Ron Book Is Just One More Fort Lauderdale Crime Victim
BY BUDDY NEVINS
The attack on lobbyist Ron Book in Fort Lauderdale last night is no surprise to those of us who have worked downtown.
Despite the new fancy apartments, downtown Fort Lauderdale remains far from safe.
It’s not even a real downtown.
To do any shopping, a resident has to get in a car. Nothing except bars and restaurants is convenient.
The edges of the downtown are dangerous, especially at night.
Book was accosted at the county outdoor parking lot near West Broward Boulevard across the street from the county bus depot.
Not only is that area full of threatening vagrants, but Federal Highway, some of the side streets and the section around the Performing Arts Theater can be downright scary.
This from a guy who grew up in New York City taking subways everywhere.
Sometimes the danger boils over to the daytime.
A friend of mine was accosted in the parking lot of a fast food restaurant near the bus depot by a knife wielding vagrant. It was lunchtime. My friend ran to the safety of the restaurant.
When I was part of a presentation at the county library along east Sunrise Boulevard earlier this year, we were struck by crime. Around dusk, a police officer interrupted the event to tell patrons about a half dozen cars had been broken into while the presentation was going on.
Cars in the Sun-Sentinel’s New River Center indoor parking lot were broken into regularly while I worked there, despite video surveillance at the entrances and on the elevators.
It is not just near downtown. Another friend of mine has had her car broken into repeatedly in front of her house in the past three years. She lives in one of the fanciest sections of town near the Intracoastal Waterway.
Maybe this is part of the reason that violent crime is up double digits in Fort Lauderdale.
Sure, there is crime at the big shopping centers in suburbia. Sure, houses are broken into, people are robbed and cars stolen.
Somehow I feel safer and more secure outside of Fort Lauderdale. When I go to Publix in Plantation, I’m not confronted by panhandling vagrants, as I have been at the store on South Andrews Avenue.
I’ll stick with west Broward.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
And yet, County staff, primarily females, are expected to work very late hours on a routine basis and get themselves to their cars. The number of building guards has been reduced and waiting for a guard to escort someone to a car can add up to 45 minutes to an already late, late night. This is an assault waiting to happen.
FROM BUDDY: I can’t believe they don’t have escorts available in a timely manner. This is outrageous.
You are right. It’s an assault waiting to happen. I hope the female county commissioners are reading this and will do something about it. Don’t hold your breath.
December 10th, 2008 at 3:19 pm
That’s because Broward County has let the area decay into a homeless zone for the mentally ill. All one has to do is walk into or next to the decaying Main Library to see that it’s become a day care center for zombies!
December 11th, 2008 at 9:31 am
I think he was driving a Bentley. Developers pay well. That doesn’t make an excuse for the attack.