Quality of Life Committee (NQLC) at the November 18, 2020 City Commission meeting to discuss the co-naming of 18 Street in honor of Supervisor Harvey Milk

Pursuant to Section 82-503(c)(1)a. of the City Code, for a street co-naming request to be considered, it must meet the following criteria:

1. Miami Beach police officers who died or were killed in the line of duty;
2.  A public facility located on the street to be co-named;
3. Private not-for-profit organizations with significant historic value to the city and associated with structures which have a significant historical value or architectural significance to the City and which are located on the street, or portion thereof, to be co-named;
4. Geographic areas within the City;
5. A commercial establishment that has been in business in the City of Miami Beach for 100 or more years and which is located on the street to be co-named.
   
   

Given that the request to co-name a street in honor of the late Supervisor Milk does not meet the current criteria in the Naming Ordinance, an amendment would be necessary to accomplish this co-naming request.  Once the amendment is approved by the City Commission in two separate readings, the NQLC shall consider the co-naming request and make a recommendation to the City Commission.  If the NQLC recommends in favor of the co-naming of 18 Street, the item would need to be approved by the City Commission by 5/7ths vote following a public hearing.  If approved by the City Commission, the co-naming will need to be subsequently approved by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners (BCC).  Following BCC approval, City staff will coordinate with Miami-Dade County Department of Transportation and Public Works for the installation of the new street co-naming signs.

18 Street currently extends between Lenox Avenue and Collins Avenue.  This segment includes seven (7) intersections, of which two (2) are signalized intersections