DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES ASK: IS THIS ANY WAY TO RUN A RAILROAD?

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

It started out as a dispute over the new 15-minute parking signs being installed in the downtown area and the removal of temporary COVID-related curbside parking and pick-up signs that provided several businesses downtown with exclusive saved spaces way after the pandemic measures were over.

Notable among them was Terras, City Deli, and former mayor Trey Mendez's Dodici's pizza restaurant. But with the pandemic measures over, the city says it is moving to conform with the new ordinances related to parking downtown in the designated zones. 

Among some of the new parking measures is the designation of parking zones downtown and the use of new cyber parking meter stations, all of which have caused mass confusion among business owners and motorists trying to do business downtown.

Apparently, city manager Helen Ramirez lacks some basic communication skills and failed to transmit that the city was starting a transition from COVID-era pick-up and curbside parking to a more permanent parking scheme, which in turn triggered a response from some downtown businesses who saw favoritism toward businesses associated with former and current elected officials, notably Pedro Cardenas and former mayor Mendez. 

When a business owner – Zeke Silva, owner of the Roast House on Washington Street– inquired of the District 4 commissioner on the removal of his curbside parking signs, Cardenas, in turn, emailed Ramirez that the removals should be "fair" and to explain the process to everyone, including him, who is a city commission and whose wife owns a business downtown and, apparently, or so he said, did not know it himself.

To add fuel to the fire, after Silva called Cardenas on the removal of the pick-up sign in front of his business the Engineering and Public Works crews showed up and removed the curbside parking sign from in front of Silva's Roast House, they moved it and placed it (temporarily) in front of Mendez's Dodici's restaurant. This elicited an email from Cardenas to Ramirez 

Ramirez, in turn, explained that she was just implementing the new parking ordinances and asked for patience from downtown businesses while the transition took place.

But the confusion and apparent favoring of some business owners over others ignited a firestorm and accusations flew between Silva and Cardenas that escalated into a very public airing of the bad blood between the commissioner and downtown business owners, who apparently believe that Cardenas entered public service in Brownsville to assist his and his family-owned businesses.

Silva then posted on social media that "Pedro Cardenas ordered new signs to be put up on a few selected streets downtown. He had picked up curbside signs from anyone he considers competition for his and his wife new coffee shop downtown. Except that ex-disgraced mayor Trey Mendez and his (Cardenas's) wife’s new coffee shop, they didn’t get new signs. No enforcement for them because they are tied to the hip. Instead they took away other small businesses signs and put them on Dodici's Now Trey has designated 4 parking spots while all other businesses have ZERO.

"Looks like Trey Mendez, Ramiro Gonzalez and Pedro Cardenas are slowly revitalizing their own downtown businesses like in Mexico. Para eso quería ser Comisionado. Helen Ramirez only wants to have 4 votes and she takes care of 4 commissioners by trying to cripple their competitors."

Cardenas, in turn, called Silva's accusations "ridiculous" and disputed accusations favoritism, noting that his wife, as a relative of a city commissioner, is not eligible to apply for city grants as Silva has, and will not have exclusive parking spaces for her coffee shop. It is worth noting that the Cardenas are renting from Mendez, who was one of the first to get the new signs, and also has received numerous city grants for his Coca Cola building. When his tenants received city grants to bring their place of business up to code – and many did – the improvements stay with Trey's building and end up in his pocket. Silva replied:

Think that is inflammatory? Cardenas' wife – Lourdes Bolado, using the commissioner's city social media page – inserted herself into the fray and called Silva out for being one of the downtown business owners who was the recipient of city grants, as did Mendez, the Limas brothers' Michael and Fabian for Las Ramblas, Terras, the McNairs, former mayor Tony Martinez, etc. Silva, que no tiene pelos en la lengua, replied that his differences with her husband over public policy wasn't with her, but with her husband, the commissioner representing downtown, and declined to engage.

(Ed.'s Note: This is by no means over. As long as the city administration under Ramirez gives the appearance of favoring some city businesses over others, including those belonging current and former elected officials, it will remain simmering just below the surface, waiting to erupt at the next difference of opinion. 

However, it remains that communication between the city manager's office and the administration and downtown business owners is woefully lacking and leading to unseemly exchanges over a very public social media. A fine way to run a city.)