A makeover planned for downtown Miami’s East Flagler Street is stuck in neutral and driving business owners past frustration.
“President Trump, please help us,” said Danny Moshe, co-owner of Miami Discount Center on Northeast 1st Avenue, half a block south of East Flagler Street.
Moshe and his wife, Jacqueline, feel ignored by city and downtown development leaders. The couple opened their discount center selling everything from umbrellas to t-shirts more than 40 years ago. The business lives off foot traffic and customers riding the bus.
However, improvements to the East Flagler Street corridor are in the way.
“It’s [been] two years almost and nothing is moving,” Danny Moshe said. “Nobody is coming to work.”
“We have to open seven days a week,” added Jacqueline Moshe. “We have to work seven days in order to be able to pay a little bit of the bills.”
A redevelopment plan for Miami’s oldest street is hounded by delays
The Downtown Development Authority, Flagler Business Improvement District and the City of Miami designed a five-phase plan to turn Miami’s oldest street into a brick, curbless, festival-style space capable of hosting large outdoor events. The new street will also have improved drainage.
However, delays hounded the project. The first phase finished and opened in July.
Downtown Miami business owners say there are no more “excuses”
In areas west of NE 2nd Avenue, though, construction is silent. Barricades still block traffic north and south of East Flagler, too.
A spokesperson for the City of Miami did not explain why or what caused the city’s contractor, Lanzo Construction, to leave the project incomplete. CBS News Miami called and messaged Lanzo Construction, but did not get a response.
“Not one pebble or shovel was lift[ed] up for the better part of 11 months,” said Daniel Cohen, the owner of Sneak Peek Luxury. “No one even came to look at the intersection. They just keep finding problems, whether it was the construction company or the city not paying one or the other. Then, [Florida Power and Light] found small problems. It seems like it keeps getting prolonged because of excuses.”
Cohen said his sales of sneakers and clothing are down 65%. If not for a landlord giving him breaks on rent, Cohen’s shop would be empty.
Next door, Jacqueline and Danny Moshe’s 40-year-old business is dying too.
“Open the street,” Danny Moshe said.
In an email chain that copied CBS News Miami, Flagler Street Business Improvement District Executive Director Terrell Fritz told a frustrated business owner, “I assure you that the BID has done nothing but facilitate, advocate, challenge, protest and be ignored for most of the 4.5 years of this fiasco.”
“Unfortunately, the last we heard from the city is that since Lanzo left the job, it has been impossible to get restarted or get another contractor to complete the project,” he added.
A City of Miami spokesperson responded with a statement:
“The City of Miami remains firmly committed to the continued revitalization of downtown Miami,” Kenia Fallat, Director of Communications for the City of Miami, said in an email statement. “We understand the challenges that prolonged construction has created for businesses in the area and recognize the effects on operations, customer access and overall neighborhood appeal. These concerns are taken seriously and we remain focused on delivering a finished product that reflects the vibrancy and world-class character Miami deserves.”
Sections of the project near Southeast 1st Avenue and Flagler westward are among the remaining segments scheduled for completion, Fallat said.
“The city is actively working with a bonding company to ensure completion of all pending work in these sections,” she said. “This process will allow us to move forward with the remaining improvements as quickly and efficiently as possible. Our team is coordinating with the bonding company contractors and stakeholders to finalize the schedule for resumption and completion.”
The Downtown Development Authority also sent a statement:
“The Miami DDA has been fully engaged in supporting Flagler businesses throughout construction and we remain committed to helping them navigate this period while the city manages the project,” said Christina Crespi, DDA CEO and Executive Director, in the statement. “We’ve provided more than $700,000 in grants to small businesses and provided direct support through our free permit clinic. We’re also working hard to bring customers back to the corridor. Our recent holiday lighting celebration is proof of that. The even drew more than 2,000 visitors and generated a 323% increase in foot traffic compared to last year.”
Cohen sees things differently.
“The local stores aren’t being considered at all,” he said.
The DDA missed an opportunity when it did not promote struggling downtown businesses around the Flagler district to the holiday lighting crowd, Cohen said.
“Some sort of banner, something showcasing the local businesses, would have helped,” he said. “It wouldn’t make us feel so helpless, and we would feel a little bit of support. Those small gestures would mean the world to us. We just feel extremely, extremely abandoned.
He and the Moshes applied for DDA grants, they said. However, the grants were underwhelming, both said.
“What [DDA] offered, they scratched out the $5,000 and they put $1,500,” Jacqueline Moshe said of the DDA grant offered to her business. “We never got it either.”
So, they hope city leaders re-open avenues around E. Flagler before shops permanently close.
Miami DDA staff told CBS News Miami that the Moshes never applied for a DDA grant. Instead, Miami DDA helped the couple file for rent relief through the Miami-Dade County Mom and Pop Small Business grant in 2024. Documents shared with CBS News Miami showed the Moshes applied for a $2,500 grant. The program awarded $1,500, according to the document shared with CBS News Miami.
