Item Coversheet

Committee Assignments - C4  K




COMMISSION MEMORANDUM

TO:Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Commission 
FROM:Commissioner Laura Dominguez 
DATE:October  18, 2023
 



SUBJECT:REFERRAL TO THE PUBLIC SAFETY AND NEIGHBORHOOD QUALITY OF LIFE COMMITTEE TO DISCUSS THE MIAMI BEACH COMMISSION FOR WOMEN’S RECOMMENDATION FOR CO-NAMING A MIAMI BEACH STREET IN HONOR OF GLORIA ESTEFAN.

ANALYSIS

On September 2, 2023, the Miami Beach Commission for Women passed a unanimous motion recommending that the City co-designate City streets in honor of women who have significantly impacted the City’s history and culture. Among recommended noteworthy candidates, the Commission for Women recommended the celebrated Cuban-American artist and long-time Miami Beach resident Gloria Estefan.

I would like to refer the above-referenced item to Public Safety and Neighborhood Qualify of Life Committee (the “Committee”) to consider the co-naming of the portion of 13th Street located between Ocean Drive and Meridian Avenue, in honor of Gloria Estefan, along with any amendment to Section 82-503 of the City Code that may be required to accomplish the naming.

Whenever a request is made to co-name streets or portions thereof, Section 82-503(c)(2) of the City Code requires the sponsor to submit the proposal in writing to an appropriate committee (in this case, the PSNQLC), which shall include the following: (1) the street, or portion thereof, to be co-named; (2) the proposed co-name of the street, or portion thereof; (3) the reason for the request; and (4) a factual summary confirming that the proposed person falls under the specific criteria outlined in a relevant subsection of 82-503(c) of the City Code.

International superstar, Estefan is a Grammy award-winning singer, actress, songwriter author of two New York Time best-selling children’s books, philanthropist and humanitarian. She is one of the world’s most recognizable and beloved performers and has been named one of the Top 100 greatest artists of all time by both VH1 and Billboard. Estefan's record sales exceed 100 million worldwide, making her one of the best-selling female singers of all-time. Estefan has garnered eight Grammy Awards and an Oscar nomination for her performance of the song “Music of My Heart.” She has received an American Music Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. In 2015, President Obama honored Estefan and her husband, Emilio, with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation’s highest civilian honor. In 2017, she was the first Cuban-American singer-songwriter to receive The Kennedy Center Honors. In June 2023, Estefan became the first Latina to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.


In addition to numerous awards, Estefan also has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Estefan was awarded an honorary doctoral degree in music from the University of Miami in 1993. In April 2014, Estefan was tapped into the Iron Arrow Honor Society, the University of Miami's highest honor society. In 2002, Barry University in Miami bestowed upon her an honorary law degree. She and her husband received honorary doctoral degrees in music from the Berklee College of Music in Boston in 2007, where she also delivered the commencement address to the 2007 graduating class.

Estefan is the founder of the Gloria Estefan Foundation whose mission is to support charitable programs for disadvantaged children and empower your people through education and opportunity. The Foundation also supports spinal cord research through the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis.

Estefan and her husband Emilio reside on Star Island, and own several business establishments in the City, including the Cardozo Hotel, located at 13th Street and Ocean Drive.

In order to co-name a City street in honor of notable women who made lasting and significant contributions to the City of Miami Beach community through arts and culture, the adoption of the co-naming criteria will be required.

I respectfully submit that Gloria Estefan is worthy of our consideration for a naming opportunity to mark her contributions to Miami Beach and the music world, and I urge my colleagues to support this item. Should you have any questions or concerns about any of the foregoing, please do not hesitate to contact me.

SUPPORTING SURVEY DATA

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FINANCIAL INFORMATION

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Is this a "Residents Right to Know" item, pursuant to City Code Section 2-14? Does this item utilize G.O. Bond Funds?
No No 
Legislative Tracking
Commissioner Laura Dominguez
Sponsor
Co-sponsored by Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez