Park(ing) Day Ends With Developer Parked In Police Custody
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – Park(ing) Day started with an effort to put a little bit of green into the concrete jungle of Miami, but ended with an arrest.
Park(ing) Day, the official name of the day, invites citizens to transform metered parking spots into temporary parks for the public good, according to parkingday.org.
Local developer Brad Knoefler decided to take part in the event and took over an area right off 1st Avenue in Miami last Friday.
Knoefler, who owns a club down the street, decided to put 10 parking spaces to use today as Park(ing) day, a worldwide event where urban spaces are turned into parks. While temporary, he was pretty content with the outcome stretching half a city block.
"For one day. But at the very least we get a taste of what the city could be," Knoefler said.
Early Saturday morning, Miami Police called Knoefler to ask him to clean up the grass and trees off the roadway. Knoefler claimed to be in Broward County at the time police made the request.
Knoefler didn't show up until 6 p.m. Saturday and was arrested for failing to obey a lawful command.
Even with the incident putting a stain on Park(ing) Day, Knoefler said he's determined to change that by changing his neighborhood. He has plans to build a temporary park on the old Miami Arena site.
