The Holidays Are Here!

I hope all our readers and neighbors had a blessed Thanksgiving. It is hard to believe that both Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa are only a short 20 and 21 days away. It looks like the holidays around the town. Gulfstream Park kicked off the holiday with the Symphony of Lights Tree Lighting Ceremony this past Saturday, it was the first time I had to do the countdown with my grandchildren. I highly recommend it as one of your holiday stops. It’s a beautiful display with magnificent light shows set to music. It is free to the public and will continue until December 31st. You can also shop at home goods shops and clothing stores and even enjoy one of the many restaurants.

Our city has also begun to install our Christmas lights around town. I’m always asked why all the medians aren’t decorated. Not all medians throughout the city are wired with electrical service. We received permission from FDOT over twenty plus years ago to hardwire the two main medians on East Hallandale Beach Boulevard. This location was where we held our Holiday Festival through a partnership with the Hallandale Beach Shopping Center.

We moved the Holiday Festival to Peter Bluestein Park after it was completed. Our staff has been working on our “Holiday in the Park” that will be held this Friday, December 6. Each year the city kicks off the holiday season with this wonderful family event for all ages. The family friendly event featured Children's Activities, Holiday Crafts, Community Performances, Visits with Santa, Holiday Music, Inflatables, Amusements, Food Trucks and more. There is no entry fee to attend. A $5 arm band allows unlimited access to the amusements and inflatables. For more information on this year's event visit www.coHB.org/Holiday.

As the holidays are upon us, we want all our residents to know we understand with the season brings even more traffic to our roadways. We remain focused on providing alternatives. To our neighbors just coming in for the season, we have “The Hallandale Beach Cloud Bus.” This is our new and improved minibus system. It is electric and free to ride.

 We have reduced the wait time by adding more buses on the routes. We also have a Cloud Bus app that you can download and receive real-time bus locations. We also connect to Aventura Mall and north to Tri-rail. Buses run 7 to 7 Monday through Sunday with some days until 7:45. Visit  www.theCloudHB.com for more information.

Do you need to get somewhere and cannot get the bus? We are providing 10-dollar ride vouchers for Uber and Lyft citywide to visit any business in our CRA boundaries   This is everything west of 14th Avenue. We did a pilot program with Freebie but found that the cost per ride was not cost beneficial for the limited-service area. We want to make sure we support buying from and visiting local businesses. We encourage our residents to visit our many stores and restaurants by taking not just our bus but Uber or Lyft. Do not worry about parking or about designating a driver. Leave the drive to us and enjoy our entertainment options safely. Visit the CRA website to find out more www.cohbCRA.org 

Our CRA offers many assistance programs for residents and businesses within the boundaries. We know many are struggling to make ends meet. Whether it is rental assistance, addressing code issues, buying your first home, improving, or expanding your business, there may be a program that fits your needs.

Last meeting we approved a new program. Many of our restaurants have been struggling through the season and are dealing with increased costs. One may ask why it’s important to help a restaurant or business. Many of our local businesses provide jobs for our residents. If they go out of business that means more people won’t be able to make ends meet. Just like our rental assistance program this program provides gap funding to stay in business. For more information, please visit www.cohbCRA.org.

Whatever holiday you have celebrated or will be celebrating, I hope they are blessed. As always, I am available anytime for your questions, concerns, and ideas to make our city a better place at phone/text 954-632-5700 or you can email me at jcooper@cohb.org. Please visit me on my Facebook page at Mayor Joy Cooper. Like, follow, and share.