At Belle Isle’s 9 Island, activist battles KW Management

Miami New Times has an interesting item about Fane Lozman, a successful financial software developer with a knack for engaging local governments in escalating battles.

Lozman

In Riviera Beach, his fight to keep a houseboat has led to a case now before the U.S. Supreme Court. In North Bay Village, he helped lead a populist movement against incumbent city commissioners.

These days, he’s battling KW Property Management at Belle Isle’s Nine Island Avenue, where he lives parttime with his girl friend.

According to the New Times blog Riptide 2.0:

…his 2009 Ducati sport bike disappeared from the garage of the 9 Island Ave. building on Belle Isle. So when he brought up the suspected theft at a condo board meeting later that evening, he alleges employees of KW Property Management & Consulting tried to shut him up and called Miami Beach cops to have him kicked out for trespassing.

In the two months since, 9 Island management has called the cops on him repeatedly. Lozman says he’s being harassed, and wants an apology.

The 9 Island folks ought to know one thing: Lozman, a former Marine, doesn’t back down — or give up.

 

Changes on Belle Isle: KW reaches out at 9 Island, seawall work starts at Belle Plaza

After a 12-year relationship with the Continental Group, which still manages a host of buildings on Belle Isle, Nine Island Avenue unit owners got their first communication today from KW Property Management, which takes over the 274-unit building on Monday.

The letter discloses that the new building manager is a fellow named Christopher Crane, and KW included an information questionaire and guidance on any issues unit owners want resolved in the building.

Meanwhile, down the street at 20 Island Ave., work began this week on the reconstruction of the Belle Plaza seawall. It a project expected to take about three months, and a major piece of construction for the condo, built in 1962.

Also at Belle Plaza, residents shared their 2010 Hurricane Manual, which is a nice, complete, preparation document. It includes useful tips, responsibilities for unit owners and staff, key phone numbers for city officials and more. It shows how well the Belle Plaza association is organized — and that the Continental Group is capable of better than they showed the residents at Nine Island.