Downtown residents say they’re shut out of city talks
Just weeks before the bass drops at Ultra Music Festival, a different kind of noise is building in downtown Miami. Residents say they’re being shut out of the conversation.
At a Zoom community meeting Thursday night with members of the Downtown Neighbors Alliance, a representative for Ultra reportedly told residents that Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo had asked that no additional meetings be held about this year’s festival beyond a single “Sunshine Meeting” scheduled March 11.
For the people who live around Bayfront Park, that felt less like coordination and more like a shutdown.
Read related: Miami Commissioner Damian Pardo loses support, inspires recall threats
Ultra — scheduled for March 27–29 (tickets from $479.15 via ultramusicfestival.com) — isn’t just a three-day party for electronic music fans. For downtown residents, it’s weeks of 
park closures, construction staging, sound checks, street closures and traffic reroutes. The festival build-out begins long before the first DJ hits the stage and lingers well after the last glow stick hits the pavement.
Residents say they’ve traditionally had multiple meetings to air concerns and negotiate mitigation measures. This year, they’re being told there will be just one.
In a statement, the DNA called it “deeply troubling” that the commissioner would try to limit discussions just weeks before the event effectively sidelines the people who live closest to the park.
The group asked for a meeting with the Ultra organizers after members saw an item on the agenda for Thursday’s city commission meeting that will have commissioners consider whether or not to give Ultra — and organizer Event Entertainment Group (EEG) –something it has long sought: a potential 20-year contract to remain at Bayfront Park. Ten years up front, and an additional option for 10 more.
For residents, that’s not just about one festival weekend. That’s about the next two decades of downtown life.
Ultra Music Festival is secured at Bayfront Park in downtown Miami through 2027, following a 2022 agreement with the city commission. The five-year contract includes a $2 million base rent, with 4% annual increases, and allows for a 28-day closure of the park for setup and teardown.
Read related: Miami’s Joe Carollo grabs Ultra Music money for Bayfront Park slush fund
“Commissioner Pardo’s continued pattern of dismissing, undermining, and ignoring the voices of Downtown families is deeply 
troubling,” DNA President James Torres in a statement. “Limiting community dialogue on issues that directly impact residents, parks, and quality of life only reinforces the perception that Downtown residents are being sidelined rather than heard.”
Torres told Ladra that, during the Zoom call, someone asked to confirm their in-person meeting on the logistics of the festival. “To our surprise we were told that the commissioner doesn’t want to have any additional meetings and that the March 11 was the official meeting,” Torres said. “Last I checked, I don’t live in Iran, Cuba or places of suppression.”
Sandra “Sandy” York, the attorney for Ultra for the past 10 years who was on the Zoom call with residents, did not return a call left with her answering service by Ladra Friday. Commissioner Miguel Gabela, the chairman of the Bayfront Park Trust who sponsored the item on the 20-year contract on the agenda, did not return a call to his cellphone either. Commissioner Pardo never returns Ladra’s calls. Neither does his chief of staff, Anthony Balzabre.
Bayfront Park is one of the few open green spaces in the city’s densest neighborhood, and residents say they already absorb the impacts of the many large-scale events hosted there. If the festival — which has long been a point of contention for downtown residents — is going to lock in a long-term deal, they argue, the community deserves more than a single meeting.
They want a seat at the table.
Whether they get one could depend on how much political noise they make before the music starts.
The commission meeting starts at 9 a.m. Thursday at City Hall, 3500 Pan American Drive, and can also be viewed on the city’s website and its YouTube channel. The whole agenda is posted here.
This kind of independent, government watchdog reporting is crucial to transparency and democracy. And more so every day. Help shine a light on the darker corners of our community with a contribution to Political Cortadito. Click here. Ladra thanks you for your support.
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@Anywho @JT
Great comment that you don’t know enough about! Check your facts before you toss rocks at glass houses/condos.
Yes Torres supported Pardo, BUT he was also fooled like many, so he was quick to end that drama. Pardo has done nothing for this community, and also as a Downtowner, Torres and the DNA (downtown neighbors alliance) hold meeting on a regular basis and elections were held last year, so not sure what your beef is on that.
Why do you continue to give James Torres a platform to air his PDS (Pardo Derangement Syndrome). rants and perceived slights? What would be interesting would be some “investigative” reporting on how the downtown residences feel about their self appointed spokesman
Once again, let’s not forget that’s the same James Torres that boosted Pardo by trashing Covo on the #becausemiami podcast. The New Times wrote that Torres “supported Pardo, in keeping with his and Pardo’s pact to back one another should one of them make it to a runoff”.
James; you contributed (publicly) to elect Pardo; deal with it.
I’ve lived downtown, directly across from Bayfront Park, for 10 years and in Miami most of my life. I walk the park and drive the surrounding roads daily.
Ultra Music Festival has called downtown Miami home longer than most current residents.
From my balcony I can barely hear the music, and the claims about “noise pollution” or being “blinded by lights” are outdated and wildly overstated. Setup and cleanup get faster every year, and I’m not aware of any neighbors whose quality of life is meaningfully impacted by a festival that lasts one weekend a year. In my opinion, several other events cause far more disruption and leave a bigger mess afterward, including Wodapalooza Fitness Festival.
Ultra has also independently maintained and upgraded the park while largely neglected by the Bayfront Park Trust and city commissioners for many years.
Over the past decade alone, the festival has contributed more than $20 million directly to the Bayfront Park Trust, separate from the $80–150 million it generates for the Miami economy annually.
It also brings global attention to a neighborhood (Downtown) that’s still reinventing itself—especially around Flagler Street and the surrounding area.
For a city built on tourism, culture, and international events, Ultra is exactly the kind of tradition Miami should be supporting, not pushing away.
Residents and the Downtown office workers hate Ultra. Ask the neighbors. Why does non-resident Pardo and scammer Gabela get to decide? They live nowhere near Bayfront Park.
I am concerned about the proposal to grant a 20-year contract to the Ultra Music Festival in the City of Miami.
This event creates a significant disruption to the quality of life for residents who live in the surrounding neighborhoods and marine life. For several days, the level of noise, traffic, and congestion becomes overwhelming for those who call this area home or for those that work in downtown.
Additionally, it has been well documented that the sound produced by large-scale electronic music festivals carries across the water and can travel long distances. Because the venue is located on the waterfront, the sound amplification over the bay creates what many residents reasonably consider noise pollution.
Equally important is the question of public benefit. If the City is not generating meaningful revenue from this event, it is difficult to justify granting such a long-term agreement while residents bear the burden of the disruption.
There are alternative venues that are better suited for events of this scale, such as the Kaseya Center or Hard Rock Stadium, both of which are designed to host major concerts and festivals without placing such a heavy impact on residential neighborhoods.
The City must prioritize the well-being of its residents and carefully evaluate whether extending such a long-term commitment is truly in the best interest of the community.
So now any dickhead’s unverified bcc opinion becomes an article? Media is going to shit. Sad to see.
I can’t imagine anyone who lives in Downtown Miami being in favor of having Ultra there every year.
It’s very easy for commissioners who are not affected by Ultra to vote in favor of it.
The least they could do is take a vote of the residents affected to see their position.
Miguel Gabela is a fool. Ultra is laughing at the stupidity of Miami’s politicians. Or maybe they are all corrupt?
No way! Ultra destroys Bayfront Park every year. Ultra workers and customers kill every blade of grass. And the noise keeps residents from sleeping If Damian Pardo is involved that means Ultra is paying a bribe AKA campaign donation.