The first of the five rules of responsible writing is, to tell the truth, and be accurate. The March 29 column by Darrell Hofheinz about the Frisbie plan for 125 Worth Ave. does not meet this bar.
Mr. Hofheinz says that the Frisbies have gotten letters of support from every building next to them (except Kirkland House). What he doesn’t say is that the old Neiman Marcus building is empty, and a building that has no renters can’t agree or disagree.
The Frisbies also said that the whole Esplanade has agreed with them. Did every business in that building write letters of support? It’s unlikely that the idea was even brought up in every business.
There are a lot of people in the community who don’t like it. Some people in Winthrop House, several people in the 400 building, and others all over the community are against it.
We shouldn’t be left out of this conversation just because we don’t live near Worth Avenue. We pay taxes and shop, eat, and bank there, so we should be listened to.
A lot of letters against the plan were sent to the Town Council, but they were never made public on the council’s website. On the last two agendas, however, there were letters of approval from as far back as January. What information does the government not want people to know?
One of the photos in the story shows a rendering with a finial and the other doesn’t. This isn’t clear, and this piece didn’t explain the exact design.
The planned rooftop garden would be a “gift” to the neighbors, according to a caption. It’s unlikely that a garden that only the top two floors on the west side of Kirkland House could see would help most of the people who live there.
Mr. Hofheinz says that the Frisbies have told the people in the neighborhood that they do not plan to open a restaurant. So why do they refuse a limit in the deed? Their refusal guarantees that they will talk about this problem again in the future, which is sure to start another ugly fight.
The council’s suggestion that the two sides discuss just drags out this never-ending game of ping-pong and puts off the council’s duty to agree with the town appraiser that this is a three-story building. If the council follows the law, the Frisbies will go back to the drawing board and come up with an acceptable plan, that meets the law, and protects Palm Beach’s integrity.
Only then can the Frisbies keep paying the same amount of taxes they’ve been paying since they bought a three-story building that they now say was always a four-story building.
